CBFC | FAQ

The ratings are U, UA (UA 7+, UA 13 + and UA 16 +), A and S.

Yes, certification is required.

Any film more than 72 minutes is Long Film. Any film more than 10 minutes but less than 72 minutes is Medium Film and any film less than 10 minutes is Short film.

The application for certification of a film produced in a particular region should be submitted to that concerned regional office only. The following two norms will define the “place of production” of films:

The location of the producers’ association council/Chamber etc. with whom the film-title was registered before starting production of the film concerned. In case of registration of the title with more than one association/council only the earliest registration to be considered; and
The location of the Head Office/regional office/production office of the film processing company.

Sr. No.	Regional Office	'Place of production' of films
1	Mumbai	States of Goa, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and the Union Territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman Diu.
2	Chennai	State of Tamil Nadu and the Union Territory of Puducherry.
3	Kolkata	West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand and the Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar.
4	Hyderabad	States of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
5	Bengaluru	State of Karnataka.
6	Thiruvananthapuram	State of Kerala and the Union Territory of Lakshadweep.
7	Delhi	States of Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and the Union Territories of Chandigarh and Delhi.
8	Cuttack	State of Orissa.
9	Guwahati	States of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura.

The following two norms will define the ‘place of production’ of films :-

(i) The location of the producer’s association/ council/chamber, etc. with whom the film-title was registered before starting production of the film concerned. In the case of registration of the title with more than one association/ council /chamber, etc. only the earlier registration to be considered; and

(ii) The location of the Head Office /Regional Office / production office of the film [producing] company.

Indian Feature Films:

Fill up the Application form online.
Upload synopsis of the film in respective language with translation in English.
Upload typed lyrics of the songs with TCR/ Locations.
Upload credit titles of the film.
Duration of the film, duly supported by the Lab letter.
Upload shooting script.
Fees should be paid online. Only in exceptional circumstances / after clarifying with local CBFC office, the fees may be paid offline, demand draft should be paid in favour of the designated Accounts Officer of that region.
Lab letter declaring that the final copy of the film is ready for examination.
In case of revised version, full details of addition/deletion/shifting of sequences should be given.
Title registration letter from the concerned chamber/association/ council in Which the title was registered.
Publicity Clearance Certificate wherever applicable.

Indian Short Films :

Fill up the online application form.
Upload synopsis of the film in respective language with translation in English.
Upload copy of the script / commentary / lyrics.
Fees should be paid online. Only in exceptional circumstances / after clarifying with local CBFC office, the fees may be paid offline, demand draft should be paid in favour of the designated Accounts Officer of that region.
A declaration on the letter head (in the case of language version ) to the effect that the language version is identical to the master version and the commentary is same.
Lab letter declaring that the final copy of the film is ready for examination and certifying the duration of film.

Imported Short films:

Online application Form.
Fees should be paid online. Only in exceptional circumstances / after clarifying with local CBFC office, the fees may be paid offline, demand draft should be paid in favour of the designated Accounts Officer of that region.
Letter of authority or a copy of an agreement from the original producer/copyright holder/Importer etc.
A certified copy of the Customs Call Memo intimating the arrival of the film/video in the name of the Importer/applicants from Customs.
A certified copy of the Bill of Entry.
A certified copy of the purchase order, invoice etc. relating to the purchase of the film/video.
Upload synopsis in English for each film/video duly signed by the Importer/Applicant in all the pages.
Upload Script/Commentary duly signed by the Importer/ Applicant in all the pages.
CBFC will accept application for certification of Imported films/videos only on production of Bill of Entry through OGL.

Certification Fees for Film Application

Regional Office	Designated Accounts Officer
Chennai, Hyderabad, Thiruvananthapuram and Bengaluru	Pay and Accounts Officer Doordarshan Kendra Chennai
Kolkatta, Cuttack	Pay & Accounts Officer Doordarshan Kendra Kolkatta
Mumbai	Pay & Accounts Officer Ministry of I & B Films Division Mumbai
Guwahati	Pay and Accounts Officer Doordarshan Kendra Guwahati

Picture Positive/Negative.( In case of celluloid film )
Sound Positive/Negative. ( In case of celluloid film )
Copy of the Show Cause Notice (SCN)
Declaration stating that the cuts have been effected along with a cut chart showing cuts in a the order in which they have been requested for, in the SCN.
Acceptance of UA (UA 7+, UA 13 + and UA 16 +) or A certificate in case the film is granted UA (UA 7+, UA 13 + and UA 16 +) or A certificate.
DCP/DVD containing cuts for cut verification purpose of certified version of the film. (DCP in case of theatrical film or DVD in case of others)
Letter of authority for sealing of DCP in case of theatrical film or DVD in case of others.

The Cinematograph (Certification) Rules, 2024 describes the time limits applicable for certification under various circumstances.

Scrutiny of application - 7 days
Formation of Examination Committee - 15 days
Forwarding the report of EC to Chairman – 3 days
Communication of the order of the Board to the applicant - 3 days
Submission of reply by the applicant - 5 days
Examination of cuts - 10 days
Issue of Certificate - 5 days

Minor additions and deletions can be done in a film after certification. The following documents are to be submitted to the regional office in which the original certificate was issued:

Online application under Rule 31.
Upload Lab letter authenticating the length of alterations.
Reel-wise / Location wise (TCR) List of deletions/additions/modifications effected in the film.
DVD containing the additions/modifications.
Payment should be made online. Only in exceptional circumstances / after clarifying with local CBFC office, the fees may be paid offline, demand draft should be paid in favour of the designated Accounts Officer of that region.

