The filming permit
All filming in Jordan runs through the Royal Film Commission. We prepare the application, the synopsis and the location list, and follow it through the RFC and the governorate.
Filming at the Dead Sea
The lowest point on earth, an hour from the office.
Four hundred metres below sea level: still turquoise water, white salt formations, desert mountains behind — and a strip of five-star hotels that makes it the easiest unit base in Jordan. This page covers the permits, the salt, the heat and the seasons.
The location
A landscape that reads as another planet at water level
Commercials, fashion campaigns, documentaries and features come here for what nowhere else offers: salt-crusted shorelines, mineral flats, water so dense that talent visibly floats on it, and the haze-softened light of the deepest place on the planet's surface. Wadi Mujib's canyon and the Ma'in hot springs are minutes away when the story needs moving water.
About an hour from Amman by motorway. The hotel strip at the northern shore takes a full unit without a single trailer.
Permits & clearances
A border area. The permit knows it, and so do we.
The border layer
The Dead Sea sits on a border, so shoots here carry an additional security clearance. It is routine when it is filed properly and early — that is our job, not yours.
Aerials
Drone work over a border area is the most restricted kind in Jordan and is cleared case by case. We tell you what your shot list realistically allows before you build the storyboard around it.
Allow two to three working weeks. Start the paperwork before you book flights, not after.
On the ground
Salt, heat and altitude below zero — all manageable, all planned
Protecting the kit and the crew
- Salt water and mineral haze corrode — gear near the water is protected, rinsed, rotated
- Rinse stations for talent working in the water, scheduled into the day
- Heat management is real: shade, water and rest cycles are produced, not improvised
- Full crew and equipment come down from Amman in an hour
The easiest base in Jordan
- Five-star hotels on the shore — rooms, catering and green rooms in one place
- Private hotel beaches double as controllable shooting areas
- Day-trip distance from Amman, so the unit can also commute
- Pairs naturally with Wadi Rum and Petra on one schedule
Seasons
Jordan's warm-winter location
- October to April is prime — mild, workable days here while the highlands are cold.
- Winter is the Dead Sea's quiet advantage: when Amman is in coats, the shore is in shirtsleeves.
- Midsummer regularly passes 40°C — shootable at dawn and dusk, hard at midday.
- Rain days are rare, but heavy rain can close the wadi canyons for flash-flood safety.
Worth knowing
Your Dead Sea spend counts toward Jordan's cash rebate
The Royal Film Commission's rebate returns 25% to 45% of qualifying spend inside Jordan to international productions. What you spend on hotels, crew, transport and services at the Dead Sea qualifies. We assess your project against the points system and handle the paperwork.
How the rebate works →Questions producers ask
The Dead Sea, answered straight
How long does the permit take?
It is a border area, so the permit carries an extra security layer — allow two to three working weeks. We confirm the realistic timeline for your dates before you lock a schedule.
When should we shoot?
October to April. This is Jordan's warm-winter location — mild shore days while the highlands are cold. Midsummer compresses the day to mornings and evenings.
Does the salt damage gear?
Only when it isn't planned for. Anything near the water is protected, rinsed and rotated, and water work is scheduled around rinse stations. Planned in, it stops being a problem.