Can You Film on Private Property as a Journalist?

Does the First Amendment let a journalist film on private property?

No. The PBS Standards media-law guide says there is no First Amendment defense to trespassing ^[1]. Press status does not excuse entering private property without consent ^[1].

A Georgia press-freedom group's guide puts it this way: you have a right to be present in public spaces, but not a right to trespass ^[2]. The same guide says journalists have no special or additional rights beyond those of the general public ^[2].

So the working question is not "Am I a journalist?" It is "Do I have permission from the person in possession of this place?" ^[3]

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Check your state's law before you rely on any of it.

What can you film from a public place?

Where you stand matters. An attorney quoted in a Reporters Committee column says you may photograph and report on activity observable from a public place such as a street or sidewalk. That holds even if the activity occurs on private property ^[4].

PBS Standards agrees on the practical point. You can keep shooting footage or asking questions from a public sidewalk ^[1]. But individuals have the right to tell you to get off their property, so stay on the public side of the line ^[1].

If you are not sure whether a place is public or private, assume it is private ^[4]. Ask before you step in.

Video from National Press Foundation (speaker: Mickey Osterreicher, NPPA general counsel). Open at youtube.com. Content from youtube.com loads only if you click.

What about stores and other places open to the public?

A store is private property that invites the public in. That invitation does not give you a right to film ^[2].

The Georgia First Amendment Foundation guide says a private business open to the public may set rules about photographing and video recording. Those rules can include a ban ^[2]. If you disobey, the owner can order you off the property ^[2]. The guide adds that you can be arrested for trespassing if you do not comply ^[2].

An open door can still matter in court. The Digital Media Law Project describes a case, Desnick, where the court declined to hold ABC liable for trespass ^[3]. The eye clinics were open to the public, and ABC employees did not interfere with the owner's possession of the property ^[3].

That is one case, summarized by a secondary source. Do not read it as a rule that a store cannot stop you.

Who can give you permission to film?

Permission is the safest route. The Digital Media Law Project says that if you are invited onto someone's property or otherwise have permission, you will generally not be considered a trespasser ^[3]. That consent must come from the individual, group or business entity in possession of the property ^[3].

So ask the owner or the person who runs the place. Ask for the specific thing you want to do, such as filming a space or interviewing a person on site.

Say who you are when you ask. A credential can help you show your identity, and you can see how a press credential can document your work. It gives you no right to enter, because journalists have no special rights beyond those of the public ^[2].

What should you do when you are asked to leave?

Leave. PBS Standards says that if you knock on someone's door and they tell you to leave, you have to leave ^[1].

Staying can become a crime. Texas Penal Code Sec. 30.05 is one example. It treats criminal trespass as entering or remaining on property without effective consent after notice that entry was forbidden, or after notice to depart that you ignored ^[5]. Your state has its own statute, so read it.

The Reporters Committee column gives a simple routine. If someone claiming authority asks you to leave, note the name and withdraw ^[4]. Do this even if someone else gave you permission, and work out who is in charge afterward ^[4].

Once you are out, you may be able to keep working from a public sidewalk ^[1]. Press status is no defense to trespass, so do not rely on it at the door ^[1].

Can you go undercover or use a false identity?

This is the riskiest choice in the guide. The law here is mixed.

In the Food Lion case, the Fourth Circuit recognized that even consent gained by misrepresentation is sometimes sufficient ^[6]. But it also said consent to enter is canceled out if a wrongful act is done in excess of and in abuse of authorized entry ^[6].

The facts were stark. Two reporters had taken jobs at Food Lion. They went into areas of the stores not open to the public and secretly videotaped, which was adverse to the interests of their second employer ^[6].

The court sustained the jury's trespass verdict under North and South Carolina law ^[6]. That makes it a ruling on those states' law, not a nationwide rule ^[6]. The court affirmed damages of $2.00 for breach of the duty of loyalty and trespass ^[6].

The sum was small. The finding of liability is what matters for you.

Compare Desnick, described earlier. There the clinics were open to the public, and the employees did not interfere with the owner's possession ^[3]. Open areas and closed areas can lead to different results.

Can you follow police or paramedics onto private property?

An invitation from officials is not the same as consent from the people who live there. A Reporters Committee column describes a California appellate court that held a news crew could be liable for both trespass and invasion of privacy by intrusion ^[4]. The crew had been invited into an apartment by fire department paramedics, without the occupants' consent ^[4].

Get consent from the occupants too, not only from the officials ^[4].

Courts have sometimes gone the other way. PBS Standards says that where custom and practice allows reporters to follow emergency personnel onto private property, courts have found no trespass occurred ^[1]. That depends on local custom. Do not assume it covers your story.

The opinion below is background reading.

Document · Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School

Wilson v. Layne (U.S. Supreme Court, No. 98-83) - Opinion of the Court

Open at law.cornell.edu

Document from Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School. Open at law.cornell.edu. Content from law.cornell.edu loads only if you click.

What other laws apply on private property?

Permission to enter is only one layer. Recording rules sit on top of it.

The Reporters Committee says federal law requires the consent of at least one party before recording in-person, telephone or electronic conversations ^[7]. About 11 states primarily require all parties to consent ^[7]. Learn which kind of state you are in before you record.

The same source says it is generally legal to film a face-to-face interview when your camera is in plain view. It is also generally legal to record a conversation when the parties are warned and continue talking ^[7]. Keeping your camera visible and saying you are recording is the simplest habit.

Hidden cameras are another risk. Each state and the District of Columbia outlaws certain uses of hidden cameras in private places. Many of those laws are limited to attempts to record nudity ^[7].

Drones are not a workaround. PBS Standards says using drones or other remote cameras to capture footage on private property can be a form of intrusion upon seclusion ^[1].

What are the limits, and when should you call a lawyer?

Three limits shape everything above. First, press status is not a defense to trespass ^[1]. Second, the rules differ by state, as the Food Lion ruling and the all-party consent states show ^[6]. ^[7] Third, some sources here are dated. The Reporters Committee column comes from 2003, so check whether your state's rules have changed ^[4].

Talk to a media lawyer before you film somewhere you have been told not to enter. Talk to one before you try anything undercover. Call one fast if you are arrested, charged or threatened with a lawsuit. This guide cannot replace that advice.

A step-by-step checklist before you film

1. Work out where you stand. If you are unsure whether a place is private, assume it is ^[4].
2. If you can see the activity from a public street or sidewalk, you may photograph it from there ^[4].
3. To go inside, ask the person in possession of the property: the owner or the business ^[3].
4. In a store, ask about its filming rules. The owner may set them, including a ban ^[2].
5. Do not use a false identity or enter areas closed to the public to get footage. That conduct drew a trespass verdict in Food Lion ^[6].
6. Keep your camera in plain view and tell people when you record ^[7].
7. If someone with authority tells you to leave, note the name and withdraw ^[4].
8. Check your state's recording and trespass laws, and keep a lawyer's number handy ^[7].

If you report on your own, you can join the National Press Association and use its guides as one starting point. Read our guide to press credentials for independent reporters too. A credential helps you show who you are, but it gives you no right to enter private property.

If you need legal help, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press runs a Legal Hotline for journalists and media lawyers ^[8].