Guide to filming or taking photos on the TfL network

Cost to film on TfL locations (from April 2024)

Unless indicated, all prices are exclusive of VAT and staff costs. The number and type of staff required will depend on the request itself.

Location permit* - please note that numbers of crew and cast will be determined by the choice of station/s
 

• Crew size 1-10 people: £1,000 an hour - charges do not include staff supervision and rates start at £70 per hour.
• Crew size 10-20 people: £1,200 an hour - charges do not include staff supervision and rates start at £140 per hour
• Use of an exclusive area from £2,000 per hour
• Cable Car/TfL Piers - £500 per hour plus staff costs

* On occasions, it may be necessary to use an additional member of staff with crew sizes of 1-10.  You will be advised of this at the time of applying.

Influencer and/or content creator filming

A commercial filming licence is required before filming any commercial or promotional content on the TfL network. This is detailed in our Conditions of Carriage and is to ensure all footage captured is undertaken with the correct health and safety guidance and insurance. There is also a charge for the use of the TfL brand within commercial content. 

What do we mean by commercial content? 

Commercial content includes any content filmed on the TfL network and/or featuring TfL's brand IP, that has been paid for by a brand to promote a product or service. This includes content filmed as part of a gifted opportunity. ​To find more information on TfL's IP, please see our website.

Organic content includes any social media content filmed on our network and/or featuring our brand IP, which has not been paid for by a brand to promote a service, but created for your channels organically. ​
 

Discounts
 

• Regrettably, as TfL is a self-funded organisation we cannot offer filming for free or discounted.  This is not financially viable, regardless of the type of request or the organisation's budget.
   

Filming on a train in service

• Filming on a train in service is inherently difficult to achieve, due to passenger demand and the need to maintain an uninterrupted service. This is especially true for journeys to, through and from central London where trains are generally busiest.  However, in Zones 1-2 we can occasionally facilitate a restricted number of crew and cast (up to 5) with (lightweight) handheld equipment only.  This number will always be determined by the locations and lines on which you wish to shoot.

  Filming from Zone 2 to the outer zones of London is generally easier to accomplish. Alternatively, you may find it more suitable to use one of our exclusive areas (budget permitting).  This means that both parties (customer and production) will experience a more comfortable journey.

Our exclusive areas

We have some stations where you can have exclusive access to film: Bank (at the weekends) with a Waterloo & City line train, Charing Cross with a Jubilee line train, Kensington Olympia and High Street Kensington with District line rolling stock and period station Aldwych (there is no train available at this location). We also have a platform at Moorgate that could replicate for New York and we can also arrange your own train here.  Beyond the platforms at Moorgate is another closed off area, the Moorgate 'catacombs' - which offer a versatile subterranean world.

Charges for exclusive stations start from £2,000 per hour and £4,000 per hour with the additional provision of a train. Staff costs and VAT are not included.

Exclusive areas can include:

• Entrances, corridors, platforms, stairs and ticket halls
• Closed or separated areas from the public
• Your own train - stationary or moving 
• Working escalators (and moving walkways at Bank)
   

Use of an exclusive area, with or without a train

Rates start at £2,000 per hour for exclusive use of a station and £4,000 per hour with the additional provision of your own train (not including staff costs and VAT)
 

Recces/site visits

• We are happy to arrange any site visits or technical/recces to our exclusive locations but limit these to a maximum of 2.  An hourly charge of £640 p/h (plus VAT) will be made for any additional access leading up to your shoot. Please be aware though, that we have excellent 360⁰ footage on all of our exclusive sites on the EyeRevolution website.
   

