Did you know every BBFC age rating decision is made as a result of our Classification Guidelines?

Every 4-5 years, we speak to thousands of people across the UK to find out what matters to them when it comes to film and content classification. In 2023, we spoke to more people than ever before—12,000 to be exact— to help shape our latest Classification Guidelines, which came into force on 1 May 2024. 

If you want to know more, listen to the latest episode of the BBFC Podcast! Hear directly from two members of our Compliance team, Chris and Wallis, as they chat about how we undertook our biggest research project to date.

In this dedicated episode, the pair dive into how our research findings have directly shaped our new guidelines, with key discussion areas including violence, sex, drugs, and language, alongside an overview of what these changes mean for the future of content classification and UK audiences. 

We’ve also created a set of handy BBFC Guides to accompany our latest guidelines. Each one provides a quick and helpful overview of how we approach different issues, such as discrimination, threat and horror, or language, and what’s acceptable at each age rating. Plus, we’ve included film case studies to bring our decisions to life. There are nine in total, and you can find them all here.