How to submit an original document from 5,000+ miles away

April 26, 2013 11:59 AM

I'm a photographer, and next Thursday I'm planning to shoot a fashion editorial in San Francisco. Being a smart cookie, I want to get a permit to shoot so that I don't get stopped, or arrested or, well, anything else nasty. But apparently I must submit the documents in person. What, if anything, can I do?

I know that I'm cutting things close to the wire here - I only made the decision to shoot in SF earlier this week. I've checked out the permitting process on FilmSF.org and the permit application process is pretty straightforward (and cheap, too, at just $100 p/d for a small stills shoot).

I can (and have) filled in a permit application and I can send it for preliminary approval by email - that's all easy enough. The problem is this part of the above page:

Filming in San Francisco requires the submission of a Use Agreement (pdf). All paperwork must be received in its original form, no less than 72 hours prior to filming. Emailed and faxed Use Agreements will not be approved.

Since I was planning to shoot Thursday, that would mean that I'd have to submit the paperwork no later than Monday. But given that I'm in the UK until Wednesday, that's problematic.

I do have friends in the Bay Area, but given that the paperwork has to be signed by me, that's not exactly practical either.

Does anyone have any suggestions? I could just wing it and shoot without the permit - I'm not going to be using a whole lot of equipment anyway because I wanted to keep this a low-key, simple shoot with natural light. But I'd like to stay on the right side of the law.

posted by gmb to Media & Arts (8 answers total)

Can you print and sign the documents, then scan and email them to your friends to submit?
posted by Eicats at 12:01 PM on April 26, 2013

Fedex International Priority? Looks like, if you ship now, you can have it in SF by noon localtime Monday for about 40 pounds sterling, either delivered to your friends or possibly straight to the Film Commission.
posted by hanov3r at 12:12 PM on April 26, 2013

Best answer: I would contact the SF permit people and explain the timing/location situation and ask if you could submit copies of the paperwork now and bring the originals to them on Wednesday. They may be totally fine with this under the circumstances, despite what the website says. If they are at all reasonable, they shouldn't want to make it difficult for you to pay them. They may also say that a friend's signature on your behalf would be OK (you could offer to sign a short limited power of attorney allowing your friend to sign for you).
posted by payoto at 12:12 PM on April 26, 2013

Response by poster: Addendum (because I didn't make it clear; sorry Eicats). The permit application form itself says:

2A) Also send the entire document with original signature (located on page 6). We suggest using a service which offers
tracking. Final permit approval requires an original signature.

@hanov3r: The local Fedex offices are closed now. I could try in the morning.

@payoto:

I would contact the SF permit people and explain the timing/location situation and ask if you could submit copies of the paperwork now and bring the originals to them on Wednesday. They may be totally fine with this under the circumstances, despite what the website says. If they are at all reasonable, they shouldn't want to make it difficult for you to pay them. They may also say that a friend's signature on your behalf would be OK (you could offer to sign a short limited power of attorney allowing your friend to sign for you).

Actually, that's a fair point - hey, I could just email them and take advantage of the fact that it's only noon in SF. I'll do that now (and stop threadsitting; sorry folks).
posted by gmb at 12:15 PM on April 26, 2013

Filming in San Francisco requires the submission of a Use Agreement (pdf). All paperwork must be received in its original form, no less than 72 hours prior to filming. Emailed and faxed Use Agreements will not be approved.

It says it must be received in it's original form, not that it has to be submitted by the applicant. Do you have someone on the ground in SF? Because I'd have them walk the application in Monday morning, either having signed your name to the completed PDF you send them, or using them own credentials to apply.
posted by DarlingBri at 12:38 PM on April 26, 2013

You could try hiring someone to handle it via MeFi jobs - would probably be cheaper than FedEx.
posted by exogenous at 1:46 PM on April 26, 2013

Best answer: TaskRabbit is becoming increasingly popular in SF for handling random tasks; you could find someone there to help out.
posted by asphericalcow at 2:34 PM on April 26, 2013 [2 favorites]

Best answer: Honestly, can't you just have a friend in San Fransisco forge your signature? I mean, you would sign it if you were in the area. They aren't claiming you to have signed something you don't want to sign. Just send them a picture of your signature and ask them to copy it. I'm not sure why it would matter whether you physically signed it or not. In a bind, I've definitely had friends just sign stuff for me.
posted by AppleTurnover at 4:46 PM on April 26, 2013 [1 favorite]