Following 30 days of employment as a Costumer at a signatory (union) costume house, an employee is eligible to apply for membership in MPC 705. They may also apply at the same time to be placed on the Industry Experience Roster (IER). (Application to the IER is not mandatory for continued employment at the costume house, however this will limit job opportunities to only independent costume houses and non-roster productions.)

1. Complete your 30 days of work.
2. Request a letter from the employer be sent to MPC 705 stating your start and finish date, number of days worked, and the classification you worked in.
3. A letter can also be requested to be sent to Contract Services (CSATF) if you wish to be placed on the Industry Experience Roster (IER). There is an increase in the inititation fee if you are added to the IER.
4. When MPC 705 receives your letter, you will be sent an application and further instructions.
5.  If applying for the IER at the same time, Local 705 receives a Notice of Intention from Contract Services (CSATF). This may happen simultaneously with your application to join, or may be done at any time after. (Although qualifying days are only good for one year, so if you stop working at the costume house, you may lose eligibility for the Roster.)
6. When you submit your application, you will be required to submit three letters of recommendation from MPC 705 members in good standing and an Employment Verification Letter (EVL) from the payroll company or companies who processed your production’s payroll. Fees due with your application include the application fee, ½ of the Initiation Fee, and any Permit Fees you may have accrued for any quarters in which you worked before the current one.
7. The remainder of your Initiation Fee and any additional Permit Fees must be paid prior to being sworn in.

A newer path, many Low- and Mid-Budget streaming productions are allowed to hire “off roster,”  and work on those productions may qualify you for placement on the Roster. When you have or are close to having your 30 days within a 365 day period, you can start the process.

1. Complete your 30 days of work.
2. Request an Employment Verification Letter (EVL) from the payroll company or companies who processed your production’s payroll. They will send this letter to Contract Services (CSATF), who will then send you further instructions.
3. Complete requirements at Contract Services (CSATF), and they will send a Notice of Intention to MPC 705.  When we receive the Notice of Intention, we will send you an application.
4. When you submit your application, you will be required to submit three letters of recommendation from MPC 705 members in good standing and an Employment Verification Letter (EVL) from the payroll company or companies who processed your production’s payroll. Fees due with your application include the application fee, ½ of the Initiation Fee, and any Permit Fees you may have accrued for any quarters in which you worked before the current one.
5. The remainder of your Initiation Fee and any additional Permit Fees must be paid prior to being sworn in.

Following 30 days of employment as a costumer on commercial productions, an employee is eligible to be placed on the Television Commercial Roster (TCR) and to apply for membership to MPC IATSE Local 705. An additional 30 days of employment on union commercial productions will qualify you for placement on the Industry Experience Roster.

1. Complete your 30 days of work. (Do not wait until you complete the additional 30 days of work to submit your days. You can continue to collect those days after you have applied for TCR placement and MPC 705 membership.)
2. Request an Employment Verification Letter (EVL) from the payroll company or companies who processed your production’s payroll. They will send this letter to Contract Services (CSATF), who will then send you further instructions.
3. Complete requirements at Contract Services (CSATF), and they will send a Notice of Intention to MPC 705.  When we receive the Notice of Intention, we will send you an application.
4. When you submit your application, you will be required to submit three letters of recommendation from MPC 705 members in good standing. Fees due with your application include the application fee, ½ of the Initiation Fee, and any Permit Fees you may have accrued for any quarters in which you worked before the current one.
5. The remainder of your Initiation Fee and any additional Permit Fees must be paid prior to being sworn in.
6. After you are placed on the TCR and get an additional 30 days, you may request a transfer to the IER. To do so, repeat the process above, but follow the steps at Contract Services (CSATF) to complete a “Transfer” application.

Permits (also sometimes called “waivers” or “vouchers”) are available when industry demand for Costumers is high and no union Costumers are available. With a Permit, you are allowed to work on a rostered production without being on the roster. It is common under our Commercial contract, which allows a company to hire you if their client or ad agency request you to be hired. On film and television, it is much more restrictive, and only granted when there are not enough available rostered Costumers to fill all the jobs needed. Permits are granted on an individual basis for a specific production only. If you are offered a job, and the Costume Supervisor and Production request and are granted a permit to hire you, you may work on that production. If you work 30 days or more in this way, you will qualify for roster placement and MPC 705 membership.

