Film permit Bali FAQ

By Film Permit Bali Editorial Desk

This film permit Bali FAQ gives short answers to what foreign crews ask first. A foreign production company, news organisation or broadcaster falls under a national permit through the culture ministry, and needs a local partner, a production visa and consent for each location. Each answer below points to its full page, and open questions are named.

Do I need a permit to film in Bali?

If you film for a foreign production company, news organisation or broadcaster using Indonesian locations, the regulation points to yes. It does not name individual creators or lone filmmakers, so ask your mission. Regulation 48/2018 requires a permit from the minister responsible for culture, and calls it the Location Use Permit. Embassies and operators usually say film permit or national film permit. The regulation and embassy procedures describe no separate Bali-wide permit. The film permit Bali overview covers its current status, and the full sequence is under how to get a film permit in Bali.

Who issues film permits in Indonesia?

The permit comes from the minister responsible for culture, and applicants reach that office through an embassy and a registered local company. The fixer list released through the embassy in Canberra is on Ministry of Culture paper, under its Directorate General of Cultural Development, Utilisation and Guidance. A document naming an older ministry is dated, not necessarily wrong. Operator pages add to the confusion: Atlas Film Fixers names a Ministry of Culture and Tourism, through its Film Development Center, and Hoodlum names the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy, or a local tourism office depending on location. The Embassy in Washington names the Ministry of Culture's Directorate of Film, Music, and Media. When a quote or a contract names another office, ask which document it means and who will sign it. This site issues nothing.

Can I film on a tourist visa?

Production work, no. The B1 visa on arrival is for holidays, family visits, meetings and events, and transit, and filming is not among those purposes. Personal holiday video is a different matter, because the official wording does not separate it from work. That gap and the enforcement reports are covered on filming on a tourist visa. The production category is C14, a single-entry visit visa for films, documentaries, music videos and broadcast programmes.

Do I need a fixer?

A foreign production needs a registered Indonesian company as its local partner, which is what most people mean by a fixer. The Ministry of Culture list dated 31 August 2026 numbers its entries up to 98. Being on it says a company is registered, and it says nothing about quality or price. How to check a name against that list is on the film fixer page.

Can I fly my drone in Bali?

For commercial work, assume aviation approval is a separate workstream from the film permit. For leisure flying the answer is unsettled, and you should treat confident answers with care. PM 37 says flights up to 400 feet (120 metres) in uncontrolled airspace do not need the Director General's approval. That does not settle KKOP, helipads or prohibited and restricted areas, which have their own triggers explained under Bali drone no-fly zones, and it leaves registration open. Drone Traveller reads the rules as letting recreational flights up to 7 kg in uncontrolled airspace go unregistered, and admits it has no official written confirmation. Do not assume a small drone is exempt. Ask the Transport Ministry, and read the Bali drone rules.

How long does it take?

Embassies publish different lead times, and neither should be averaged with the other. Use the figure from the mission handling your application. If no mission is assigned yet, plan on the longer one, since an early file costs less than a moved shoot. Every published figure, with dates and stages, is on the processing time page.

Does the permit cover temples?

Not by itself, according to Hoodlum, a production company. Separately, Tanah Lot's official ticket page asks anyone planning a commercial use to report to the management. Start early with the manager of each site, and see filming at temples.

What does it cost?

Here the regulation and the market disagree. Article 11 of the regulation makes the Location Use Permit application free of charge, yet operators quote their own or other fees. Visa, levy, location and drone charges then sit on top. Nothing on this short page can stand in for a budget, so every published figure and its source is on the film permit cost page. Ask anyone quoting you to separate government charges from service charges in writing.

What does this page leave unsettled?

Three questions have no clean answer:

• Whether a visitor with a small leisure drone has to register it, or may fly it at all.
• Where the line sits between personal holiday video and work.
• Whether private villas, hotels and attractions need anything beyond their own consent. A hotel or villa can refuse you regardless, so get written permission from whoever runs the property.

We know of no official location-specific rule for public beaches, Ubud or Nusa Penida. Operators do make claims, such as Hoodlum on the Sacred Monkey Forest Sanctuary, so ask the local manager and your partner rather than relying on a forum post.

What other common questions about filming in Bali come up?

Is filming allowed in Bali?

Yes, with the right approvals for what you are doing. A foreign production works through the national permit, a filming visa and location consent. Personal holiday filming is not clearly addressed in official text.

Can I film in Bali legally without a local partner?

Not as a foreign production under Regulation 48/2018, which requires an Indonesian film production business as a local partner. The rule is written around the producer, so ask your embassy if your project does not look like a production at all.

Can a small crew film in Bali?

Yes. Treat a two-person commercial shoot as you would a larger one until your embassy or local partner tells you otherwise in writing.

Does Bali require a filming permit of its own?

The permit in the regulation is national, not issued by the province. Bali adds its own layer through location managers such as temple authorities and site operators, and through conduct rules for visitors.

Does a film permit replace a visa in Indonesia?

No. They are separate steps with separate offices. The permit concerns use of locations, and the C14 visa is a separate immigration application that also asks for a location permit.

Which sources support this page?

• Regulation 48/2018 on location use by foreign filmmakers
• Ministry of Culture fixer list, 31 August 2026 (via the Embassy in Canberra)
• Immigration: B1 visa on arrival
• Immigration: C14 visa
• Transport Ministry: PM 37 of 2020
• Drone Traveller: drone laws in Indonesia
• Embassy in Washington: journalistic and film production
• Hoodlum: film production services in Bali
• Tanah Lot: official ticket page
• Atlas Film Fixers, Bali filming guide

How do I reach the desk?

If your question is not answered above, write to us on WhatsApp +62 811-3941-4563 or at bd@juaraholding.com with the shoot type, dates and locations. The desk replies with the questions it can answer, and it does not rule on permits. A request may turn into a paid booking, which gives us a commercial interest, set out in the disclaimer; nothing is agreed until a written offer says so.