Filming in Oceanport, New Jersey
Oceanport is the only municipality on this site where the film permit is issued by the Zoning Officer. Call the Clerk and you will be routed, and lose a day you did not budget.
Oceanport adopted Chapter 207 in May 2025, a month after neighboring Tinton Falls adopted its own version, and the borough sits on part of the Fort Monmouth redevelopment. Two things repay attention here: who actually issues the permit, and the unusually wide definition of what counts as a filming day.
Information checked September 21, 2026
- County
- Monmouth County
- Film Ready status
- Film Ready certified locality. Confirmed on the State’s published certified-localities list, read in full September 21, 2026.
- Controlling source
- Borough Code Chapter 207, adopted May 15, 2025 by Ordinance No. 1110
- Who issues
- The Zoning Officer — unique among the municipalities covered on this site
- Published lead time
- Four days
- Basic permit fee
- $100, or $250 expedited. $25 for bona fide nonprofit, educational or student applicants
- Daily fee
- $150 per day, or $500 per day for a major motion picture
- Filming on private property
- No fee charged by the Borough
- Insurance
- $1,000,000 combined single limit. The certificate itself must state that 30 days’ written notice by certified mail will be given before cancellation
- Bond
- $500
- Hours
- Monday through Sunday, 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
- What counts as filming
- The definition includes rehearsals, preparation, assembly and dismantling of sets, and loading — not only shoot days
- Penalty
- Up to $2,000 per day
- Last verified
- September 21, 2026
The Zoning Officer issues the permit — not the Clerk. Oceanport is the only municipality covered on this site that routes filming this way, and starting with the wrong office costs you a day.
$100 basic ($250 expedited, $25 nonprofit or student), $150 a day or $500 for a major motion picture, $500 bond, four days’ notice. Hours 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., seven days a week.
Start with the Zoning Officer
Across every municipality researched for this site, filming permits come from the Municipal or Borough Clerk, occasionally from a Business Administrator, once from a fire department and once from a code enforcement office. Oceanport is the only one that gives the job to the Zoning Officer.
It is a small thing that costs real time. A producer working through a checklist will call the Clerk, be redirected, leave a message with a second office and lose a day out of a four-day lead time. Start in the right place.
What counts as a filming day
Chapter 207’s definition of filming is wider than most. It includes rehearsals, preparation, assembly and dismantling of sets, and loading — not only the days a camera runs.
So a shoot with a build day and a strike day is a three-day permit rather than a one-day permit with two days of unpermitted activity either side. That matters more here than it would elsewhere, because the penalty for filming without a permit runs to $2,000 per day, which is twenty times the basic permit fee.
Count your prep and wrap days into the application. It is cheaper than the alternative and it is what the ordinance asks for.
Fees and requirements
| What | Amount |
|---|---|
| Basic filming permit | $100 |
| Expedited permit | $250 |
| Bona fide nonprofit, educational or student applicant | $25 |
| Daily filming fee | $150 |
| Daily filming fee, major motion picture | $500 |
| Filming wholly on private property | No Borough fee |
| Bond | $500 |
| Penalty for filming without a permit | Up to $2,000 per day |
The insurance certificate has a wording requirement
The limit is a $1,000,000 combined single limit, which is straightforward. The part brokers miss is that the certificate itself must state that 30 days’ written notice by certified mail will be given before cancellation.
That is a drafting instruction, not just a number. Send the requirement to your broker verbatim rather than asking for “a million dollars of liability”, or you will get a certificate that has the right limit and is rejected anyway.
Three drafting defects in Ordinance 1110
Worth recording, because a reader who spots them should know they are in the genuine adopted text and not evidence of a bad copy:
- A garbled waiver sentence that names three different officers and carries a doubled possessive. It is not clear from the face of it who holds the waiver.
- A duplicated PUBLIC LANDS clause — the same provision appears twice.
- A sentence that says “including, but not limited to,” and then stops. The list that should follow was dropped.
None of this makes the ordinance unenforceable, and none of it should stop you filing. It does mean that if your shoot turns on the waiver provision, you should ask the Zoning Officer who actually exercises it rather than working it out from the text.