1. Complete your 30 days of work within a 365 day period.
2. Request an Employment Verification Letter (EVL) from the payroll company or companies who processed your production’s payroll. They will send this letter to Contract Services (CSATF), who will then send you further instructions.
3. Complete requirements at Contract Services (CSATF), and they will send a Notice of Intention to MPC 705.  When we receive the Notice of Intention, we will send you an application.
4. When you submit your application, you will be required to submit three letters of recommendation from MPC 705 members in good standing. Fees due with your application include the application fee, ½ of the Initiation Fee, and any Permit Fees you may have accrued for any quarters in which you worked before the current one.
5. The remainder of your Initiation Fee and any additional Permit Fees must be paid prior to being sworn in.

Following 30 days of employment as a costumer with a nonunion production company that becomes a signatory union company (“flips”), an employee is eligible to be placed on the Industry Experience Roster and apply for membership to MPC 705.  In most cases, when a production flips, retroactive pay and benefits are included for all days you worked on the project. So even if you only have a few days left when the show is organized, you may get qualifying days all the way back to your first day of work. Flipping a show does not have to be left to chance! If you’re working on a non-union production, contact MPC 705 at repdesk@mpc705.org and let us know about it. We can gather information and the IATSE and other unions can begin the process of trying to organize the crew.

1. Request an Employment Verification Letter (EVL) from the payroll company or companies who processed your production’s payroll. They will send this letter to Contract Services (CSATF), who will then send you further instructions.
2. Complete requirements at Contract Services (CSATF), and they will send a Notice of Intention to MPC 705.  When we receive the Notice of Intention, we will send you an application.
3. When you submit your application, you will be required to submit three letters of recommendation from MPC 705 members in good standing. Fees due with your application include the application fee, ½ of the Initiation Fee, and any Permit Fees you may have accrued for any quarters in which you worked before the current one.
4. The remainder of your Initiation Fee and any additional Permit Fees must be paid prior to being sworn in.

Several training programs are being developed by MPC 705 and the IATSE to help bring people into our industry. One program, Hollywood CPR (www.hollywoodcpr.org) has a very successful model, which prepares people, including costumers, to join the industry. Successful completion of their program gets you placed on the Roster and eligible to join MPC 705. In addition, Hollywood CPR will help you through the process! More training programs and extensions of the Hollywood CPR program are on the way.

1. Upon your completion of training, the program will send verification to Contract Services (CSATF). Contract Services will then send you further instructions.
2. Complete requirements at Contract Services (CSATF), and they will send a Notice of Intention to MPC 705, which will cause us to send you an application.
3. When you submit your application, you will be required to submit three letters of recommendation from MPC 705 members in good standing. Fees due with your application include the application fee, ½ of the Initiation Fee, and any Permit Fees you may have accrued for any quarters in which you worked before the current one, however, a training program may qualify you without having worked under the contract, thereby avoiding Permit Fees.
4. The remainder of your Initiation Fee and any additional Permit Fees must be paid prior to being sworn in.

In the 2021 Hollywood Basic Agreement negotiations, the IATSE and AMPTP created Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiatives designed to address systemic barriers in the industry. While these programs are still under development, they include an allowance for permits and off-roster hiring for those who qualify. In many locals, this includes initiatives for women and LGBTQIA+. As these groups are already well represented in MPC 705, we are focused more on addressing systemic racism and removing barriers based on race and ethnicity. More information on these initiatives will be coming soon, but in the meantime, signing up to Crewvie or Array Crew may qualify you for a permit or direct hire.

Following 30 days of employment as a Costumer under one of our live television contracts (such as Soap Operas, Talk Shows, and Game Shows) an employee is eligible to apply for membership. These contracts now qualify you for placement on the Industry Experience Roster once you have worked 100 days over three years.  

1. Complete your 30 days of work.
2. Have your employer’s payroll department submit a letter to MPC 705 verifying your 30 days.
3. Contact the MPC 705 Business Office to report your days worked and the name of the show.
4. When MPC 705 receives your letter, you will be sent an application and further instructions.
5. When you submit your application, you will be required to submit three letters of recommendation from MPC 705 members in good standing. Fees due with your application include the application fee, ½ of the Initiation Fee, and any Permit Fees you may have accrued for any quarters in which you worked before the current one.
6. The remainder of your Initiation Fee and any additional Permit Fees must be paid prior to being sworn in.

NEW as of August 2024!

Costumers can now qualify for membership from their professional theatre work, following 200 days over three years of paid employment at a major professional Theatre or Opera House. 

If this is your route, please contact the Business Office.