Who do we actually call to permit a shoot in Georgia?

The city or county where the location sits, and then separately any agency that owns the specific property. Larger jurisdictions have a film liaison and smaller ones handle it through a clerk or police department. The state Film Office maintains liaison contacts and will point you at the right desk, but it cannot issue the permit or tell you the limit — that is the jurisdiction’s to set.

We are shooting in six jurisdictions in two weeks. One policy or six certificates?

One policy, six certificates. The policy should be written at the highest limit any of them requires, with blanket additional insured wording so each jurisdiction can be named as its date approaches rather than requiring an endorsement each time. Producing six certificates from one policy is administration; producing six policies is a budget problem.

How does this compare to New York or Los Angeles?

It is the opposite of both. New York runs one central office with one rule and very precise paperwork. Los Angeles routes most of the region through FilmLA, with the limit varying by activity rather than by jurisdiction. Georgia has no centre at all, so the variation is geographic and you carry the burden of knowing where the lines are. A producer working all three should not assume anything learned in one applies in another.

What insurance does a film permit in Georgia require?

It depends entirely on which city or county you are standing in, because Georgia has no central permitting authority — the state Film Office issues no permits at all. A million in general liability naming the jurisdiction is the common floor, some jurisdictions require two, and a production moving across the metro can cross several sets of requirements in a single day. Atlanta itself has its own page, because the city’s requirements are specific and are not the state’s.

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The detail

Georgia’s state Film Office does not issue permits: "Permitting requirements are determined by local cities, counties, and state and federal agencies."
Georgia Department of Economic Development — Georgia Film Permits
The City of Atlanta requires a minimum of one million dollars of liability cover for a film permit, and states that it does not require workers compensation — which is not the case in every jurisdiction.
City of Atlanta — ATL311 knowledge base
A City of Atlanta permit may be required for filming on public property, street or sidewalk closures, night filming in residential areas with outdoor light, temporary structures, pyrotechnics or explosives, smoke, water or flame effects, display of real or artificial firearms, vehicle chases or crashes, dangerous stunts, and use of regulated wild animals.
City of Atlanta — Office of Film & Entertainment, Permitting

What this means for you

THERE IS NO STATE PERMIT, AND THIS IS THE FACT PRODUCTIONS GET WRONG. Georgia’s Film Office promotes the state and administers the tax credit; it does not permit shooting. Every location is a conversation with the city, the county, or the agency that owns the land, and each of them sets its own terms.
NEIGHBOURING JURISDICTIONS DISAGREE. A million is the usual floor and it is not universal — some Georgia jurisdictions require two, and the boundary between them is invisible from a location van. A unit move can change your insurance requirement without leaving the metro.
THE LIMIT IS NOT NEGOTIABLE WHERE IT IS SET BY STATUTE. Atlanta ties its requirement to the State Tort Claims Act rather than to a policy someone can vary, so there is no point asking. Budget for the highest limit on your schedule rather than the average.
BUY FOR THE WHOLE SCHEDULE, NOT PER LOCATION. Given the variation, the practical answer is one annual or production policy at the highest limit any jurisdiction on your schedule requires, with blanket additional insured wording that can name each of them as you go.
THE TAX CREDIT IS A SEPARATE PROCESS with its own requirements, and satisfying a permit office says nothing about satisfying the credit. Do not let one be treated as evidence for the other.
STATE AND FEDERAL LAND HAS ITS OWN RULES. Parks, historic sites and federal property are permitted by the agency that owns them, on their terms, and those terms are frequently stricter than the surrounding city’s.

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We do the filings, and we place the accounts other brokers decline — lapsed authority, claims history, new ventures. Tell us the situation and a licensed human replies the same business day.