Town guide

Filming in Madison, New Jersey

A production guide to Madison’s live filming chapter, its published fees, insurance and deposit, and the older application PDF that no longer reflects current law.

Madison’s official film page identifies a historic downtown, parks, residential neighborhoods, municipal facilities and public parking among its production settings. The municipality also contains an NJ TRANSIT station and privately controlled campuses and properties, so location authority must be mapped before filing.

The live Chapter 98 is the current rule set. A January 2024 PDF remains linked on the Borough site but predates the chapter’s 2024 and 2025 amendments and should not be used for current fees or requirements.

Information checked July 24, 2026

Checked Jul 24 2026

County: Morris County
Film Ready treatment: Film Ready certified locality
Municipal film liaison: Lisa Ellis, Director of Business Development
Liaison phone: 973-245-3493
Liaison office: 50 Kings Road, Madison, NJ 07940
Municipal filing office: Borough Clerk
Application route: Online application linked from the Borough’s current Film in Madison page
Basic permit: $100 with four or more days’ advance notice
Expedited permit: $200; current code contains conflicting timing language
Public-property daily fee: $500 for a major motion picture; $150 for other filming
Nonprofit or student permit: $250; no daily rate
Private-property daily fee: None published
Public-land insurance: $1,000,000 bodily injury to one person / $2,000,000 aggregate, plus $300,000 property damage per occurrence
Deposit: $500 cash deposit
Universal filming hours: No fixed Borough-wide filming window located in the current chapter

Which Madison rules are current

The still-linked January 2024 PDF is out of date

Use the live Chapter 98, amended in July 2024 and September 2025. The January 8, 2024 filming application PDF remains linked on the Borough site but predates those amendments. Do not use it for the ten-day filing instruction, 8:00 a.m.–10:00 p.m. filming hours, the four-day permit duration or annual filming-day cap, the former $100-plus-$500 commercial rate, the former $25-plus-$100 nonprofit rate, the former $1 million/$3 million bodily-injury limits, the former property-damage amount, the former deposit alternative and two-business-day return, or the mandatory paid-police statement.

Older cached copies of the chapter can also show superseded text. Work from the Borough’s current Film in Madison page and its online application, and confirm the governing version with the film liaison.

Documented location character

The Borough’s current film page supports the following description:

Historic downtown settings
Parks and open space
Residential neighborhoods
Municipal facilities, subject to approval
Public parking
NJ TRANSIT access

The State’s 2024 annual report also documents past production use at Brook Valley Farm, Giralda Farms and Drew University in Madison.

These descriptions establish visual and jurisdiction context only. They do not establish current availability, exclusivity, parking capacity, interior access or permission.

When a permit is required

Chapter 98 requires a permit for filming on Borough-controlled public property, and for private-property filming that uses public property for production vehicles, equipment, temporary storage, temporary structures, barricades or pedestrian or traffic restrictions. Private filming requires proof of the owner’s consent.

The current chapter exempts news reporting; one person using a handheld camera without assistance; weddings, religious occasions and other private family or social events; and authorized municipal-government filming.

Do not expand the exemptions

Read those exemptions exactly as written in the current text.

Application and timing

The Borough’s current film page says to contact Lisa Ellis before filing, and to submit the online application with supporting material such as a certificate of insurance, traffic or parking plans, site maps and schedule when applicable.

Chapter 98 defines a basic permit as four or more days’ advance notice and an expedited permit as three or fewer days’ notice.

An unresolved conflict inside the current chapter

The fee section refers to expedited processing “within 24 hours of the filming date.” That is not identical to the three-or-fewer-days definition, and this guide does not decide which controls. Obtain written confirmation of the applicable fee for your actual filing date, whether days are calendar or business days, when an application is complete, whether department and location approvals must come first, and whether revised dates or hours require an amended filing.

Insurance and indemnity

For filming on public land, current Chapter 98 requires:

$1,000,000 bodily-injury coverage for one person
$2,000,000 aggregate bodily-injury coverage
$300,000 property-damage coverage per occurrence
Borough of Madison named as an additional insured and certificate holder
Thirty days’ notice to the Borough of modification or cancellation
Written indemnification and defense obligations

Obtain the Borough’s current certificate-holder address, endorsement forms, policy wording and submission route before ordering coverage.

Deposit

The current chapter requires a $500 cash deposit to protect the filming location and public property. It provides for return within 10 days after completion when no damage or public expense resulted. Confirm payee, payment method, due date, inspection process and refund method.

Notice

When filming directly involves or affects businesses, merchants or residents, Chapter 98 requires written notice at least three days before the requested shoot date. It also says proof of service to adjacent owners must be submitted to the Clerk “within two days of” the requested date.

Do not resolve that phrasing yourself

Obtain the Borough’s written instructions for the recipient area, required text, delivery method, proof, the exact notice and proof deadlines, objection handling and schedule changes.

Filming hours

No universal filming window

The current Chapter 98 does not publish a fixed Borough-wide filming window. Proposed hours, indoor or outdoor activity, traffic and effects on nearby property are among the review and waiver factors. The 8:00 a.m.–10:00 p.m. range in the January 2024 PDF predates the current law and is not current. Obtain the approved setup, filming, breakdown and final-departure hours in writing.

