Consent Forms for NGO Filming: What to Include (with Template)

Most NGO consent forms were written years ago, run to two dense pages of English, and ask people to agree to “any use, in any media, in perpetuity”. They get signed in a hurry at the end of a long field day and filed where nobody can find them.

A good filming consent form is short, read aloud in a language the person understands, names the uses you actually have in mind, and tells people how to change their mind. This post sets out what to include and gives a plain-language template you can adapt. For the wider process around the form (preparing communities, filming with dignity, safeguarding on the day), see our field guide to ethical storytelling and consent in Kenya.

This is practical guidance, not legal advice. If your organisation is unsure how the law applies to a particular project, speak to your data protection officer or a lawyer.

The form records consent; it does not create it

Bond’s updated NGO guidance, Putting the people in the pictures first (2024), calls consent “a process that requires meaningful dialogue” and puts it bluntly: “If it isn’t informed, it isn’t consent!” A signature on a page the contributor could not read proves very little.

Kenya’s Data Protection Act, 2019 defines consent as an “express, unequivocal, free, specific and informed indication” of a person’s wishes, and section 32 places the burden of proving it on the organisation. Your form is the evidence that the conversation happened and covered the right ground.

What Kenyan data protection rules expect

A recognisable face, voice and name are personal data, so filming is data collection. Four provisions shape the form:

• Tell people before you collect. Section 29 requires a data controller, before collecting personal data and as far as practicable, to tell people that data is being collected and why.
• Be specific about purpose. Section 30 allows processing with consent “for one or more specified purposes”, and further processing must be in line with the purpose of collection. A vague “any use” clause sits uneasily with this.
• Allow withdrawal. Section 32(2) gives people the right to withdraw consent at any time, unless the Act provides otherwise.
• Take care with sensitive details. The Act’s definition of sensitive personal data includes health status, ethnic social origin, belief, sex, and family details such as the names of a person’s children, parents or spouse. Stories about health, faith or family often touch these.

The Office of the Data Protection Commissioner (ODPC) has also published guidance notes on consent and, in 2025, on publishing recorded media. The recorded media note says organisations relying on consent should obtain express consent before taking photographs, and that a consent form should be separate from a registration form and set out who the organisation is, the purposes, the data involved and how it will be processed. Signing someone in for a training session and asking them to appear in a film are different requests.

A plain-language filming consent form: the template

Treat the structure below as a starting point, not a finished legal document. Adapt it, have it translated, and ask your own adviser to review it before use.

Section	What to include
1. Who is asking	The organisation (and production company, if any), the project, and a phone number the person can use later.
2. What we are making	One or two sentences: “We are making a short film about [topic] to show [audience] how [programme] works.”
3. What we will record	Tick boxes: video, photographs, interview, name, village or town. Record only what you need.
4. Where it will be used	A tick box for each use: website, social media, donor reports, fundraising appeals, events or television, print, named partners. People can say yes to some and no to others.
5. How you will be identified	Options: full name; first name only; a different name; face shown; face hidden or voice disguised; location named; location not named.
6. Sensitive details	A specific question about anything sensitive in the story, such as health, faith or family, and whether the person is content for it to be mentioned.
7. How long	An end date or review date for using the material, after which it will be retired or consent asked for again.
8. Changing your mind	How to withdraw, who to contact, and an honest note of what can and cannot be undone once material is published.
9. No effect on support	A clear statement that taking part, or saying no, will not affect any services or support the person receives.
10. Confirmation	“This form was read to me in [language] by [name]. I understood it and I agree.” Signature or mark, printed name, date, place.
11. Interpreter and witness	Name and signature of the interpreter or person who read the form aloud, and of a witness where useful.
12. For children	Parent or guardian details and signature, relationship to the child, and a separate line recording the child’s own agreement in their own words.
13. Office use	A form reference matching the footage file names, the shoot date and any restrictions.

