County property, including the historic courthouse, county roads and rights of way, and unincorporated areas, needs the county film application and guidelines.
Lead time Full road closures need Commissioners Court approval
Fees No application fee
| Do you need one? | County property, including the historic courthouse, county roads and rights of way, and unincorporated areas, needs the county film application and guidelines. Inside Bastrop, Elgin and Smithville, each city's own film policy applies. |
| Who issues it | Bastrop County Tourism & Economic Development Department (County Tourism Director); Film Bastrop County promotes the area. |
| Lead time | Full road closures need Commissioners Court approval; the court meets twice a month and requests must be on the agenda a week before. |
| Fees | No application fee. Courthouse complex or public building during business hours: $500 for the first hour, $50 each added hour. Evening and weekend use of buildings, parks, roads and rights of way, and county parking for trailers, carry no fee. General Services facility coordinators $35/hr per person (4-hour minimum, if needed). Damage deposit at the director's discretion. |
| Insurance | County of Bastrop and its agents, officers, elected officials and employees as additional insured on $1 million general liability, $1 million umbrella, $1 million auto if applicable, and $1 million third-party property damage. |
| Police, fire and traffic | Sheriff's deputies (or security approved by the county) must be on site from crew call through wrap, paid at the secondary employment rate by check or cash at the end of each shift, 4-hour minimum; sheriff's vehicles 2-hour minimum. The Sheriff's Office sets the number of deputies, especially for roadway work. |
| Street and lane closures | Traffic may not be held more than 10 minutes. Full road closures need Commissioners Court approval. Busy county roads and peak traffic times are restricted. A right-of-way special event form applies to shooting on or near county roads. |
| Telling neighbors | As set by the County Tourism Director. |
| Hours and noise | Flexible; the county encourages weekday evening and weekend use of active county facilities. |
| Also | The county name and logo may not appear on screen and must be removed in post. Using sheriff's vehicles as props needs Sheriff's Office approval. Register the project with the Texas Film Commission (free). |
From the official pages: Bastrop County - Filming in Bastrop County ↗︎ · Bastrop County film guidelines 2024 ↗︎ · Film Bastrop County ↗︎. Rules and fees change; confirm with the office before you shoot. Not legal advice. Photo: Larry D. Moore, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.