The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) is a non-governmental organization funded by the film industry that is responsible for classifying and censoring films in the UK. It uses rating symbols like U, PG, 12A, 15, and 18 to provide guidance on the age suitability of films and videos. The ratings provide information on the level of violence, language, sexual content, and other potentially adult or disturbing material contained within the film.

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The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), originally
British Board of Film Censors, is a non-governmental
organization, funded by the film industry and responsible
for the national classification and censorship of films within
the United Kingdom.[1] It has a statutory requirement to
classify videos, DVDs and some video games under the
Video Recordings Act 2010.

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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.

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PG stands for Parental Guidance. This means a
film is suitable for general viewing, but some
scenes may be unsuitable for younger children. A
PG film should not disturb a child aged around
eight or older. Parents should consider whether
the content might upset younger or more sensitive
children.

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12A means that anyone aged 12 or over can go and see the
film unaccompanied. The A stands for 'accompanied' and
'advisory'. Children younger than 12 may see the film if they
are accompanied by an adult (e.g. someone over the age of
18), who must watch the film with them.
What's the difference between 12 and 12A?
The 12 certificate is just for videos, DVDs and Blu-rays. 12A
is for films at the cinema only.

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No-one under 15 is allowed to see a 15 film at
the cinema or buy/rent a ‘15’ rated DVD. 15
rated works are not suitable for children under
15 years of age because 15 contains the
following that are unsuitable for younger
audiences
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 behavior
drug taking
Strong Horror scenes

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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 DVD. No
18 rated works are suitable for children
because 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 behavior

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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.