Film certification gets new U/A 7+, 13+, 16+ categories under revised MIB guidelines

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has revised the guidelines governing film certification, introducing age-specific U/A classifications and updating the principles that the Board of Film Certification must follow while clearing films for public exhibition.

The revised guidelines were issued on September 16, 2026, under Section 5B(2) of the Cinematograph Act, 1952, and supersede the government’s December 6, 1991 notification, except in respect of actions already taken or omitted before the supersession.

Under the new framework, films that are otherwise suitable for unrestricted public exhibition but contain content that may require parental consideration for younger viewers can receive age-based U/A classifications of U/A 7+, U/A 13+ and U/A 16+.

The guidelines state that the objective of film certification is to ensure that cinema remains responsible and sensitive to the values and standards of society while ensuring that artistic expression and creative freedom are not unduly curbed. The government has also said certification should respond to social change and that films should, as far as possible, have aesthetic value and a good cinematic standard.

New age-based U/A classifications

Under the revised framework, the Board can require an age-related parental guidance endorsement where, considering the nature, content and theme of a film, it believes parents or guardians should decide whether younger children should watch it.

Content considered suitable for children aged seven and above, while requiring parental guidance for those below seven, will carry a U/A 7+ classification.

Similarly, films considered suitable for children aged 13 and above, with parental guidance for those below 13, will receive a U/A 13+ marker. Content intended for viewers aged 16 and above, with parental guidance for those below 16, will be classified U/A 16+.

The guidelines also retain the provision for films that are unsuitable for non-adults to be certified exclusively for adult audiences. Films that meet the broader certification criteria but are considered unsuitable for exhibition to non-adults will be certified for adult audiences only.

For unrestricted public exhibition, the Board is required to ensure that a film is suitable for family viewing, with the guidelines defining this as content that all members of a family, including children, can watch together.

Restrictions on violence and depiction of crime

The revised guidelines continue to place restrictions on the depiction of violence, criminal activity and abuse.

The Board is required to ensure that anti-social activities, including violence, are not glorified or justified. Films should also not depict the modus operandi of criminals or visuals and words that are likely to incite the commission of an offence.

The guidelines specifically address the depiction of children in films. Scenes showing children as victims or perpetrators of violence, or as forced witnesses to violence, as well as scenes showing child abuse, are covered by the certification restrictions.

The rules also prohibit needless depiction of cruelty to animals and abuse or ridicule of physically or mentally handicapped persons. Pointless or avoidable scenes involving violence, cruelty and horror, as well as violence primarily intended for entertainment or content that could desensitise or dehumanise people, are also to be excluded.

Drug, tobacco and alcohol depictions

The government has retained restrictions concerning depictions of alcohol, drugs and tobacco.

Scenes that have the effect of justifying or glorifying drinking are not to be shown. Similarly, scenes that encourage, justify or glamorise drug addiction or consumption of tobacco and smoking are prohibited under the guidelines.

Films depicting or involving the consumption, use or trafficking of narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances must carry a statutory warning or disclaimer. The prescribed warning states: “Illicit Narcotics Destroy Health and Guarantees Imprisonment. Say No to Drugs.”

Sexual violence and treatment of women

The revised framework also sets out specific requirements for the depiction of sexual violence and content involving women.

Scenes degrading or denigrating women in any manner are not to be presented. Scenes involving sexual violence against women, including attempted rape, rape or molestation, are to be avoided. Where such an incident is germane to the theme of a film, the guidelines state that its depiction should be reduced to the minimum and no details should be shown.

The guidelines similarly state that scenes depicting sexual perversions should be avoided. Where such matters are germane to the theme, they should be reduced to the minimum and no details should be shown.

They also prohibit vulgarity, obscenity or depravity that offends human sensibilities and disallow dual-meaning words that are considered to cater to “baser instincts”.

Communal, national security and public-order provisions

The guidelines retain provisions concerning content that could affect communal relations, national security and public order.

Visuals or words contemptuous of racial, religious or other groups are not to be presented. The guidelines also prohibit visuals or words that promote communal, obscurantist, anti-scientific or anti-national attitudes.

The certification framework further requires that a film should not call into question the sovereignty and integrity of India, jeopardise the security of the state, strain friendly relations with foreign states or endanger public order.

Content involving defamation of an individual or body of individuals, or contempt of court, is also covered. The guidelines clarify that scenes tending to create scorn, disgrace or disregard of rules, or undermining the dignity of a court, fall within the definition of contempt of court for the purposes of certification.

National symbols and emblems can be shown only in accordance with the provisions of the Emblems and Names (Prevention of Improper Use) Act, 1950.

Films to be judged in their entirety

A key principle retained in the revised framework is that films should be assessed in their entirety from the perspective of their overall impact rather than solely on individual scenes.

The Board is also required to examine films in the context of the period depicted and contemporary standards of the country and people to which the film relates, subject to the condition that the film does not deprave the morality of the audience.

This provides the certification authority with a framework to consider the broader context of a film while assessing its content.

Specialised audience certification

The guidelines also provide for films whose exhibition should be restricted to members of a particular profession or class of persons.

Where the Board considers, based on the nature, content and theme of a film, that its exhibition should be restricted to a specialised audience, it can certify the film for public exhibition limited to the specialised audience specified by the Board.

Titles also come under scrutiny

The revised guidelines make clear that the certification process extends to film titles.

The Board is required to scrutinise titles carefully and ensure that they are not provocative, vulgar or offensive, or otherwise violate the certification guidelines.

The revised notification was issued by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on September 16, 2026, and signed by an Additional Secretary to the Government of India.

The changes provide an updated framework for film certification, combining age-specific parental guidance categories with existing restrictions around violence, substance use, sexual violence, communal content, national security, public order and other areas covered by the Cinematograph Act.