Police, fire, parking and electrical review

Police and firefighters may be required under an agreed public-safety plan at production cost. Off-duty police are required when firearms, pyrotechnics or other hazardous materials will be used; cast or crew will wear costumes resembling public personnel; a street or lane will close; or police presence is necessary for public health, safety or welfare.

Municipal-lot use must be arranged with the Police Department and Parking Office. The Borough may require on-site patrol officers where traffic is affected. If existing power lines are used and the production has no licensed electrician on staff, a licensed electrician may be required.

The applicant must notify the Police and Fire Departments 72 hours before filming and allow inspection when required.

Current published fees

Charge	Live Chapter 98
Basic filming permit	$100
Expedited permit	$200; confirm which timing definition applies
Major motion picture entirely on public property	$500 per day in addition to the basic permit
Other filming entirely on public property	$150 per day in addition to the basic permit
Nonprofit or student educational production	$250; no daily rate
Private-property filming	No daily filming fee
Police, fire and municipal services	Production cost
Lost parking or other Borough revenue; damage	Reimbursable
Cash deposit	$500

The chapter defines a major motion picture to include a listed major studio or streamer, a budget of at least $20 million, or recurrent weekly television-series programming.

Obtain a written all-in quote covering the correct permit category, daily public-property fee, parking, personnel, inspection, lost revenue, deposit and any property agreement.

Who controls the location?

Location or impact	Starting authority
Borough street, sidewalk, park, municipal facility, curb or municipal lot	Madison film liaison, Borough Clerk and assigned departments
Private home, farm, commercial property or venue	Owner or authorized representative, plus the Borough when Chapter 98’s public-impact trigger applies
Madison Station or NJ TRANSIT-owned property	NJ TRANSIT Real Estate Development and Planning commercial-filming process
Station-area parking	Confirm the exact lot: NJ TRANSIT identifies Lot 1 as transit-owned and Lots 2 and 3 as municipality-owned
Drew University, Fairleigh Dickinson University or other institutional property	The institution’s authorized property or communications office, plus any applicable Borough process
County or State roadway or property	The agency controlling the exact segment

NJ TRANSIT’s current policy says commercial photography, video or artwork on its property requires a permit and insurance. A Madison permit is not transit authorization.

Practical production planning

Start with Lisa Ellis before filing the online application.
Use the live Chapter 98 and disregard the old rules in the January 2024 PDF.
Ask the Borough to classify the filing as basic or expedited in writing.
Obtain a Borough-approved notice and proof schedule.
Map Borough, transit, institutional and private boundaries before the tech scout.
Include setup, filming, meals, breakdown and final departure in the schedule.
Provide vehicle counts, truck sizes, parking and curb needs, generator placement and cable crossings.
Disclose costumes resembling public personnel, weapons, effects, smoke, flame, pyrotechnics and traffic changes.
Obtain current written owner permission for every private or institutional location.

Documented productions

The History of Sound

The State’s 2024 annual report says Brook Valley Farm in Madison represented Kentucky, while Giralda Farms and Drew University were among the New Jersey locations used to represent England.

The Housemaid

Madison’s official film page lists the project among productions filmed in the Borough in 2025.

Insidious: The Red Door

Madison’s official film page lists the project among productions filmed in the Borough in 2022.

The Family Stone

Madison’s official film page lists the project among productions filmed in the Borough in 2005.

Prior filming documents a past use only. It does not establish current availability, ownership, permission or price.

Common questions

Is Madison a Film Ready certified community?

Yes. Madison appears on the New Jersey Motion Picture and Television Commission’s current Film Ready certified-localities page.

Which Madison film rules are current?

Use the live Chapter 98, which was amended in 2024 and 2025. The January 2024 application PDF still linked by the Borough contains older rules and should not be used as the current fee or requirement sheet.

How far ahead should I apply for a Madison film permit?

The current code treats four or more days’ notice as basic and three or fewer days as expedited, but its fee section also refers to processing within 24 hours. Contact film liaison Lisa Ellis and get the filing category and schedule confirmed in writing.

How much is a Madison film permit?

The current chapter publishes a $100 basic permit and $200 expedited permit. It also publishes daily public-property charges of $500 for a major motion picture and $150 for other filming, plus case-specific personnel, parking, damage or lost-revenue costs.

Does Madison have fixed filming hours?

No universal filming window was located in the current Chapter 98. The 8:00 a.m.–10:00 p.m. hours in the January 2024 PDF predate the current law. Use the hours approved for the specific permit.

Does a Madison permit cover Madison Station?

No. NJ TRANSIT requires a separate commercial-filming process for its property. Confirm the owner of the exact station-area lot as well.

Official sources

Checked July 27, 2026 against the Borough’s current Film in Madison page, live Chapter 98 and NJ TRANSIT policy. Report a correction or updated permit requirement.

Planning a production in New Jersey?

BLL Films provides production support for interviews, commercials, branded content, documentary work and other productions across New Jersey. We can help translate a creative brief into a practical crew, equipment and location plan.

Ask about your New Jersey production

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Reviewed by Sam Moskowitz, producer & director of photography

This guide is researched and reviewed by Sam Moskowitz, a New Jersey-based producer and DP who runs BLL Films. Sam’s production and cinematography credits include work for Netflix, History Channel, Hulu, the NFL and Google. Every changing fact on this page carries a verification date; see how this site is researched for the full process.