Add Photo Permit For Free

Beginning in 2022, the Chicago Park District began requiring permits to shoot some of the most popular views of the Chicago skyline. You can get your permit online through the Chicago Park District.

Step 1: Online Permit Application and Payment. Step 2: City Services Form* Step 3: Certificate of Insurance* Step 4: Community Notification Leaflet* Code of Conduct (PDF)

If you need a Hospitality Room, please call 630.668. 5161 for details. Individual photographers are welcome to photograph the gardens at Cantigny Park for their personal use and enjoyment. No commercial use is allowed, and no compensation may be received for images taken at Cantigny.

If you intend to occupy the public way with equipment and/or vehicles, or if you need to block pedestrian or vehicular traffic, then a permit is required. Small portable productions that do not impede the public (news crews, documentaries, b-roll, etc) often do not require permits.

Requiring and Obtaining a Permit Residential property owners must obtain a building permit before building or replacing a fence that's over five feet in the city of Chicago. Any fence height in a residential area less than five feet does not require a permit.

Planning Events inside the lincoln park conservatory Photography Permits are required for any posed non-commercial or commercial photography/videography at the at the Alfred Caldwell Lily Pool taken by professional or amateur photographers.

Tripods are permitted everywhere on the National Mall, with the exception of the interior spaces of the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials. Nighttime tripod use is also permitted. To request a permit application for filming on the National Mall, contact the National Park Service Public Affairs Office at (202) 619-7225.