The BBFC offers a formal ‘reconsideration’ procedure which is open to any distributor dissatisfied with the determination made in respect of their work. The reconsideration is free of charge and will normally take less than 10 working days.

A distributor may also appeal directly to an independent authority. Such an appeal may take place following, or instead of, a request for reconsideration by the BBFC. In the case of films, the distributor (or any member of the public) may address itself to the local authority which licenses cinemas in a particular area. In the case of video works (including DVDs, video games, etc) a distributor may appeal to the Video Appeals Committee which is independent of the BBFC and can be contacted by post at:

or by e-mail at;- enquiries@vacappeal.co.uk

Distributors should note that a reconsideration or an appeal involves looking at the issues afresh. This means that the outcome could, in some circumstances, be more restrictive than the original determination.

The public can make its views known to the BBFC at any stage of the classification process.