A Comparison of the British and American film and DVD Rating Systems

[Jar Jar Stinks]

This article is a repost from the British Board of Film Classification.

The legal position on film classification

United Kingdom

The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) is an independent, non-governmental body. It was set up in 1912 and has been classifying cinema films since 1913. Originally known as the British Board of Film Censors, it was created by the film industry as an independent body to bring uniformity to the classification of film nationally. BBFC categories are used to provide guidance to the UK’s local authorities, who grant licences to the cinemas in their area.

When a cinema applies for a licence, it must include a condition requiring the admission of children to any film to normally be restricted in accordance with BBFC classification categories. However, statutory powers on film remain with the local councils, which have the authority to overrule any of the board's decisions. They can pass rejected films, ban films that have been passed by the BBFC, waive cuts, institute new cuts, or alter categories for films exhibited, using their own licensing jurisdiction – although in practice this power is rarely exercised.

The BBFC is a non-profit organisation, funded solely by standard charges (approved by the relevant Government department) made to film producers/distributors who submit movies for certification, based on the running time of each film.

In line with the consistent findings of the BBFC’s public consultations and The Human Rights Act 1998, at 18 the BBFC’s guideline concerns will not normally override the principle that adults should be free to choose their own entertainment with some exceptions.

The United States

The US movie rating system was created in 1968, as a replacement to the Hays Production Code (a basic approval or disapproval of a movie, without any gradation to describe the movie's content). The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) joined forces with the National Association of Theater Owners and the International Film Importers & Distributors of America to jointly devise a rating system to ‘help parents protect their children from mature material’. The members of the US board work for the Classification and Rating Administration (CARA), an independent division of the MPAA, which – in common with the BBFC – is funded by fees charged to producers/distributors for the rating of their films.

Legally, the US rating system is entirely voluntary - no film maker is forced to submit a film to the board for rating, but the vast majority of producers/distributors opt to do so. Signatory members of the MPAA, which represent the major studios, have agreed to submit all of their theatrical releases for rating.

Unlike the UK system, any American producer/distributor who wishes to bypass the US rating system is free to go to the market without any rating – or instead to use any description or symbol they choose, as long as it cannot be confused with the widely recognised symbols that are the federally registered (ie. trademarked) certification marks of the MPAA, and may not be used by any other individual or organisation. The US rating board is not associated with the US. government, and its film ratings have no legal meaning.

In practice, most American filmmakers apply for a formal rating, as US theatre chains are usually reluctant to show an unrated film. Movies that are released without a rating are usually small, independent films, foreign films or direct-to-video films, and other types of films that not expected to receive wide distribution.