Feature films must have a $1,000,000 minimum budget and a 75 minute runtime. Features can include films and live productions made for TV and streaming platforms.

New television projects that qualified for the program before July 1, 2025 (Program 3.0) must have a $1,000,000 budget per episode and a minimum runtime of 40 minutes per episode. Miniseries must include at least two episodes.

New live-action and animated TV pilots and series qualifying for the program after July 1, 2025 must have a $1,000,000 budget per episode and a minimum runtime of 20 minutes per episode.

Projects must film at least 75% of principal photography days wholly in California OR 75% of the production budget must be incurred and used for goods, services and/or wages within California.

A Diversity Tracking and Unlawful Harassment Policy is required.

Applicants receiving a credit allocation letter (CAL) are required to make a financial contribution to a Pilot Career Pathways Training Program. This contribution must be 0.50% of the estimated tax credit allocation, as verified on the CAL. The contribution must be made within 10 business days after the CAL date. 

The Out-Of-Zone Bonus: Non-independent feature films and all television projects (except for relocating TV) may receive an additional 5% bump for qualified expenditures related to original photography outside the Los Angeles Zone, from pre-production through strike.

Eligible expenses include qualified wages paid for services performed outside the Zone, items purchased or leased and used exclusively outside the Zone, and a prorated amount of items purchased or leased outside the Zone and used both outside and inside the Zone.

VFX Bonus: Non-independent feature films and all television projects (except for relocating TV) may receive an additional 5% bump for qualified visual effects expenditures. To be eligible, the VFX work in CA must represent either 75% or more of the total worldwide VFX expenditures or a minimum of $10 million in qualified California VFX expenditures. 

The Local Hire Labor Bonus: All non-independent and independent projects (except for relocating TV series) are eligible to receive an additional 10% tax credit for qualified wages paid to CA residents who reside outside the LA Zone, for work performed outside the LA Zone.

Relocating TV series are eligible to receive an additional 5% tax credit for such wages.

Career Pathways Trainee Bonus: Beginning on January 1, 2026 productions that hire trainees from the Career Pathways Trainee pilot program can receive a bonus of up to 2%. Qualifying productions can receive a 0.5% bump for each trainee hired, for up to 4 trainees total.

Bonuses cannot be combined.

The application process goes as follows: 

Phase I: Eligible productions apply for tax credits.
Phase II: Applications with the highest-ranked Jobs Ratios submit required documentation.
Phase III: Credit Allocation Letters (CALs) are issued for approved projects.
Phase IV: Projects with CALs enter Phase IV upon the start of principal photography, wrap, post-production, and the audit process.
Phase V: Once the audit process is completed, a Tax Credit Certificate is issued. Projects that rank in the top 200% will be notified to submit Phase II documents. A project’s Jobs Ratio is determined based on a mathematical equation using qualifying wages, qualified non-wage expenditures, the expected credit amount and "bonus points."  

Applications must be submitted online during specific allocation periods depending on project type:

For television series new, relocating, pilot, limited, and recurring:
Application: July 7 – 9, 2025

For independent & non-independent feature films:
Application: August 25 – 27, 2025

*The project cap of $54,000,000 is based upon a maximum credit on the maximum amount of qualified expenditures allowed for most projects: $120,000,000. Independent films are allowed a maximum of $20,000,000 in qualified expenditures.

Beginning on July 1, 2025, both independents and non-independent productions may elect to receive a refundable tax credit. The election to utilize the refundability option must be made in the first taxable year in which the tax credit certificate is issued to the applicant. Refundability is not an option for an applicant allocated credits under any previous iteration of the program. Once the election has been made, tax credits will be refunded over five years including the year of election. The total amount of tax credits an applicant may elect to make refundable is 90% of the certified tax credit amount that exceeds the applicants CA tax liability in the first taxable year.

Productions that qualify for Program 4.0 must meet the requirements of the Safety in Motion Picture Productions Program in order to receive a tax credit. This includes hiring a safety advisor for California filming activities who will perform risk assessments and complete a final safety evaluation report.

Background performers (extras), stand-ins, and off-camera stunt personnel DO qualify for credits.

The Qualified Expenditure Charts and Expenditure Tracking Tips are available at https://www.film.ca.gov

Productions must begin principal photography within 180 days of receipt of the CAL. Approved projects with a qualified expenditure budget of $120M or more have 240 days to begin filming.