Professional location release form drafting

A location release form is a written permission from the owner, occupier, or authorised manager of a property allowing filming, photography, or other content creation at that site. It usually records where you can shoot, when access is allowed, what areas are excluded, and whether the footage, stills, branding, or background features can be used commercially. A well-drafted form can also deal with intellectual property, approvals, damage, cancellations, and any conditions the location imposes, which is especially important for agencies, producers, and creators working to a production schedule.

Without a signed location release, you may face disputes about whether you had permission to enter, what you were allowed to capture, or how the final content can be used. Problems often arise where signage, artwork, trade marks, neighbours, or restricted areas appear on camera, or where the owner later objects to advertising use. A release form helps set clear commercial terms before the shoot, including access times, fees, credit requirements, restoration obligations, and approval rights. If the site is controlled by a council, venue operator, or other authority, If approval steps are relevant, we will explain what needs to be prepared and what sits outside the legal work..

This service is useful for filmmakers, photographers, production companies, social media creators, agencies, event organisers, and brands shooting on private land or at managed venues. It is particularly valuable where the content will be used in advertising, sponsorship campaigns, documentaries, branded content, or other commercial releases. You should also consider one if the property owner wants written limits on crew size, access hours, noise, reinstatement, or approval of the final use. If multiple parties are involved, such as a landlord, tenant, or venue manager, the signing authority should be checked carefully.

We review the details of your shoot or project and prepare or assess the location release form against the permissions and risks that matter for that site. Useful information includes the property address, shoot dates, who is producing the content, the intended use of the footage or images, any payment terms, and whether the owner wants approval rights or special restrictions. We then provide a draft or review comments for you to use in negotiations with the location party. Timing depends on complexity and whether third-party or authority requirements need to be addressed.

Our Location Release Form service covers drafting or reviewing a release suited to your project in New Zealand. The document can address permission to enter and film, still photography, usage rights, intellectual property ownership, edits and approvals, location fees, indemnities, cancellation terms, and practical site conditions. We can also help reflect whether you are a producer, agency, brand, photographer, or creator dealing with a private owner or commercial venue. If a separate permit or authority consent is needed for the location, approval depends on the relevant regulator or authority.

Just submit an enquiry via this page or click the 'get started' button on our website to submit an enquiry. After you've submitted an enquiry, one of our legal consultants will review your enquiry within 1 business day and get in touch to get a better idea of exactly what you are looking for.

Then your legal consultant will send through an email with a bit more information about the services you need, along with a fixed fee quote setting out costs, scope of the service and timing. Have a read through it, and if you're happy with the scope, you can accept and sign our engagement letter online - easy!

Once you've formally accepted, we'll connect you with a specialist lawyer and they will work with you to complete your project. They will contact you by email or phone if they need to get in touch.

Sprintlaw works on fixed-fee pricing wherever possible, so you can review the scope and cost before you decide whether to proceed. For the Location Release Form service, pricing starts from $900.00.

After you enquire, a legal consultant will confirm what is included, the expected timing and whether any extra work is needed before you engage us.

We operate completely online, which means we can help you wherever you are in New Zealand. We have office spaces in Sydney, and in Melbourne, but our use of technology allows our team members to work remotely from around the world. Our legal team are mostly based in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth. We also have a London office for Sprintlaw UK.

Our legal team is made up of experienced lawyers, who are specialists in various areas of law and hold an Australian legal practising certificate. None of our Sprintlaw lawyers are New Zealand qualified lawyers and they do not currently hold a New Zealand practising certificate.

They provide legal services working remotely from Australia via our 'legal consultancy' model, through which (under section 6 and section 35 of the New Zealand Lawyers and Conveyancers Act 2006) our Australian legal team are permitted to provide legal services to New Zealand businesses provided they do not provide services in certain 'reserved' areas of law. You can read our FAQ page to learn a bit more about our 'legal consultancy' model.

Given the strong similarities between Australian and New Zealand law, and the areas of law in which we practice (being small business and startup law), we do not view the fact that our lawyers have not qualified in New Zealand as having any substantive impact on the quality of our service. We are committed to ensuring that we provide high quality, affordable legal services to all our New Zealand clients.

Our legal team have all trained at leading firms, but have left the traditional corporate law world to join us on our mission to create a new and better way of delivering legal services. They have specialist expertise in technology law, intellectual property law, contract drafting and review, corporate law and commercial law.