The audience age restrictions for films.

1. Audience Age Restrictions
All information is on the BBFC website.
By Summer Tovey

2. All information is on the BBFC website.
U
The U symbol stands for Universal. A U film should be suitable for audiences aged
four years and over. However, it is impossible to predict what might upset a
particular child, especially at this lower end of the category range.
A U film can explore a wide range of themes, as long as the treatment is appropriate
for a young audience.
A children’s work at U will generally contain positive messages about loyalty,
honesty and friendship, particularly amongst children.
The film or video may well have a happy ending for the child and the overall
tone should be one of reassurance.
U films are unlikely to contain discriminatory language or behaviour.

3. All information is on the BBFC website.
PG
PG stands for Parental Guidance. This means a film is suitable for general viewing,
but some scenes may be unsuitable for young children. A PG film should not unsettle
a child aged around eight or older. Parents should consider whether the content may
upset younger, or more sensitive, children.
A PG film will not contain any theme which is inappropriate for a child. PG works can
explore challenging issues such as bullying, bereavement or racism.
There may be mild bad language (such as ‘shit’ or ‘son of a bitch’) in a PG film, but
the context and delivery are always important. For example, if the language is used
aggressively or if there is a great deal of bad language, a work may be passed at a
higher category.
Violence will usually be mild. There should be no detail of violence in a PG work, so
while there might be some blood, we would not see how the injury was inflicted in
strong detail. Violence is generally more acceptable in a historical, comedic or
fantasy setting, because of the distancing that this provides.

4. All information is on the BBFC website.
12 and 12A
The difference between 12A and 12: A 12A requires an adult to accompany any
child under 12 seeing a 12A film at the cinema
Accompanied viewing cannot be enforced in the home, so the 12 certificate
remains for DVD/Blu-ray, rather than the 12A.
The 12 is also a simpler system for retailers. It means they cannot sell or rent the
item unless the customer is over the age of 12.
At 12A, moderate violence is allowed but it should not dwell on detail. There
should be no emphasis on injuries or blood, but occasional gory moments may be
permitted if they can be justified by their context (for example brief sight of
bloody injury in a medical drama).
Action sequences and weapons may be present at 12A or 12, and there may be
long fight scenes or similar. Weapons which might be easily accessible to 12 year
olds (such as knives) should not be glamorised in 12A and 12 works.

5. All information is on the BBFC website.
15
No-one under 15 is allowed to see a 15 film at the cinema or buy/rent a 15 rated
video. 15s are not suitable for children under 15 years of age.
Any of the following may be in a 15:
• strong violence
• frequent strong language (e.g. 'f***').
• portrayals of sexual activity
• strong verbal references to sex
• sexual nudity
• brief scenes of sexual violence or verbal references to sexual violence
• discriminatory language or behaviour
• drug taking

6. All information is on the BBFC website.
18
Films rated 18 are for adults. No-one under 18 is allowed to see an 18 film at the
cinema or buy/rent an 18 rated video. 18s are not suitable for children.
No theme is prohibited at 18. Adults are free to choose their own entertainment
provided the material is not illegal or potentially harmful, so it is possible some
themes tackled at 18 may be offensive even to some adult viewers.
18 works are for adults and can contain strong issues such as:
• very strong violence
• frequent strong language (e.g. 'f***') and / or very strong language (e.g.
‘c***’)
• strong portrayals of sexual activity
• scenes of sexual violence
• strong horror
• strong blood and gore
• real sex (in some circumstances)
• discriminatory language and behaviour

7. All information is on the BBFC website.
R18
The R18 category is a special and legally-restricted classification primarily for
explicit works of consenting sex or strong fetish material involving adults. Films
may only be shown to adults in specially licensed cinemas, and video works
may be supplied to adults only in licensed sex shops. R18 videos may not be
supplied by mail order.