The BBFC does not expect everyone to agree with our classification decisions. Viewers who have a comment or concern about one of our decisions can write to the Director’s Office at 3 Soho Square, London W1D 3HD or email us at feedback@bbfc.co.uk

We endeavour to reply to all enquiries.

Examiners come from a wide variety of backgrounds. They tend to be graduates but this is not always the case. To be an Examiner, you do not need ‘qualifications’ as such, however experience in relevant areas such as media regulation, law and child development is important. A broad knowledge of film or video games is required, as well as an ability to grasp classification issues such as violence, imitable behaviour, sexual portrayal and drugs.

The current examining team includes educationalists, academics, lawyers, a video games designer, journalists, published authors, an actor, a cinema manager, a diplomat and several people who have worked in film and television. Like most BBFC employees, they have a strong knowledge of contemporary and historical film and a passion for the film, DVD and games industries.

A reasonable balance is kept between men and women. There are also Examiners from various ethnic backgrounds, in part to help deal with foreign language films and videos, where knowledge of the culture of the country is as important as fluency in the language.

Recruitment is through advertisement in the national press as well as on our vacancies website, http://www.londonjobvacancies.co.uk. There are no vacancies at this time.

Films are normally classified by at least two Examiners using the published Guidelines. In most cases the decision is ratified by a Senior Examiner, but if the Examiners are in any doubt or fail to agree, or if important policy issues are involved, the work may be seen by other members of the Board up to, and including, the Director and Presidential team. Occasionally it is necessary to take specialist advice about the legal acceptability of film content or its potential for harm. DVDs are normally seen by one Examiner, particularly when they are viewing the DVD version of a cinema film which has already been classified. However, opinions from other Examiners may be required for more difficult works.

Examiners look at issues such as discrimination, drugs, horror, imitable behaviour, language, nudity, sex, sexual violence, theme and violence when making decisions. They also consider context, the tone and impact of a work (eg how it makes the audience feel) and even the release format (for example, as DVDs are watched in the home, there is a higher risk of underage viewing).

The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) is an independent body which was originally established by the film industry in 1912. Local Authorities were made responsible for what was shown in cinemas and from early on accepted the decisions of the BBFC. There are obvious benefits to both Local Authorities and the film industry in having a central but independent body bring consistency to the classification process and accept responsibility for decisions.

Local Authorities remain legally responsible for what is shown in cinemas under the Licensing Act 2003 and can still overrule the decisions of the BBFC. This does not happen very often.

Examples where it has happened include the film Spider-man which some Local Authorities rated ‘PG’ or ‘PG12’ instead of the ‘12’ awarded by the BBFC. Westminster Council banned Crash and Camden Council gave ‘18’ certificates to The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and The Story Of O before the films were submitted to the BBFC for classification. Both were subsequently classified ‘18’ uncut.

In 1985 the BBFC became the statutory authority for classifying videos/DVDs under the Video Recordings Act 1984.