Event Videographers in Munich

Filming permits and public-space rules

Munich gives you an unusually precise test for whether a permit is needed. Under the city's rules, you need no filming permit only if every one of these conditions applies: you film only on pavements and in pedestrian zones without obstructing pedestrians; you use only a handheld or shoulder camera, at most one camera on a tripod, a microphone, a boom, small hand lamps and reflectors; you use no drones, cables, generators, spotlights, chairs, trolley cases or similar; no more than 5 people are on location; and the scenes do not endanger public safety or the public's sense of security.

Note the small details. A trolley case or a chair is enough to take you outside the exemption, and equipment on the pavement needs a special road use permit even when the scene itself is indoors. If you do need a permit, the Mobilitätsreferat's film service office processes applications in 5 working days for low-expenditure filming, 10 as standard and 15 for filming with restrictions, and charges fees after the shoot. Confirm the current conditions with the office at filmservice.mor@muenchen.de.

• Around Marienplatz, Kaufingerstraße and Neuhauser Straße, filming is generally authorised only outside business hours, and rails and vehicles are not permitted.
• City green spaces always need a separate special permit, and the exemption above does not cover them.
• The English Garden, the Angel of Peace and Nymphenburg come under the Bavarian Palace Administration, which asks for ten working days' notice and issues no permits for weekends.
• Olympiapark München GmbH handles the Olympic Park.

Drone rules

The city is direct about this: drone use in Munich is possible only to a very limited extent. General questions go to the aviation office, Luftamt Südbayern, and only if you meet the aviation requirements and need a take-off and landing area on public land do you then go to the film service office. Any drone also takes you outside the small-shoot exemption described above.

Site-level rules narrow things further. The Film Commission Bayern says drone flights are generally prohibited at the Olympic Park, and the park's own rules list drones among restricted activities, with any exception coming from the operator. The Palace Administration requires prior approval for take-off and landing on its land, grants this only in justified exceptional cases, and typically refuses flights in prohibited zones and those without a content link to the site, such as advertising. It warns that violations can bring fines of up to 50,000 euro, and that liability for damage applies even to an accidental crash.

Munich Airport publishes its own drone exclusion zone rules, with a map that includes a further zone requiring permission, so outer locations need checking too. The federal dipul map shows geographical zones, and EASA's open category sets a 120m limit and bans flying over assemblies of people. Check all of these before planning a flight, since the rules change.

The business event calendar and districts

Munich's B2B calendar is dominated by large, heavy industry and property fairs in the Messestadt area in the east, and these do not run every year. That makes your date the first thing to check. BAU, the architecture and construction fair, runs from 11 to 15 January 2027 and takes place every two years. transport logistic follows from 26 to 29 April 2027, and EXPO REAL, the property fair, from 4 to 6 October 2027. bauma, the construction machinery fair, is not until 3 to 9 April 2028.

These are long, large shows with real scale. bauma has seven days and outdoor demonstrations, and BAU has five, so a one-day crew booking may not fit. For a large stand, consider which day your senior people and customers are actually there. The International Congress Center (ICM) at Am Messesee sits next to the fairgrounds for congress work.

Practical logistics

The U2 is the crew's route. It stops at Messestadt West and Messestadt Ost, both next to the grounds, takes just under 20 minutes from the central station without a change, and runs from about 04:00 to 01:00, every five minutes on weekdays between 06:00 and 20:00. For a congress at the ICM, Messestadt West is the stop to use.

Driving is workable because the site is directly on the A94, but Messe München advises against entering a specific destination in your navigation system during fairs, as a dynamic traffic system directs you to an available car park. Tell any crew driving kit to follow the signs. The airport is further out than many visitors expect, at 42km: the S1 or S8 takes 45 to 60 minutes to the city before connecting to the U2, and a fixed-fare taxi takes about 35 minutes. A shuttle bus runs during some fairs.

Working time is regulated here in a way that affects filming. The Film Commission says work on Sundays and public holidays requires a separate permit from the Regierung von Oberbayern, the regional government, and that noise rules and a ban on facade lighting apply to night and holiday work. If your event build or a Sunday set-up day is part of the shoot, raise this early with the organiser and the crew, and check the requirement against your exact plan.

Road closures in rush hour and on main roads are generally not authorised, and neighbours must be told in good time about any obstruction. For more extensive street work, an MVAS certificate is needed for the on-site person responsible. Outside the city limits the responsibility moves to the relevant district office, whose websites are mostly in German, so the Film Commission's offer of help with translation and questions is worth taking up.