Film permit requirements in Indonesia: what the file must contain

By Film Permit Bali Editorial Desk

Film permit requirements in Indonesia do not sit in one official list. Regulation 48/2018 sets the legal frame: a foreign producer needs a location use permit from the culture minister and an Indonesian production partner. The embassy handling your file sets the paperwork, and checklists differ. Canberra's September 2026 list has thirteen items, while Washington and Mexico City ask for other things.

What are the film permit requirements in Indonesia?

Read them in layers, because different offices write each one and update it on its own timetable.

1. The regulation. Regulation 48/2018 creates the permit, requires a local partner and gives the grounds for refusal.
2. The mission checklist. Each embassy tells its applicants which documents it wants. This is the folder you actually assemble.
3. The visa file. The e-Visa system keeps its own document list, and that list includes the filming permit from the earlier stage.

A shoot in Bali uses the national file. Neither the mission lists nor the regulation set out a separate Bali document set, so a "Bali film permit checklist" leads back to your mission's list, plus site-level location permits for filming in Bali. The order of those steps sits on how to get a film permit in Bali. This page covers what goes in the folder.

What does the regulation itself set down?

Regulation 48/2018 says foreign filmmakers need a permit from the minister responsible for culture to use locations in Indonesia. It calls this the Location Use Permit, or Izin Penggunaan Lokasi. Embassies and production companies usually say "film permit" or "national film permit", so expect both names in your correspondence. Indonesia's national film permit is this one document, whichever name it carries.

Article 1 decides who the regulation reaches. It defines a foreign party as a film production business set up as a foreign legal entity, a foreign news organisation or a foreign broadcaster, and it does not name individual creators or tourists.

Three more provisions shape the file. Article 3(1) says a foreign party must work with an Indonesian film production business as its local partner. Article 7 gives the film unit its refusal grounds, listed further down. The annex sets the permit format, which rules out shooting subjects and locations beyond those listed and warns that violations can annul the permit.

Each itemised list below belongs to the mission that wrote it, and none of them is the regulation's own list. Ask your mission which office now receives files.

How does the Canberra checklist differ?

Canberra's checklist, dated September 2026, is the newest dated list we know of. It runs to thirteen required documents and is addressed to the Ambassador in Canberra, so it speaks to applicants in Australia. Items include a sponsor letter from a registered fixer, crew CVs, a synopsis, a schedule and an equipment list.

Two items need early attention. Passports must be valid at least six months from the date of entry, so count from the day you land and check every crew member, including anyone added late. The checklist also wants a signed letter stating who bears financial responsibility for travel and related costs. On a co-production or an agency job, that answer takes a few emails to settle, so raise it early. Our page on what a film permit in Bali costs shows the published charges that person would be covering.

The sponsor letter ties your file to an Indonesian company from the first page. Our guide to the film fixer in Bali explains that role.

What do Washington and Mexico City add?

Washington's page and Mexico City's visa checklist ask for items the Canberra summary above does not mention. Mexico City's list was updated on 1 January 2024 and still names the former education ministry, so treat it as older guidance. It also asks for a personal bank statement showing a minimum balance over the last three months; open the link for the figure.

Do not assume an item is unnecessary because your mission's page leaves it out, and do not pad the file with letters nobody requested. Send the mission a short question and keep its reply with the folder. If you switch missions, for instance because a producer relocates, rebuild the folder against the new list before reusing anything.

What does the e-Visa file ask for?

The visa stage has a shorter list. The e-Visa page for this visa names a passport valid at least six months, three months of bank statements, a colour photo, a guarantor letter and a filming location permit from the relevant ministry. That last item means the visa file depends on the permit file. Our page on the C14 visa for Indonesia covers the visa itself, and the guide to the filming visa for Indonesia compares the categories.

What belongs on the equipment list?