Model wording for the clauses that matter most

• Purpose: “We would like to film you talking about your work with the farmers’ group. The film will be used to explain the project to supporters and donors.”
• Choice: “You do not have to take part. If you say no, you will still receive the same support from us.”
• Withdrawal: “You can change your mind at any time by calling [number]. We will stop using the film in any new materials and remove it from our website and social media as soon as we can. We cannot recall printed copies that have already been handed out.”

Filming children: two consents, not one

Under the Children Act, 2022, a child is anyone under eighteen. Section 33 of the Data Protection Act says personal data relating to a child may only be processed with the consent of the child’s parent or guardian, and in a way that protects and advances the child’s rights and best interests. The ODPC’s 2025 guidance asks for “verifiable informed consent” from the parent or guardian, who should be told how an identifiable image of their child will be used, online or in print.

The parent’s signature is not the end of it. The Children Act gives children the right to express their views on matters affecting them, given due weight according to age and maturity, and Bond suggests involving children in the conversation from around seven or eight. If a child is unwilling, do not film them, whatever the adult has signed.

Bond also describes a “triangle of risk”: never combine more than one of a child’s recognisable face, real full name and exact location. Build that into section 5 of the form, and retire or renew consent for images of children after three years or when the child turns eighteen, whichever comes first.

Language, literacy and recording verbal consent

Bond’s guidance is clear that information must be shared in a language the contributor understands, that an interpreter must be arranged where the interviewer does not share that language, and that consent forms should be translated. Prepare the Kiswahili version and any other languages you need before the shoot, and have a native speaker check that it reads naturally.

Where literacy is a barrier, read the form aloud and record who did so. Bond accepts a signed form, a video recording of verbal consent or a consent app, provided the evidence shows the required information was shared. A short on-camera exchange in the contributor’s own language is often the clearest record of all. For groups, Bond accepts a show of hands or a group form, but recommends individual consent for anyone in a sensitive situation.

Withdrawal and expiry

The ODPC’s recorded media guidance explains what the right to withdraw means in practice: withdrawal does not make earlier lawful use unlawful, but use based on consent must stop, and photographs already on social media should be pulled down as soon as possible. Bond adds that organisations should make all reasonable efforts to remove images from circulation, while being honest that printed materials are harder to recall.

A clear end date helps. Bond notes that consent “in perpetuity” is not supported under UK data protection law and gives five years as an example expiry period. Write the period on the form and in your asset library so that nobody reuses a clip long after the person in it has moved on.

Storing the forms

Consent forms contain personal details, so they need the same protection as the footage. Bond recommends that the evidence should not be open to everyone who uses the content: editors need to know that consent exists, when it was given and what restrictions apply, not the contributor’s phone number. A form reference that matches the footage file names solves most of this. Keep the records for as long as you use the material, and review them at the expiry date.

Our ethical storytelling policy sets out how we handle consent, children and personal data, and our NGO video production page explains how we work with programme and communications teams.

Frequently asked questions

Is a verbal consent recording as valid as a signed filming consent form?

Bond’s 2024 guidance accepts a video recording of verbal consent as evidence, alongside signed forms and consent apps, provided it shows the required information was shared. Under Kenya’s Data Protection Act the organisation must be able to prove consent, so the recording should be kept securely and linked to the footage.

Do we need a parent’s consent to film a 16-year-old in Kenya?

Yes. The Children Act, 2022 defines a child as anyone under eighteen, and section 33 of the Data Protection Act requires the consent of a parent or guardian before processing a child’s personal data. The young person’s own views should also be sought and respected.

Can someone withdraw consent after the film is published?

Yes. Section 32 of the Data Protection Act gives a right to withdraw consent at any time. Earlier lawful use is not made unlawful, but consent-based use should stop and online material should be taken down as soon as possible. Printed copies already distributed are usually impossible to recall, and the form should say so.

Can one form cover every future use of the footage?

It should not. Kenyan law ties consent to specified purposes, and NGO guidance warns against open-ended consent. List the actual uses, set an expiry date, and ask again before using footage for something new.

Afrovo Studios is a Nairobi-based video production company working across East Africa, making documentaries, campaign films and corporate video for NGOs, conservation organisations and brands. Get in touch to talk about your next project.