A motion picture content rating system classifies films based on their suitability for audiences due to their treatment of issues such as sex, violence, substance abuse, profanity, or other matters typically deemed unsuitable for children or adolescents. Most countries have some form of rating system that issues determinations variously known as certifications, classifications, certificates, or ratings. Age recommendations, of either an advisory or restrictive capacity, are often applied in lieu of censorship; in some jurisdictions movie theaters may have a legal obligation to enforce restrictive ratings.
In some countries such as Australia, Canada, and Singapore, an official government body decides on ratings; in other countries such as Denmark, Japan, and the United States, it is done by industry committees with little if any official government status. In most countries, however, films that are considered morally offensive have been censored, restricted, or banned. Even if the film rating system has no legal consequences, and a film has not explicitly been restricted or banned, there are usually laws forbidding certain films, or forbidding minors to view them. The influence of specific factors in deciding a rating varies from country to country.
Other factors may or may not influence the classification process, such as being set within a non-fictional historical context, whether the film glorifies violence or drug use, whether said violence or drug use is carried out by the protagonist, with whom the viewer should empathize, or by the antagonist. In Germany, for example, films depicting explicit war violence in a real war context (such as World War II) are handled more leniently than films with purely fictional settings.
A film may be produced with a particular rating in mind. It may be re-edited if the desired rating is not obtained, especially to avoid a higher rating than intended. A film may also be re-edited to produce a different version for other countries.
Comparison table A comparison of current film rating systems, showing age on the horizontal axis. Note however that the specific criteria used in assigning a classification can vary widely from one country to another. Therefore, the color codes and age ranges are not directly comparable from one country to another.
Key:
White – No restrictions: Suitable for all ages / Aimed at young audiences / Exempt / Not rated. Yellow – Advisory: Parental guidance is suggested for designated age range. Purple – Strong advisory: Not recommended for a younger audience but not restricted. Red – Restrictive: Parental accompaniment required for younger audiences. Black – Prohibitive: Exclusively for older audiences / Restricted to licensed premises / Restricted to a specific audience / Banned.
Table guideCountryAge ratingOther 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Example G (suitable for all ages) PG-13 (advised for ages 13 and over) NC-17 (prohibited for under 18s) Exempt PG (parental guidance) 12A (adult supervision mandated for under 12s) 18A (prohibited for under 14s) 18A (adult supervision mandated for under 18s) Banned Where the highlighting starts for a particular rating indicates the lower age threshold for which the film is suitable, and any associated restrictions. Some ratings have two components: for example, Canada's 18A rating requires audiences aged between 14 and 18 to be accompanied by an adult in some provinces. In such instances the rating is represented by two highlights to indicate the two restrictions.
CountryAge ratingOther 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Argentina G R-13 R-17 —SP Australia G M Exempt PG Austria 16+ — Bahamas A T B C Barbados GA PG-13 R — PG A Belgium AL/TOUS 6 9 12 14 16 18 — Bhutan U A — Brazil 10 12 14 16 — Bulgaria C C+ D+ X B D Cambodia G NC15 — Canada G 14A R Prohibited 13+ 16+ 18+ Exempt 18+ Refused classification Chile TE TE+7 +14 +18 Educational Excessive violence Colombia T 7 12 15 18 Prohibited Cook Islands G R18 — PG Costa RicaTPTP12M15M18RecommendedM12 Denmark A 7 Estonia MS-6 MS-12 K-14 K-16 K-18 — L K-12 Fiji G PG A — Y Finland S/T 18 — France TP 12 16 18 Prohibited Germany FSK 0 FSK 6 FSK 16 FSK 18 Educational Unrated Ghana U 12 15 18 PG Greece Unrestricted 13 17 18 — Hong Kong I III Exempt II II Hungary KN 6 12 16 18 — X Iceland L 6 9 12 14 — India U UA 7+ UA 13+ UA 16+ A Indonesia SU 13+ 17+ 21+ — Iraq G PG 13 PG 15 18+ — 15+ Ireland — G PG 18 — Italy T 6+ 10+ — Jamaica G PG-13 A-18 — PG Japan G PG12 R15+ R18+ — Kazakhstan 6- 6+ 12+ 14+ 16+ 18+ — Kenya GE PG 16 18 Restricted/Banned G PG-12 PG-15R-18 — PGR-15 Latvia U 7+ 12+ 16+ 18+ — Lebanon G PG13 PG16 18+ — PG Lithuania V N-7 N-16 N-18 — Macau A B D — Malaysia U P121316 18 Banned Maldives G 12+ 15+ 18+ PG 18+R Malta U 12A 1518 Not fit for exhibition PG 12 Mauritius U PG 15 18 Rejected Mexico — B B-15 C — A Nepal U A PG Netherlands AL 6 9 12 14 16 — 18 New Zealand G RP13 M Exempt RP16 PG R13 R15 R16 R18 Nigeria G 12A PG 12 Norway A 6 18 Papua New Guinea G MA PGR Philippines G PG R-16 R-18 R-13 Portugal M/3 — M/18- Qatar G PG-13 PG-15 18+ —PG15+ Romania Russia 0+ 6+ 12+ 16+ 18+ Refused classification Saudi ArabiaGPG12 PG15 R18 —PGR15 Singapore G PG13 NC16 M18 PG Refused classification Slovakia 12 15 18 — U 7 South Africa A 13 16 18 PG South Korea ALL 12 15 19 — Spain 12 16 18 — Sweden Btl 7 — Switzerland JIF 0 — — Taiwan0+15+18+ — —12+ Thailand 13 15 18 20 Banned G Turkey General Audience 6A 10A 13A 16+ 18+ Educational purposes 6+ 10+ 13+ Ukraine 12 16 18 Denied ЗА G PG13 PG1518+21+ — PG 15+ United Kingdom U PG 1518 Unsuitable for classification United States G PG-13 R PG Uruguay ATP AM 6 AM 9 AM 12 AM 15 AM 18 — R 18 Venezuela B C D — A — A B C Vietnam P K T16 T18 T13 Country 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Other
