History of British film certificates

The UK's film ratings are decided by the British Board of Film Classification and have been since 1912. Previously, there were no agreed rating standards, and local councils imposed their ownoften differingconditions or restrictions. For cinema releases, the BBFC has no legal power (technically, films do not even have to be submitted for classification), as it falls to councils to decide who should be admitted to a certain film, but they generally apply the BBFC's certificates, effectively making them legally binding. In exceptional cases, councils may impose their own conditions, either raising or lowering the minimum entry age from the certificate, banning a certified film outright, or setting their own minimum entry age for films that have never been submitted for BBFC certification, or which have been refused a certificate by the Board. Prior to 1985, there were no legally binding ratings on video releases. The Video Recordings Act 1984 introduced new legal powers to certify video releases independently from any existing cinema certificate, with the BBFC being required to rate every new video release (except those exempted from classification) to determine the minimum age of people to whom the recording can be supplied, whether by sale or rental. In August 2009 it was discovered that the Video Recordings Act 1984 never had legal effect, due to a technical error when the terms of the act were not communicated to the European Commission. The relevant provisions were re-enacted by Parliament as the Video Recordings Act 2010. The following list chronicles the BBFC's ratings system from its inception to the present. In each section, italics indicates when a certificate has changed since the previous system. ==History==

1912–1932 At first, there were just two advisory certificates. In Ireland, following the independence of the Irish Free State in 1922 (now the Republic of Ireland), the Irish Film Censor's Office was created in 1923 in place of the BBFC. This was renamed the Irish Film Classification Office in 2008. 1932–1951 An H (Horrific) certificate was added in 1932 to alert parents to horror-themed material. As there was now a mandatory certificate at 14, the X certificate was modified to raise its age from 16 to 18. which later passed with 12 for video on re-submission, and Nuns on the Run, which currently remains 15, with re-submission. All of the symbols were also graphically edited with lighter text in 1999 from the bolder text used since 1985 although many home video releases continued to use the previous symbols. In 2002, the cinema 12 certificate was modified and renamed 12A. Those under 12 could now be admitted to 12A films, provided that they were accompanied by an adult aged at least 18 years old, although the BBFC recommends that 12A films are generally unsuitable for children under 12 years old. Contrary to popular belief, the certificate was not introduced for the film Spider-Man; the first film to receive it was actually The Bourne Identity. However, Spider-Man and other films still on general release at the time were reclassified as 12A. Introduction of the 12A followed two years of consultation and a trial period in Norwich, during which time the certificate was known as PG-12 (see below). The video 12 certificate remained unchanged. which states where works are 'particularly suitable for pre-school children'; The consumer advice for the U certificate was updated to advise parents to check the film in case of children under the age of 4 and PG in case of children under 8. The BBFCInsight was replaced with ratings info. == Non-standard certificates and ratings ==