Fee for the examination of a film for certifying alterations under rule 31 shall be calculated only with reference to the reel or reels ( or cassette or cassettes) in which the portion or portions excised, added, coloured or otherwise altered occur and for the purposes the rate specified in the table of fees for original certification shall be applicable.

Provided that where the alterations is by excision, the fee chargeable shall be at the rate of one hundred and fifty rupees per each endorsement.

A dubbed film is certified in the same region where the original film was certified. For instance, after a Malayalam film is certified in Thiruvananthapuram region, all further dubbed versions in other languages - Tamil, Telugu etc. are examined and certified by Thiruvananthapuram region only unless written waiver is given by Chairperson u/r 23.

At Mumbai office only.

After certification, normally a title cannot be changed unless the Regional Officer is satisfied that there is a very genuine reason for change of title. Even here, titles cannot be changed for a film which has already been released in a theatre. Application should be made under Rule 33, payment should be made online. Only in exceptional circumstances / after clarifying with local CBFC office, the fees may be paid offline, demand draft should be paid in favour of the designated Accounts Officer of that region. An affidavit should also be given on a stamped paper that the films has not been commercially exhibited. Title Registration should be obtained from the concerned body.

There is no CBFC certification for T.V programs and serials. However, under Cable Television Network (Regulation) Act, 1995 content code / Advertisement code have been prescribed for programme and advertisements appearing in cable TV Network. The offences under Cable Television Network Regulation Act being non-cognizable, a specific complaint has to be made by an Officer authorised by the State Governments.

Yes. Only certified films should be shown on the Cable TV.

No film can be re-certified in the same format. However celluloid films can be recertified in video format after revision. An Applicant or a person to whom the right has passed on can revise and apply for recategorization in video format along with prescribed fee. The Board will examine the film like fresh film.

The following documents are to be submitted for reclassification of films in to ‘U’/'UA (UA 7+, UA 13+ and UA 16+)':

Online application.
Upload Script with list of voluntary deletions duly marked.
Upload list of voluntary deletions with length or running time.
Upload copy of Certificate issued to the original film.
Upload copy of telecast rights.
Fees should be paid online. Only in exceptional circumstances / after clarifying with local CBFC office, the fees may be paid offline, demand draft should be paid in favour of the designated Accounts Officer of that region.
In case office Demand Draft (in favour of designated Accounts Officer in the region).
DVD (after carrying out the voluntary deletions). The DVD should contain time-slot throughout as per running time of the film or reel change should be visible in the DVD. The voluntary cuts should be shown separately in the beginning of the DVD.

Fee: As in fresh film.

Yes. Many films are originally classified as ‘A’ or ‘UA (UA 7+, UA 13+ and UA 16+)’ because the theme is adult oriented. Such films cannot be reclassified as ‘U even for the purpose of telecasting in TV.

Exhibition of uncertified films is an offence under Cinematograph Act. It is a cognizable and non-bailable offence. It is not necessary to wait for the local police to initiate action. Being a cognizable offence, any responsible citizen or organization can file a complaint with the police. The police are bound to initiate action on the complaint. In case of refusal to file FIR at the level of the police station, as per law, a written complaint to the Superintendent of Police of the District will be sufficient to get the FIR registered. The Collector of the District or the Police Commissioner are normally the licensing authority for the cinema halls. Many States in India have the rule that the licenses for cinema halls can be suspended or even revoked in case of violation of Cinematograph Act by cinema halls.

Frequently, audio CDs are released much before the theatrical release of the film for the purpose of promotion. At present, there is no law prescribed to certify such audio CDs.

According to Section 7E of the Act, all members of the Tribunal, the Board and of any advisory panel, shall be considered public servants. According to rule 34, Chairman or any member of the Board or member of the advisory panel or Regional officer or any other Officer or members of the staff of the Board, may enter any placed licensed under the law in force relating to cinemas, in discharge of his duties under the Act and the owner or the manager of such place must provide him with a seat of the highest rate or the next lower class to view the film without charging the admission fee and entertainment tax.

After a film has been certified as ‘UA (UA 7+, UA 13 + and UA 16 +)’ ‘A’ or ‘S’, it is mandatory under Rule 35 that the category of Certificate is mentioned on the face of advertisements such as newspapers, hoarding, poster, trailers etc. Non mentioning of the category of certificate on the face of advertisements is an offence under the Cinematograph Act.

Any person who exhibits or permits to exhibit interpolated film is responsible. It has to be observed whether the characters involved in the main film are also involved in the interpolated bits. If it is so, then one can infer that the producer and the distributor may also be responsible for interpolation. According to Section 7(b) of the Act, if any person , without lawful authority, alters or tampers with in any film, after it has been certified, will be committing a crime under Cinematograph Act. It is to be noted that the burden of proving the lawfulness of the act shall lie on the person who altered or tampered with the certified film.

It is an offence under Section 6A of the Cinematograph Act.