BBFC Research Task

The BBFC

The BBFC, or British Board of Film Classification, is an independent, non-governmental and not-for-profit organisation that is funded by the film industry itself. The BBFC was founded in 1912, and at the time was known as the British Board of Film Censorship.

In the 1980s, UK Parliament passed the 1984 Video Recordings Act (VRA), which stipulated that subject to certain exemptions, video recordings offered for sale/hire in the UK must be classified by an authority designated by the Secretary of State.

in 1985, the BBFC changed their name from the British Board of Film Censorship to the British Board of Film Classification and were tasked with classifying videos under the VRA, which they still do today. 

The BBFC is funded by the film industry itself, which means that distributors must pay the BBFC in order to obtain a film classification. Many large distributors opt for an annual subscription to the BBFC so that they can save money when applying large numbers of films to be classified.

The BBFC provides classifications for films released in UK cinemas and on DVD/Blu-ray, as well as more recently online Videos on Demand and music videos. The BBFC does not rate video games.