IFS Cloud Cable Car/TfL Piers

• From £500 per hour plus staff costs and VAT
• Charged out at per cable car (approximately 3 return trips in one hour)
• Access on to a TfL Pier

Zone 4 onwards

• There is an additional flat cost of £700 if filming in Zone 4 and beyond

Evening and weekends - additional costs

• Requests for evenings and weekends do not include staff costs and will be subject to a minimum charge of 8 hours for each member of supervisory staff in attendance
   

Notice period

• To minimise disruption to both our network and your shoot, we generally require a minimum of 3 weeks (15 working days) notice. Occasionally we can process requests faster, depending on their nature, however, late notice requests and changes may be subject to an additional fee of £700 (+VAT).

Last minute changes to your booking

• A £500 admin fee will be charged for changes to an existing booking requested within five days of filming
   

TfL Trademarks & Intellectual Property (IP)
 

We protect our brand and charge for its use. Find out how to apply to use our intellectual property on the Brand licensing page.
 

How to pay
 

Payment for all permits must be made either in advance or on the day and proof of payment must be provided before filming takes place

Access times to film or photograph

We can only permit filming and photography on the network during off-peak periods:

• Monday to Friday: 10:00-15:30 and 20:00-23:00
• Weekends: generally any time of day (depending on location)
• for our exclusive areas, timings vary depending on location, but are generally easier to arrange for day and/or night

Filming through the night
 

We don't advise filming or photography when locations are closed at night because this is when essential engineering work is carried out. However, it may be possible if you give advance notice and if there are no planned works at the location you want to use.

Filming at weekends
 

You can generally film at any time of the day (station/line permitting). This will incur additional staff costs as well as the location fee and will be outlined to you at the application stage.

Notice period

Adequate lead time is expected when applying to film on TfL. We generally require a minimum of 3 weeks (15 working days) notice. Occasionally this can be turned around faster, depending on the nature of the request but may be subject to a late notice fee of £700.

Documentation
 

Insurance

You must have a current policy of insurance, providing cover for death and personal injury to any person and loss of, or damage to, any property. Your public liability insurance must be for at least £10M GBP and must be in the name of the company who is actually undertaking the filming.

Relevant pages of script, storyboard or brief/concept

You will need to have your script or layout approved by the TfL Film Office before a permit can be granted.

The acceptance or refusal of a permit application is at the sole discretion of the TfL Film Office. In particular, permits will generally not be considered if a script or layout breaches or contradicts TfL byelaws or marketing campaigns or contains any of our filming restrictions.

The TfL Film Office can refuse a permit application without providing specific reasons, and we may offer advice on how you can bring your script or layout into line with its restrictions, if applicable.

You can send us a synopsis or storyline before submitting your full permit application

Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs)

As a rule we do not sign any NDA's or Third Party Location Release Forms. Our own licence covers all that a production or individual would require to film on our networks and a blank copy is available on request. We will not consider changes to our Film Licence clauses that are under a value of £100k.
 

Restrictions
 

Unless you are filming in an exclusive area, we do not permit flash photography or additional lighting.  It may be possible in some circumstances and Film Office and operational staff can advise on this.

Tripods are only authorised at the discretion of operational staff and are not allowed on station platforms or near escalators for safety reasons.

In accordance with TfL regulations, the following activities are not allowed to be filmed or photographed:

• Vandalism or graffiti
• Assaults on passengers or staff
• Suicides
• Fare evasion or ticket touting
• Use of firearms or weapons
• Drinking or carrying open containers of alcohol
• Misuse of escalators or LU property
• Unlicensed busking
• Begging
• Smoking or the use of illegal drugs
• Behaving in an overtly sexual or indecent manner (including nudity)
• Direct threats (including terrorist) to LU, its staff or passengers
• Anything that may negatively affect the interests of the site owner

We can refuse permit applications which include activities which breach or contradict TfL regulations and marketing campaigns.

Filming equipment

Filming equipment, lighting, props, and any other ancillary equipment that is over 1.8 metres long or 25kgs in weight requires special movement arrangements and cannot be done in an operational environment where the public is present. We can arrange for a train (chargeable) to move bulky and heavy equipment in to Charing Cross from Stanmore at specific times, outside of our peak period.