2025 Fee Tariffs
The fees listed on this page come into effect on 1 January 2025.
Our current fees can be found here:
Please note: Horizon will be updated with the new 2025 fee tariff in the week commencing 09 December 2024.
After Horizon has been updated with the new fees, any submissions made with an RCD of before 1 January 2025 will automatically be given an estimated price based on the 2025 tariff. We will adjust these invoices to 2024 rates.
Please get in touch with our Finance Team with any questions.
All costs exclude VAT.
Standard fees
* Polled locations are the number of cinema/theatrical venues that the film is released into in the UK at the widest point of release. All data will be verified using Comscore, Inc. Further information can be found here.
** For Packaged Media submissions we charge a £50 transcode fee per submission if you deliver on physical disc (DVD or Blu-ray).
Please note our charity rate (50%) is available only to charities registered in the UK for Cinema (Theatrical) and Packaged Media. The BBFC has final say on whether the charity rate is applicable regardless of charitable status.
Cinema (Theatrical) Fees
We offer three price bands:
Standard (Three days)
Express (24 hours)
Next Day (24 hours, short notice)
These price bands are based on the amount of time between the delivery of your media and the requested classification date. Express and Next Day price bands are based on a set uplift in the cost.
Please note, we round up the running time of Express and Next Day submissions to the nearest 15 minutes. For content under five minutes we round up to five minutes.
Cinema Features and Event Cinema more than 240 minutes duration are subject to additional fees.
Features
Please Note: Tier selection will be verified using data and analytics provided by Comscore, Inc. For more information on how to submit to Comscore, please click here.
Trailers
Withdrawal Fees (Cancellations)
The full invoice amount is payable if a submission is cancelled within 2 working days of the requested classification date (RCD).
Other Cinema Fees
* Please let us know if any preview or promotional screenings could change the tier your release falls into. We can exclude these from the polled-location count for BBFC fee purposes. Note that there will be a charge for either self-verification or BBFC verification. Click below for information on how to qualify.
- We can exclude preview screenings (which take place prior to the film’s release date) from the polled-location count to avoid affecting the fee tier.
- We can exclude promotional screenings taking place after the release date from the polled-location count to avoid affecting the fee tier under the following circumstances:
- The screenings are within a regular cinema chain programme or are limited promotional events organised by the distributor
- The screenings are limited to a maximum of two days.If the distributor can supply release information via Comscore covering preview or promotional screenings, including a detailed breakdown of theatres and locations where the film was shown during its widest point of release (eg ‘Grosses by Theatre’ report from Comscore), we will charge £75 to verify the data to apply the exclusion from the polled-location count.
- Alternatively, if the distributor would like us to obtain the release information via Comscore covering preview or promotional screenings, including a detailed breakdown of theatres and locations where the film was shown during its widest point of release, we will charge £175 to obtain and verify the data to apply the exclusion from the polled-location count.
** The Event Cinema tariff is for releases other than traditional cinema films, such as stage or music events, that are not covered by a BBFC 'As Live' certificate and which are only being released for a maximum of 3 days within the 6-month Comscore reporting period. The 3 days do not have to be consecutive. If Event Cinema screenings go beyond 3 days in that period, we will charge the fee appropriate to the polled location count.
*** Our charity rate is available only to charities registered in the UK. The BBFC has final say on whether the charity rate is applicable regardless of charitable status.
Modern Film Classification for films classified previously
Packaged Media Fees
Where a customer submits a disc, we will transcode the disc to file to enable us to process it. To cover the cost of doing this, we will charge £50 per submission.
Packaged Media Withdrawal Fees (Cancellations)
The full invoice amount is payable if a submission is cancelled within three working days of the Requested Classification Date (RCD).
Other Packaged Media Fees
* Where the content is identical and is in the BBFC archive.