Washington says professional camera equipment must be listed with items, quantities and values, and that it is expected to leave Indonesia at the end of the assignment. Build the list as a spreadsheet with those three columns, and make sure the values match what you tell customs and your insurer.

NEEDaFIXER, a production services company, advises keeping the list final before filing, because late additions mean amendments and delays. Decide which items travel with you and which you will hire in Bali before anyone signs. The customs side is on bringing film equipment to Bali. A drone adds its own file, so read drone rules in Bali and commercial drone filming in Bali before you list one.

Which details make an application fail?

Separate formal refusal from avoidable trouble. Article 7 lets the film unit refuse an application for three reasons:

• the data is false;
• crew are on the immigration prevention or deterrence list;
• the title and story may harm Indonesia or conflict with its cultural values and law.

The third ground makes the synopsis more than a formality. A synopsis that plays down the real subject invites the first ground as well, and the annex binds you to the subjects you listed once the permit exists. If the film touches a sensitive subject, describe it accurately and take advice from your local partner.

The other risks are practical. A location missing from the schedule leaves you exposed if immigration checks, by Washington's account. Late equipment additions cost time, according to NEEDaFIXER. A sponsor without the numbers Mexico City names will not satisfy that mission. Before filing, have one person read the synopsis, schedule, crew list and equipment list side by side and look for names, dates and places that disagree.

Does a film permit file need insurance?

Operators list it. The Canberra items named above do not include it, so ask your mission whether the full list does. Hoodlum's Bali page lists proof of liability insurance among film permit documents and recommends health insurance for crew visas. Atlas Film Fixers lists proof of insurance as well. For drones the requirement is firmer: PM 37 of 2020 asks for third-party liability insurance in an approval application. So ask your mission and partner whether the permit file needs a certificate.

Medical evacuation is a separate question. Filming in Indonesia, a production company, says emergency airlift evacuation works on pre-arranged standby and is paid for in advance, and that these flights usually go to Australia or Singapore. Ask your insurer and your partner how that would work for your crew.

What do crews ask about the paperwork?

What documents do I need for an Indonesia film permit?

Use the checklist from the mission handling your file. Canberra's September 2026 list has thirteen items, including a sponsor letter from a registered fixer, crew CVs, a synopsis, a schedule and an equipment list. Washington and Mexico City add other items.

What documents are needed for a Bali film permit?

The same national file, going by the embassy lists. Site consents come on top, and each manager or owner decides what it wants to see.

What should a Bali filming application synopsis include?

The Canberra checklist asks for a synopsis, so ask your mission whether it wants a set format. Article 7 lets the film unit refuse on title and story, and the permit binds you to listed subjects and locations, so state the title, the real subject and where you will shoot.

What permit is needed for a music video in Bali?

The immigration page names music videos in the scope of the C14 visa. Describe the job plainly to the mission handling your file, and ask whether the film permit rules treat it differently.

What permit do I need to film in Canggu?

Canggu has no film permit of its own in the regulation or the embassy lists. A foreign production uses the national route, then deals with whoever manages each location, such as a villa owner or a village.

Which sources support this page?

• Regulation 48/2018 on location use by foreign filmmakers
• Embassy in Canberra, filming permit checklist, September 2026
• Embassy in Washington, journalistic and film production
• Embassy in Mexico City, visa checklist, January 2024
• Directorate General of Immigration, e-Visa page
• NEEDaFIXER, filming in Indonesia
• Atlas Film Fixers, Bali filming guide
• Filming in Indonesia, production FAQ
• Hoodlum, Bali film production services
• PM 37 of 2020, state legal database

How do I reach the desk?

Send the name of the mission taking your file, your shoot dates and the items still open. We run a guide with a request desk, so we issue nothing and cannot decide an application. A request can end in a paid booking, which gives us a commercial interest. Fees, prices and the contracting company appear in a written offer first, and that offer is the only commitment. Our disclaimer has the details.

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• Email: bd@juaraholding.com