Argentina
Through its Advisory Commission of Cinematographic Exhibition (Comisión Asesora de Exhibición Cinematográfica) the National Institute of Cinema and Audiovisual Arts (INCAA) issues ratings for films. In 2026, a new classification system was introduced:
G: General Audience: content suitable for people of all ages. SP: Suggested Parental Supervision: general content, with recommendation of adult accompaniment for young children. R-13: Restricted to minors under 13 years of age: contains material that may be inappropriate for minors under that age without parental or guardian supervision. R-17: Restricted to minors under 17 years of age: contains material that may be inappropriate for minors under that age without parental or guardian supervision. C: Only suitable for those over 18 years of age: exclusive to specially licensed venues.
Australia
The Classification Board and Classification Review Board are government-funded organisations which classify all films that are released for public exhibition.
Advisory categories Check the Classification (CTC) - Message for unclassified films and computer games The film or computer game has been assessed and approved for advertising. You should check the classification closer to the release date. Advertising relating to unclassified films and games must display the CTC message - this includes posters, trailers, internet posts, and any other type of advertising. Once the content is classified, the classification marking should replace the CTC marking on all advertising material. General (G) – General. The content is very mild in impact. The G classification is suitable for everyone. Parental Guidance (PG) – Parental guidance recommended. The content is mild in impact. It is not recommended for viewing or playing by persons under 15 without guidance from parents or guardians. Mature (M) – Recommended for mature audiences. The content is moderate in impact. Children under 15 may legally access this material because it is an advisory category. However, M classified films and computer games may include classifiable elements such as violence and nudity of moderate impact that are not recommended for children under 15 years. Restricted categories Mature Accompanied (MA 15+) – Not suitable for people under 15. Under 15s must be accompanied by a parent or adult guardian. The content is strong in impact. Restricted (R 18+) – Restricted to 18 years and over. The content is high in impact. Despite this category being legally restricted, in Queensland the restriction is not applicable to persons under 2. Adult film categories Restricted (X 18+) – Restricted to 18 years and over. This classification is a special and legally restricted category which contains only sexually explicit content. That is, material which shows actual sexual intercourse and other sexual activity between consenting adults. X 18+ films are only available for sale or hire in the Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory. Refused Classification (RC) – Refused Classification. Banned from sale or hire in the country and cannot be legally imported. Films are rated RC if their content is very high in impact and exceeds the guidelines.
Films intended to inform, educate or instruct or concerned with sport, religion or music are exempt from classification provided they do not contain material that would result in an "M" rating or higher if submitted for classification.
Austria
Motion pictures are rated by the Austrian Board of Media Classification (ABMC) for the Federal Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture (Bundesministerium für Unterricht, Kunst und Kultur). The recommendations made by the ABMC are generally not legally binding and there are nine sets of state laws on the cinema sector with different age provisions. The only exception is in the case of "16" rated films, since under Austrian law there is a legal age restriction on certain types of content i.e. discrimination, sexual abuse, glorification of violence etc. In addition to the ABMC's age recommendations, in the state of Vienna children under the age of 6 are only permitted to attend public film performances if they are accompanied.
The AMBC issues age recommendation from the following categories:
Unrestricted – Released for all age groups. 6+ – Released for children from age 6. 8+ - Released from children from age 8. 10+ – Released for children from age 10. 12+ – Released for children from age 12. 14+ – Released from age 14. 16+ – Released from age 16. Restricted classification.
Bahamas
The Bahamas Plays and Films Control Board classifies films in the Bahamas. Upon completion of the examination the Board will classify the film in accordance with the following ratings:
A - Suitable for all ages. B - Suitable for adults; persons under the age of 18 must be accompanied by a parent or responsible adult. T - Suitable for persons 15 and over, persons under 15 years are not admitted whether accompanied by an adult or not. C - Suitable for adults only, persons under 18 years are not admitted whether accompanied by an adult or not. D - Unsuitable for public viewing.
Barbados
In Barbados, films are classified by the Film Censorship Board (FCB):
GA – General Audience; Suitable for all ages. PG – Parental Guidance. PG13 – Parental Guidance 13; suitable for 13 years and older. R – Suitable for 18 years and older. A – Adult Only; No-one under 18 admitted.
Belgium