Filming in the Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic has a 25% transferable tax credit, a broad crew base, and very different landscapes within a few hours’ drive. We line-produce international shoots here — music videos and commercials through to features and series — and handle what tends to complicate a shoot.
Why the Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic hosts studio features and series, and regularly commercials, music videos, branded and corporate content, and documentary, for productions out of the US, Europe, Canada and across Latin America. It works for a single-crew shoot as readily as a multi-unit feature.
The landscapes
Within a few hours’ drive: Caribbean beaches, a 16th-century colonial city, pine-forest mountains, sugarcane plains, semi-desert and salt flats, wetlands, rainforest, and a salt lake below sea level.
The incentive
A 25% transferable tax credit on qualifying local spend, with no per-project cap, plus an 18% VAT exemption.
The crew and infrastructure
More than fifteen years of continuous international production have built a bilingual crew base and a vendor network — camera, grip and lighting rental houses — concentrated around Santo Domingo.
Access and accommodation
Direct flights from major US, European and Canadian cities into three international airports. Accommodation from production-friendly city hotels to the resort corridors.
25%
transferable
tax credit
The Dominican Republic offers foreign productions a 25% transferable tax credit on qualifying in-country spend, with no per-project cap, plus an 18% VAT exemption — established under Law 108-10 and administered by the national film commission (DGCINE).
The credit is audit-based and runs through a registered local production company. Qualifying it requires budgeting discipline from the start of the project, not reconstruction after wrap. We structure spend to qualify and coordinate the application with DGCINE-approved legal and audit firms.
Full mechanics, eligibility and minimum spend – Dominican Republic film incentive
Permits
Every shoot in the Dominican Republic runs on one document: the Single Shooting Permit (PUR), issued by DGCINE. It’s mandatory and it’s the main permit: every other authorization depends on it — civil aviation for aerial work, customs for temporary equipment import, plus tourism, environment, municipal street closures and parking, and individual location permits.
DGCINE’s recommended lead time for the PUR is 15 days, and they often meet it, though it can run longer. Because every downstream permit waits on the PUR, your real calendar is the PUR plus whatever each institution after it takes. We recommend building 30 to 60 days for permitting, more for shoots with aerials, imported gear, or protected-area locations.
We manage the full chain — the PUR, every downstream authorization, and the institutional relationships behind each one, including the more complex ones: street closures, stunts, pyrotechnics, and aerial work.
Aerial work
Drone and aerial filming is regulated by the civil aviation authority (IDAC). It requires permits, and there are restricted zones — airports, military sites, government and critical infrastructure — with protected areas needing separate permission. We handle the authorizations.
Insurance
A local general-liability policy from a DR-recognized insurer is required for the permit — international cover on its own won’t satisfy it. We arrange the local policy alongside your existing production insurance.
Equipment
Production gear imports duty-free under a temporary regime tied to the PUR, and is re-exported at the end of the shoot.
Locations
Santo Domingo & the southeast
The production base. The Zona Colonial — the oldest European city in the Americas — stands in for colonial-era Latin America or Spain; modern Santo Domingo brings city, port and industrial looks. The same region holds the Juan Dolio–La Romana coast, Bayahíbe, and the Punta Cana corridor.
Samaná & the northeast
Jungle-backed beaches, the El Limón waterfall, the karst islets and mangroves of Los Haitises, and the bay where humpback whales winter from January to March.
The Cibao & the mountains
Pine-forested highlands around Jarabacoa and Constanza that read as the Andes or rural Europe, beneath Pico Duarte — the Caribbean’s highest peak. Santiago anchors the region with secondary-city looks.
The southwest
Semi-desert around Azua and Barahona, salt flats, the coast of Bahía de las Águilas, and Lake Enriquillo — below sea level and ringed by cactus. Remote and rarely filmed.
Crew & Equipment
Crew
More than fifteen years of continuous international production have built a technical base — grips, electrics, ACs, sound, art department, locations and production staff who have worked studio features and episodic television. Bilingual key crew is standard on our shoots, so you won’t be hiring a translator for every department. Highly specialized department heads are occasionally imported, though that gap narrows every year.
Equipment
Camera, grip and lighting packages come from established local rental houses, so standard builds don’t need carnets or freight. Specialty gear that isn’t on the island imports duty-free under the temporary regime above.
Logistics
Getting here
Direct flights from New York, Miami, Madrid, Toronto and other major hubs into Santo Domingo (SDQ), Punta Cana (PUJ) and Santiago (STI). We run ground transport, including moving heavy gear between units.
Accommodation
From production-friendly city hotels in Santo Domingo to the resort corridors — a range that scales from a small crew to a full unit.
Safety & security
Set medics, location risk assessments, and security arranged to the demands of each site.
Climate
Tropical year-round. Hurricane season runs June to November, with peak risk August to October; productions shoot through it, and weather contingency belongs in the schedule.
Currency & language
Dominican peso; qualifying spend is documented in pesos. We budget in your funding currency and manage the exposure. The language is Spanish, with bilingual production staff for work with international crews.
Working with Cinergy
We’re the local production company that runs the shoot and manages what surrounds it — the budget, the permits, the incentive, the crew, the logistics. We give you the real lead time, the real cost, and the real risk before you commit.
What we handle
Feasibility and budgeting in your currency, built from local rates we actually pay — including an honest fly-in-versus-local call on each department head
Permits and compliance — the PUR and every downstream authorization
Incentive coordination with DGCINE-approved legal and audit firms
Immigration, crew structuring and content guidance — work authorizations, labor terms, and any location or script sensitivities, advised per project
Crew and vendors — bilingual keys, registered suppliers, equipment packages
Locations and logistics — scouting, transport, accommodation, contingency
Production and line producing, from a two-person crew to a multi-unit feature
More than fifteen years across film, television, branded content, documentary and music video, for international labels, networks and brands.
Questions
Do I need a permit to film in the Dominican Republic?
Yes — the Single Shooting Permit (PUR) from DGCINE is mandatory, and it’s the document every other authorization depends on. We handle it.
What is the Dominican Republic film incentive?
A 25% transferable tax credit on qualifying local spend, plus an 18% VAT exemption, under Law 108-10. Full detail on our Dominican Republic film incentive page.
Do I need local insurance?
Yes — a local general-liability policy from a DR-recognized insurer is required for the shooting permit. We arrange it alongside your existing production coverage.
Can I bring my own equipment?
Yes — production gear imports duty-free under a temporary regime tied to your shooting permit, and is re-exported at the end. Standard packages are available locally, so most shoots skip carnets and freight entirely.
Do I need a local production company?
For the tax credit, effectively yes — qualifying spend has to run through a registered Dominican entity. That’s the role we play.
When is the best time to shoot?
Year-round. December to May offers the most stable weather; June to November is hurricane season — productions shoot through it, with contingency built in.
More questions? Get in touch.