BBFC Research

British board of film classification                                                                                                                              

BBFC - is an independent non governmental body which has classified cinema films since it was set up up in 1912 and videos since the passing of the video recordings 1984.

Every film in the UK is classified.
Different types of classification

U PG 12 12a 15 18 Rated 18

Guidelines also take into account the various UK laws which the BBFC must consider and apply when making classification decisions.

Guidelines are updated every 4 years. Current revision published in June 2009.

Guidelines for a 12A and 15:

• Discrimination
• Drugs
• Horror
• Imitable behaviour
• Language
• Nudity
• Sex
• Theme
• Violence 

These guidelines are updated every 4 years. The most recent update took place in June 2009, meaning that the next update will be in 2013.

Example of classified 15 films

Die Hard 4.0

The Last King in Scotland






15 - Violence, Strong sound effects, contains sex but no nudity. No one younger than 15 may see a 15 film in a cinema and no one younger than 15 may rent or buy a 15 rated video work.

18 - Strong Language, Strong Violence - Gore, Sexual scenes, contains nudity. No one younger than 18 may see a 18 film in a cinema and no one younger than 18 can rent or buy an 18 rated video.