Filming in Knoxville: Permits, Insurance & Drone Planning

There are a few things about filming in Knoxville that are easy to miss until you’re planning an actual production. A city location may require paperwork and insurance. A drone flight on UT property involves a separate approval process. And the airspace needs its own review.

Working through a recent documentary project brought several of those details into focus for me. I’m sharing the resources here so other crews, producers and drone pilots have a better starting point.

Last reviewed: October 20, 2026.

Filming on City of Knoxville Property

Visit Knoxville’s published guidance requires media productions using, accessing or blocking City of Knoxville public property to submit the film permit form and a certificate of insurance five days before production. This includes streets, sidewalks, alleys, parks and buildings.

The published insurance requirement is $2 million, with the City of Knoxville named as additional insured. The certificate must include the production’s name, dates and locations.

A few details to check:

• The guidance says five days. It does not specify business days.
• It does not list a minimum crew size or equipment threshold.
• The permit form does not list a base application fee, but some city services carry charges.

If you’re working with a small crew, describe your setup to the film office and ask what applies.

Start with Visit Knoxville’s filming guidance and the Television & Film Permit Form. The form lists film@knoxville.org as the film office contact.

These are City of Knoxville property requirements. UT, private property, Maryville and Alcoa may involve different processes.

Drone Flights Need a Separate Airspace Check

For drone work, I start with the exact location, proposed flight area, altitude and date.

Downtown Island Airport and McGhee Tyson are part of the local planning picture. The answer for one Knoxville location may be different from another, and a flight around Maryville or Alcoa needs its own review.

Check the actual boundaries and requirements for the entire flight. A city name, nearby airport or colored area on an app is only a starting point.

These resources are useful:

• FAA “Visualize It” map: Examine FAA map data and relevant layers around your location.
• FAA UAS Facility Map guidance: Understand what the grid values mean.
• FAA B4UFLY provider list: Find applications for airspace awareness.
• FAA guidance on flying near airports: Review airspace authorization procedures.

Keep ground access separate from airspace authorization. Permission to use a location does not provide FAA authorization, and FAA authorization does not give you permission to use someone’s property.

What Is LAANC?

LAANC stands for Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability, pronounced “lance.”

It lets drone pilots request FAA airspace authorization through approved applications at participating locations. Eligible requests within published UAS Facility Map limits can receive approval in near real time.

Opening an airspace app and checking the map is not the same as obtaining authorization. Submit the request, receive approval and read its conditions before flying.

Part 107 pilots can also request further coordination through LAANC for flights above published grid values, up to 400 feet above ground level, where supported. Those requests require additional review, and approval is not guaranteed.

If LAANC is unavailable or does not support your request, review the appropriate process through FAA DroneZone.

The FAA’s LAANC guidance explains the available options.

Airspace Grid Heights & Downtown Buildings

In an app such as Aloft Air Control, you’ll see UAS Facility Map grids labeled with numbers such as 100 or 200. Those values are expressed in feet above ground level, or AGL. They help with airspace authorization planning.

The grid itself is not permission to fly. Your actual authorization establishes the approved altitude and operating conditions.

This matters around downtown buildings. If your authorization limits you to 100 feet AGL, that does not mean 100 feet above a nearby rooftop. A building does not become your new ground level.

The Sunsphere is a useful example. The city lists it as 266 feet tall. If your authorization at that location limits you to 200 feet AGL, it would not allow you to fly above the Sunsphere. You would need approval covering the higher altitude before making that flight.

Part 107 includes a structure provision allowing flight above the usual 400-foot AGL limit when the drone stays within a 400-foot radius of a structure and no more than 400 feet above its immediate uppermost point. That provision does not override an airspace authorization’s altitude limit. It is also not a general allowance for recreational flying.

Check the current grid and airspace boundaries at the exact location rather than relying on a remembered number or an old screenshot.

Filming at World’s Fair Park

World’s Fair Park, home to the Sunsphere, is a useful example of why location planning involves more than checking an airspace app.

For a production using the park, start with the City of Knoxville filming requirements above. Also contact the World’s Fair Park & Volunteer Landing Events Office at 865-215-8160 to confirm whether your setup requires additional park permission or scheduling. Describe your crew, equipment, proposed launch location and whether you need any area reserved.

The park has separate procedures for events and certain commercial activities, and scheduled events can affect access. Confirm what applies to your production rather than assuming either that the park is unrestricted or that every camera requires an event rental.

For drone work, park access and FAA airspace authorization remain separate. Check both before flying.

If you plan to film from the Sunsphere observation deck, review its separate filming request, booking and insurance requirements.

Helicopter Awareness Around Downtown Knoxville

Helicopter awareness belongs in the planning for downtown drone flights, including locations such as World’s Fair Park.

Nearby hospital heliports include UT Medical Center and Children’s Hospital. Consider arriving and departing aircraft when planning your flight, and don’t assume helicopters will always follow one predictable route.

