Great news!!! I have a Child Performer Services Permit and can officially photograph minors under the age of 18!
Very few people are aware that anyone working with any artist, model or performer who is under 18 years old in the state of California for a fee in must have a Child Performer Services Permit. This includes managers, acting coaches, publicists, and photographers. The penalty for not having this permit is punishable by a year in county jail and a $10,000 fine! The law, AB 1660, states that anyone who works with child actors in the state must be fingerprinted and pass an FBI background check. “AB 1660, prohibits registered sex offenders from “representing or providing specified services to artists or performers under 18 years of age.” Fingerprints and FBI background checks are required to ensure that registered sex offenders don’t skirt the law by working under assumed names.”
I got a little bit nervous after I went to the Sherriff’s office to get fingerprinted because the results came back and said I had to get fingerprinted again for the FBI. When I returned, the Sheriffs told me that many of the recent fingerprint results had been refused by the FBI so it wasn’t just me. On an interesting note the Department of Homeland Defense was perfectly fine with my first set!
As it turns out there’s several photographers on the “Approved List” for an LA Based Modeling Agency who do not have this permit! To make sure that your chosen photographer has this permit, you can search the database: Search Child Performer Services Permit
