British Board of Film Classification

"BBFC" redirects here. For other uses, see BBFC (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with BBC.

British Board of Film Classification
Formation1912; 112 years ago (1912)
TypeNon-governmental organization
Legal statusPublic company limited by guarantee without share capital[1]
Purpose
Headquarters3 Soho Square, London, W1D 3HD, England
Region served
United Kingdom
President
Natasha Kaplinsky
Chief executive
David Austin
Websitebbfc.co.uk Edit this at Wikidata
Formerly called
  • The Incorporated Association of Kinematograph Manufacturers, Limited (1911–1985)[2]
  • The British Board of Film Classification (1985–2003)[3]

The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC)[1] is a non-governmental organisation founded by the British film industry in 1912 and responsible for the national classification and censorship of films exhibited at cinemas and video works (such as television programmes, trailers, adverts, public information/campaigning films, menus, bonus content, etc.) released on physical media within the United Kingdom.[4][5] It has a statutory requirement to classify all video works released on VHS, DVD, Blu-ray (including 3D and 4K UHD formats), and, to a lesser extent, some video games under the Video Recordings Act 1984.[6] The BBFC was also the designated regulator for the UK age-verification scheme, which was abandoned before being implemented.[7][8]

  1. ^ a b "BRITISH BOARD OF FILM CLASSIFICATION overview – Find and update company information – GOV.uk". Companies House. 17 August 1911. Retrieved 31 August 2023.
  2. ^ Certificate of Incorporation on Change of Name – No 117289, Companies Registration Office, 21 May 1985
  3. ^ Certificate of Incorporation on Change of Name – No 117289, Registrar of Companies for England and Wales, 13 April 2003
  4. ^ Nelmes, Jill (2003). An introduction to film studies. Routledge. p. 41. ISBN 0-415-26268-2.
  5. ^ "BBFC Video ratings". BBFC. Archived from the original on 27 May 2016. Retrieved 11 June 2016.
  6. ^ "welcome to the bbfc". bbfc. Archived from the original on 20 November 2009. Retrieved 6 February 2010.
  7. ^ Hill, Rebecca (17 October 2018). "UK.gov to press ahead with online smut checks (but expects £10m in legals in year 1)". theregister.co.uk. Archived from the original on 22 March 2019. Retrieved 11 May 2019.
  8. ^ "UK's controversial 'porn blocker' plan dropped". BBC News. 16 October 2019. Archived from the original on 17 October 2019. Retrieved 16 October 2019.