An airspace authorization does not reserve the sky for your drone. Drone operators must give way to crewed aircraft and avoid interfering with their operations.

I recommend an aviation-band scanner as an additional source of awareness when you understand the frequencies and calls you’re monitoring. A quiet frequency does not mean the area is clear. Not every aircraft will necessarily make a call on the frequency you’re listening to.

Keep watching and listening throughout the flight. Buildings can obstruct your view of approaching aircraft, so choose your operating position carefully. Brief anyone assisting with the flight and establish a safe landing or avoidance plan before launch.

Flying a Drone on UT’s Knoxville Campus

UT has its own approval process for drone operations on university property.

The university’s current guidance says outside operators need a university sponsor. When the flight is on behalf of a UT entity, the appropriate university representative should submit the approval form.

Requests must be submitted at least seven days before the proposed operation. Operators are also instructed to keep a copy of their campus approval with them during use.

If your production involves campus property, start that conversation early. Identifying the appropriate sponsor is part of the planning.

Read UT’s current drone procedures and approval information before submitting a request.

Check Game-Day Restrictions

A location that works on one date may be restricted on another.

Qualifying NCAA Division I football games are covered by the FAA’s stadium flight restriction. That matters when planning around Neyland Stadium, and the restricted area extends beyond the stadium itself.

Use the FAA’s stadium restriction guidance, including its linked event-monitoring tool, and check current FAA TFR information for your flight.

University permission and routine airspace authorization should not be treated as permission to operate within an applicable temporary flight restriction.

Documents & Equipment I Recommend Carrying

For a Part 107 production flight, I recommend keeping the relevant documents together and available at the location. Some are required; others help you explain and manage the operation without searching through emails.

• Remote Pilot Certificate and photo ID. Keep your Part 107 certificate readily accessible during operations, along with appropriate identification.
• Proof of aeronautical knowledge currency. Keep your applicable initial test documentation or most recent recurrent training completion certificate. Recurrent training maintains your currency; it is not a replacement pilot card.
• Aircraft registration certificate. Carry the certificate for each drone you’ll operate. You can access your registration through FAA DroneZone. The FAA accepts a paper or digital copy and requires it to be in your possession when flying.
• Airspace authorizations. Keep the complete approval, including its operating area, dates, times, altitude limits and conditions. If you received approval above the normal grid value, carry that approval too. Follow the authorization that actually covers the flight.
• Applicable waivers. Carry the full waiver and its provisions for any operation relying on it. Know which aircraft, personnel and procedures it covers, and make sure the flight meets those conditions.
• Location permissions and permits. Keep city permits, UT approval, property permission and relevant contact details available.
• Insurance documentation. Bring the appropriate certificate of insurance and any additional-insured documentation required for the location or production.
• Preflight checklist and flight plan. Have a checklist suited to your aircraft and operation, plus the planned flight area, landing options and emergency contacts.
• Aviation-band scanner. Use it as supplemental awareness, as described above, while maintaining visual observation.
• A way to keep your documents accessible. A charged phone or tablet, backup power and printed copies of critical approvals can prevent an avoidable problem.

The FAA’s pilot certification guidance and registration guidance explain those requirements.

If your paperwork is digital, download it before leaving. Screenshots are useful for quick reference, but save the complete documents so you don’t lose conditions or additional pages. Don’t rely on having cell service or being able to log into an account at the location.

A saved map is a planning reference. It does not replace checking current restrictions before the flight.

Use a Preflight Checklist

Having a checklist in your bag only helps if you use it.

Before launch, check the aircraft, propellers, batteries, control link and applicable Remote ID operation. Review weather, visibility, airspace, restrictions, people, vehicles and nearby obstacles.

Check the home point, lost-link response and return-to-home settings against the location and authorized altitude. A return-to-home climb needs to account for both obstacles and the limits of your approval.

Brief anyone assisting with the flight on their role, how to report approaching aircraft and when to stop the operation.

Part 107 requires a preflight assessment and checks. A written checklist is a practical way to make them repeatable, although a particular waiver or authorization may impose additional procedures.

The FAA includes a sample preflight checklist in Advisory Circular 107-2A.

What to Have Ready Before Production Day

Start with the exact location, date, intended footage and proposed flight area. Confirm who controls the property and work through the permissions, insurance and airspace requirements early.

Have an alternative if the planned flight cannot proceed. That might mean another angle, a different date or ground-based coverage.

Working through those details gives everyone a more realistic idea of what can be captured and how much preparation is needed.

I’m Philip A. Young, a Maryville-based camera operator, Part 107 remote pilot and FAA Safety Team DronePro volunteer. This is an independently prepared local planning guide, with links to the organizations responsible for the requirements.

If you’re planning a production in Knoxville or East Tennessee, tell me about the project. Send the location, dates and intended footage so we can start with the details that affect the plan.