Department of Conservation

All public conservation land in New Zealand, which is roughly a third of the country.

Written permission is needed once you are being paid for the photos.

Permit name: Concession, not a permit
Cost: An application processing fee starting at $930 plus GST, then a location fee of $500 a day plus $25 per crew member per day, both also plus GST, for commercial stills. The daily charge is halved if you are on site five hours or less. Members of the Screen Producers and Directors Association take a further 10 per cent off the location rentals. The processing fee is charged on the staff time your application takes, so $930 is a floor rather than a price.
Lead time: One-off applications are quicker, but DOC says a complex application can take months.
Public liability: Not stated on their page.

What to have ready

Concession application form 5a for filming, plus information form 1b for the one-off process
A pre-application conversation with the local DOC office, which they recommend
Applications emailed to permissions@doc.govt.nz

If you are shooting

Wedding or engagement. DOC's filming page does not deal with wedding stills directly. Ring the local office rather than assuming either way.

Also check

DOC costs far more than any Australian authority here. Check the fees before you promise a client a location on conservation land.
Where a wedding planning company organises the ceremony on conservation land, that company needs its own concession covering the photography arranged as part of it.

Apply on their site

Figures checked on 12 September 2026 against their website. Authorities change fees without notice, so check before you apply.

Use this as a starting point, not as advice. We took each figure from the authority's website on the date shown. Fees and rules change without notice, and your shoot may have details this page doesn't cover. Confirm with the authority before you book the job.

Council land

Most photographers forget about council land.

The fee is often nothing. Councils usually charge by crew size, and a portrait session with one photographer normally falls in the smallest tier, which is often free. You still need the approval, even when it costs nothing.

Approval is needed once you are being paid, even for a two-person shoot.
Fees scale by crew size, and the smallest tier is often free.
Public liability cover of $10 million is the common ask, and some councils want to be named on the certificate.
Five business days is a common minimum, and many councils decline late applications.
Private property is up to the owner, not the council.

Know a New Zealand authority we’ve missed, or seen a fee change? Tell us and we’ll check their page and update the card.

Permit sorted? Tellisto handles the rest.

Tellisto handles everything after it: the booking, the GST invoice, the gallery under your own name. Free plan, zero commission.

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Photography permits in New Zealand.