Three shore towns compared
Three shore towns, the same model, one month apart
Oceanport, Tinton Falls and Ocean Township (Waretown) all adopted filming rules from the same State model within a month of one another in spring 2025 — Tinton Falls and Ocean Township on the same day. The results are not interchangeable.
| What | Oceanport | Tinton Falls | Ocean Twp (Waretown) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adopted | May 15, 2025 (Ord. 1110) | April 15, 2025 (Ord. 2025-1525) | April 15, 2025 (Ord. 2025-7) |
| Who issues | The Zoning Officer | The Borough Clerk, on the Administrator’s approval | The Municipal Clerk |
| Lead time | Four days | Four business days, with a commitment to issue | Four days |
| Expedited fee | $250 | $250 | $150 |
| Daily fee | $150 / $500 | $150 / $500 | $150 / $500 |
| Bodily injury, per person | — | $2,000,000 | $500,000 |
| Aggregate | $1,000,000 combined single limit | $3,000,000 | $1,000,000 |
| Property damage | Within the combined single limit | $2,000,000 | $300,000 |
| Bond | $500 | $1,000 | — |
| Hours | 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., seven days | Not the distinguishing feature of this section | 7:00 a.m. start, no end time published |
The insurance column is the one that will cost you time. A certificate written for Ocean Township will not satisfy Tinton Falls, and Oceanport wants specific cancellation wording on the face of the certificate. Price and paper each town separately.
Film Ready status
What Film Ready certification actually means for your shoot
Film Ready certification means the municipality has put a process in place and named someone to run it: a designated liaison, an adopted filming ordinance, a permit form, and a location inventory filed with the New Jersey Motion Picture & Television Commission.
It does not mean filming is free, that a permit is optional, or that approval is automatic. Every requirement on this page still applies. What certification tends to buy you in practice is a faster answer and a person who has done this before.
Oceanport is on the State’s certified-localities list, read in full on September 21, 2026.
Practical production planning
- Call the Zoning Officer, not the Clerk. That is the whole first step.
- Include prep, build, strike and loading days in the permit dates.
- Send the 30-day certified-mail cancellation wording to your broker with the limit, not after it.
- Oceanport shares the Fort Monmouth redevelopment, which has its own guide on this site and its own process. Confirm which authority owns the ground you are standing on.
- The 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. seven-day window is generous by Monmouth County standards; build your day around it rather than assuming a 7:00 p.m. wrap.
Common questions
Who issues film permits in Oceanport, NJ?
The Zoning Officer. This is unusual, and as far as our research across the municipalities on this site goes, Oceanport is the only one that routes filming permits that way rather than through the Municipal Clerk, the Business Administrator or the police. If you call the Clerk's office you will be redirected, so start with the Zoning Officer and save yourself a day.
How much does a film permit cost in Oceanport, NJ?
The basic permit is $100, or $250 expedited, and $25 for bona fide nonprofit, educational or student applicants. On top of that, $150 a day, or $500 a day for a major motion picture. Filming wholly on private property carries no Borough fee. A $500 bond is required. The penalty for filming without a permit runs to $2,000 a day, which is steep relative to the permit itself.
What counts as a filming day in Oceanport?
More than you might expect. Chapter 207 defines filming to include rehearsals, preparation, assembly and dismantling of sets, and loading. So a shoot with a build day and a strike day is a three-day permit, not a one-day permit with two days of unpermitted activity either side. Count your prep and wrap days into the permit application, particularly given the $2,000-a-day penalty for filming without one.
What insurance does Oceanport require for filming?
A $1,000,000 combined single limit. The wording requirement matters as much as the number: the certificate itself must state that 30 days' written notice by certified mail will be given before cancellation. That is a drafting instruction to your broker rather than just a limit, and it is routinely missed, so send the requirement over verbatim rather than asking for “a million dollars of liability”.
What are the filming hours in Oceanport, NJ?
Monday through Sunday, 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. That is a seven-day week and a longer day than most of Monmouth County allows, which makes Oceanport comparatively flexible on scheduling once you have the permit in hand.
Official sources
- OfficialNJ Motion Picture & Television Commission, Film Ready certified localities
- MunicipalOceanport Borough Code, Chapter 207
- MunicipalBorough of Oceanport
Checked September 21, 2026 against the official municipal sources listed above. Report a correction or updated permit requirement.
Planning a production in New Jersey?
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Ask about your New Jersey productionBLL Films may provide crew, equipment or production services when requested.
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.
More town production guides
Comparing municipalities? See every Film Ready town in New Jersey, or search a specific town’s published permit, fee and contact details in the New Jersey Film Permit Finder.