Booking Process Support

If you’re available for work, there is no need to contact us directly. The best way to inform us of your availability is to keep the Calendar on your profile up to date by clicking on the days and changing them to “Available” or “Unavailable.” You can also update a range of days, setting your availability by weekday. It’s advisable to keep your calendar accurate and up to date as our casting directors may search for people who are available as a priority.

For more information, see our Get Cast page.

No, there is no guarantee of work because the needs of productions change every day. Because of the nature of background work, you should not rely on it for your sole income. Most background actors have another source of income.

The best way to increase your chances of getting work is to make sure your profile is as complete and up to date as possible. Casting directors search for background actors via the criteria you provide on your profile, so the more information you provide, the more likely you are to show up in searches for specific looks. If you don’t keep your profile up to date and provide all relevant information, you could be missing out on potential work.

At a minimum, please ensure your headshot and full-body shot follow our photo guidelines and are updated any time your look changes.

No – casting directors and production companies will contact you directly when you fit the look or requirements for a role. Be sure to completely fill out your online profile and add additional photos in different looks so you can be considered for a variety of roles.

That said, we often publish specific casting calls on our website, so it’s a good idea to check our Open Roles page regularly for roles you fit. To apply for an open role, please follow the instructions on the job post. If the casting director or production company thinks you’re right for the role, they can send an availability inquiry through our casting platform.

While most casting calls require you to be registered with Central Casting to respond, there may be opportunities for those who are not registered. In these cases, the casting call will clearly indicate that you don't need to be registered with Central Casting to respond.

Casting directors and production companies can contact you about potential work via the platform. You will receive an email or text notification when you have a message to review with instructions on what to do next.

Casting directors or the production company will review their responses then reach out if they intend to book you. If you are not selected, you may not hear from anyone. Remember, you're booked when you accept an offer for work and receive details.

Yes, always respond as soon as you can. Some messages will expire after a certain amount of time. When this happens, you will see a notification that submissions are closed. We recommend enabling alerts for Central Casting through your email provider so you can always respond to availability inquiries on time.

No, our texting number is only formatted to send outbound text messages from our casting platform. When you respond to a text message directly, you will get a message indicating that you can only reply "Stop" to end text communication. We do not accept "Yes," "No," or any other response through text message.

No, our texting number is only formatted to send outbound text messages from our casting platform. To contact us, click here to see our office phone numbers.

After you respond to a message, you will be sent a notification detailing your response and confirmation we received it.

Always check your voicemail. Do not call back until you have checked your voicemail to ensure the casting director did not leave specific instructions. If no message was left, wait and see if you receive a call back. If you do not receive a call back, assume you are no longer needed.

Casting directors may only accept responses for a certain period of time and your message may have expired. If the message has expired and we’re no longer accepting submissions for the role for which you were contacted, you will see a page that explains this when you try to respond.

If you don’t hear back with an offer for work and details, you are not booked. However, given the volume of roles being processed, please be patient as it may take some time to receive a response.

“Checking your availability” means that a casting director or production company is preparing the look for a show for a future date and is checking if you are available to work that day. Checking your availability is not an offer or guarantee of work, the casting director or production company is only asking if you can work without time restrictions on a specific date or date range. “Without time restrictions” means that there are no possible conflicts that would prevent you from working that day. When preparing for and booking shows, casting directors and production companies may not know initial call times until later in the evening before the work date. The initial call time can also change overnight and in the early morning. That’s why you need to have all day availability when responding as avail to these messages.

California 
In California, first avail means that while the casting director would like to use you, they can't offer you the job right away, often because they are waiting on additional information from production. First avail is not a guarantee of work and you can still respond as available to other availability inquiries on projects for the same day. After hearing back from production, if the casting director can use you, they will reach out with a booking offer.

Georgia and Louisiana 
In Georgia and Louisiana, first avail is an offer of work which you must accept to be considered booked. After confirming first avail, the next message you receive will be your booking details.

When booking, casting directors and production companies may not know the call time (which can often change before the shoot), so they need you to have completely open availability on the date in question. For example, if you cannot work between 3-4pm, you are not available without time restrictions.

Rush calls are for immediate same-day work. This is usually to replace a "no show." When you respond to a rush call, you may be required to get to the set location within an hour or less after being booked.

Yes, you are responsible for letting Central Casting know when you are available to work. Once you are booked, you are also responsible for not becoming double booked.

Note: If you are registered with our California office and are on first avail, please let that casting director know before accepting another offer.

If your availability has changed after responding to a message, please call us. Click here to see our office phone numbers.

You are not booked unless you accept an offer for work and receive details.

While you may receive an email or text message, all communication with casting directors and production companies happens through our casting platform. Click the link in the email or text message to respond.

After you've accepted an offer for work and are booked, you will receive a details message, which may include a link to a Booking Details Page or an additional resource from production.

Please note that only some Central Casting offices utilize the Booking Details Page. Please read your unique details message for instructions on how to get your booking details.

Casting directors and production companies compile your details from multiple departments within production and will likely not have your booking information until later in the evening before your workday.

When you receive your details message, please respond as soon as possible to confirm that you received it.