** Any original PBE fees under the previous tariff are not discounted.
Our charity rate is available only to charities registered in the UK. The BBFC has final say on whether the charity rate is applicable regardless of charitable status
Video on Demand Fees
BBFC age ratings for use on all forms of VOD and streaming services. Customers should note that all BBFC packaged media ratings are extended for use on VOD and streaming services.
Withdrawal Fees (Cancellations)
The full invoice amount is payable if a submission is cancelled within three days of the RCD.
Other Video-on-Demand Fees
NOTE: Titles refers to the number of BBFC rated features, or individual seasons of a TV show, you expect to carry over a calendar year.
All fees are subject to VAT if applicable
Other Fees
Classification of linear content including TV material created for video games; video rewards for completing certain tasks or levels within a game; or other video content which does not contribute to the narrative drive of the video game will be submitted by the VSC on behalf of games publishers.
Advice Services
Additional uplifts are charged for advice based on requested tariff (Standard, Express, Next Day). Please note the charity discount cannot be applied to advice services.
Withdrawal fees
The BBFC operates its resources as efficiently as possible. Late cancellations of viewing slots disrupt our schedules and may lead to other customers missing the opportunity to get their content viewed.
All
The full invoice amount is payable if a submission is withdrawn within 2 working days of the requested classification date (RCD).
Please note we will not progress any new theatrical submissions until we receive payment of the withdrawal fee.
All Video and VoD submissions
The full invoice amount is payable if a submission is withdrawn within 3 working days of the requested classification date (RCD).
Please note we will not progress any new submissions until we receive payment of the withdrawal fee.
Content that is longer than the booked slot
This relates to all submissions.
Cinema (theatrical)
If our measurement of your content is longer than the running time stated on your submission form, we require payment of the difference before we inform you of the outcome of the viewing.
If we learn that the running time exceeds the booked slot by 12pm two working days before the viewing date, and we are unable to accommodate the viewing in our theatre, we will reschedule the viewing for another date.
If we learn that the running time exceeds the booked slot later than 12pm two working days before the viewing date, and we are unable to accommodate the viewing in our theatre, we charge a withdrawal fee.
Express and Next Day turnaround video
If our measurement of your content is longer than the running time stated on your submission form and requires a longer regular viewing slot, our Finance Team will contact you with the following three options:
Remain in the shorter turnaround slot and pay the difference if we have the capacity to view the work within the time.
Change the turnaround slot on Horizon to a standard turnaround.
Withdraw/cancel the submission (this will be subject to a withdrawal fee).
Cinema (theatrical) content that is shorter than the booked slot
This relates to theatrical submissions only.
If our measurement of your content is shorter than the running time stated on your submission form, we will charge a fee that reflects the originally stated running time.
The following exceptions apply:
If you are able to notify us of the correct running time by 12pm two working days before the viewing, we will only charge the measured running time.
If your content has a running time of one minute less than the booked time, we will not charge for this minute.
Incomplete cinema (theatrical) submissions
If we find content to be incomplete, unfinished, or in any other respect not the version you will be releasing, we reserve the right to convert the submission to an advice viewing. For this we charge the advice viewing fee. We ask that you submit the content again in its finished version for another full viewing, and we charge this in full. The company must cover the costs of a rescheduled outside screening room.
Cinema (theatrical) bookings made for external venues
Classification screenings that take place outside of the BBFC premises must be paid for at the same time as the classification fee. The cost of external venues/screening rooms must be covered by the invoiced company.
If an outside screening does not occur due to non delivery of content or cancellation of the submission, any cancellation fees from the outside venue must be covered by the invoiced company, regardless of the submission turnaround time.
Video-on-Demand
Standard costs for digital ratings are offset if (1) the same content is later submitted for a DVD/Blu-ray rating under the VRA and (2) we have the original Video-on-Demand submission in a format that makes it possible to compare it with the VRA submission.
Where a video submission consists of several elements that have each received individual VoD classifications, only one of the original fixed fees are included in the offset fee.
The additional fees for Next Day and Express turnaround fees are not offset during subsequent VRA submissions.
