We receive lots of emails from people who find their name or a relative’s name on our site and want to know if this means they have some right to the land listed under that name. The short answer is, “if you have to ask, then probably not” but the complete answer deserves the time and attention that is best served in a blog post.
There are many types of interest relationships that an entity can have with a filming permit. One can be an agent, standing in for an owner (this is often a lawyer). One could be in the process of getting a permit as an applicant. The most common type of relationship, however, is to be a permitee (permit holder).
Permit ownership gives the permit particular access to otherwise public land. While most anyone can tote a camcorder around public land, bringing the people and resources needed for a large filming shoot requires special negotiations and permits with the Bureau of Land Management. A filming permit is not the same as buying a piece of land and has a much more finite time period than a lot of other forms of land use on public land. Unlike a mining and other claims, which could be passed through generations of a family, filming permits have a set point of expiration.
As such, there is only a very limited window in which you could have special filming rights:
Is the permit “authorized”?
Permits can go through many different “dispositions.” When permit paperwork is first filed but hasn’t been approved, the permit’s disposition is listed as “pending.” Once the permit has been approved, the permit is now “authorized.” This means that the owners can begin filming on the land in accordance with the terms of their permit. Once the permit has expired, the BLM will close the permit, and further filming will have to be renegotiated.
If the permit is authorized, things get a bit more complicated:
Is the current owner really you?
For those who find their names on an owner page but don’t remember establishing a permit, the permit probably belongs to another person of that name. Staking a permit is not small task. It is unlikely to just forget about this process though there have been occasions where a permit is jointly owned where all this was done by some other partner.
Can I Reopen My Permit?
For those who still want to film in the same location of a previous permit, it’s back to the drawing board. While previous permits can provide guidance on what the BLM has allowed on the past, you will need to file your own application and have the new permit approved before you begin filming.
Unfortunately, the land in question may no longer be available. The land could now fall under a different designation such as a national park or monument and not be permitable. Even if the land is still permitable, you will have to work around other possible land uses at the time.
A quick starting place is to see if there are any other permits in that same township by looking at any township pages listed on your permit page on The Film Locations. The only definitive confirmation, however, is to work with your local BLM administrative office where you can inspect detailed maps on any nearby permits.