Photography Rules in Morocco

This is not a photography rule so much as an access rule. The Koutoubia Mosque in Marrakech, the Qarawiyyin Mosque in Fes (the world's oldest continuously operating university-mosque), and the Tinmel Mosque in the High Atlas are all closed to non-Muslim visitors. You will find their ornate doors and tiled exteriors are fully accessible to photograph from the street, and the minarets are visible from almost everywhere in the medina.

The Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca is the clear exception: it opens to non-Muslims on guided tours (typically running several times per day except Friday mornings). The 210-metre minaret, retractable roof, and ocean-view prayer hall are all photographable during those visits — it is worth the detour.

Moroccan law recognises the right to one's own image. Photographing someone and using that image commercially — or sharing it publicly in a way that causes embarrassment — can technically constitute a legal violation. In tourist practice, this mostly means exercising basic respect: ask before you shoot, and accept a refusal without argument.

In Jemaa el-Fna in Marrakech, the situation is more transactional. The Gnaoua musicians, snake charmers, and acrobats actively solicit cameras. Once they see you raising a lens, they will wave you over — and then expect 20–50 MAD in return. This is an understood arrangement, not a scam. Pay willingly, and the resulting portraits are usually excellent.

In residential medina alleys and smaller towns, the calculus shifts. Older Moroccan women in particular often decline to be photographed, sometimes for religious reasons, sometimes simply out of preference. Children are frequently photographed by tourists and parents generally tolerate it, but photographing a child without parental awareness feels intrusive and is best avoided. A general-scene frame that includes people incidentally is far less fraught than a close-up portrait of an individual who has not acknowledged your camera.

Under Moroccan law, photographing military installations, police stations, royal palaces, and border posts is prohibited and considered a security violation. The royal palaces in Marrakech, Fes, Meknes, and Rabat all have imposing external walls and ceremonial gates — and all have guards who will step forward if you point a camera at the gate rather than along the street facade. You can photograph the general street scene in front of a palace without issue; zooming in on the guards or the gate itself is where problems start.

At border crossings and airports, put your camera away entirely and only photograph with explicit permission. At military checkpoints in the south (you will encounter these on desert routes), treat them as you would a police stop — be polite, keep your hands visible, and do not photograph the checkpoint itself even if soldiers seem relaxed.

The Centre Cinématographique Marocain (CCM) issues permits for commercial filming in Morocco. The process involves submitting a script or shoot plan, production company documentation, and obtaining location-specific clearance for certain sites. Major productions — films, TV commercials, branded travel content — go through this process and Morocco has a thriving film commission precisely because Ouarzazate, the so-called "Hollywood of Africa", has hosted Game of Thrones, Gladiator, and dozens of other productions.

For individual content creators — travel bloggers, YouTube vloggers, Instagram photographers — the line is blurry. Filming your own holiday in 4K with a gimbal for a personal channel is treated the same as taking photos in practice; nobody will stop you. If the content is explicitly commercial (paid partnerships, ads, clients), technically a CCM permit is required, but enforcement against individual creators operating without a crew is rare. The situations most likely to attract attention are: large productions with visible equipment, filming inside heritage sites or national parks, or shooting scenes that involve directing Moroccan residents as actors.

A private guided tour is the most reliable way to navigate filming permissions in complex sites — your guide knows which locations have strict enforcement and which heritage site managers are more relaxed about cameras.