British Board of Film Classification

Background
The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), originally the British Board of Film Censors, is a non-governmental organisation that is funded by the film industry and responsible for the national classification and censorship of films within the United Kingdom. It has a statutory requirement to classify home video releases and some video games under the Video Recordings Act 2010 (previously, the Video Recordings Act 1984; it was accidentally repealed earlier in the decade).

1st Bumper (January 1, 1913-1932?)
Bumper: On a grey background, we see a rectangular chalk-like frame with al crown at the top, surrounding the arched words "BRITISH BOARD OF FILM CENSORS" with the Board's street address below that text. Below the address is a notification in cursive writing, saying "This picture, (name of film), has been (certification description)" with the film's certification symbol at the bottom right corner.

Certification Symbols and their Descriptions:

Trivia: In 1921, the London County Council prohibited anyone under 16 years of age to watch an A-rated film unless accompanied by a parent or guardian.

Technique: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Near extinction. Was seen in British cinemas during that time period. It is unknown if this card has been revisited anywhere else.

2nd Bumper (1932?-1967?)
Bumper: We see the arched words "BRITISH BOARD OF FILM CENSORS" on a black background with the Board's emblem and street address below it. Below this is a notification saying "This is to certify that (name of film) has been (certification description).", with the certification symbol at the bottom right.

Certification Symbols and their Descriptions:

Trivia: In 1951, the X certificate is introduced as the first mandatory certificate, allowing only patrons aged 16 and over. This replaced the H certificate.

Variants:
 * A special variant released from September to October 1939 appended this phrase to the certificate description: “and complies with the requirements of the Ministry of Information”, seen on Nurse Edith Cavell, which is given a U rating.

Technique: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Practically extinct on VHS releases. Should be intact on the American version of TCM.
 * It is also intact on Dentist on the Job (1961), which can be found (albeit the first three minutes or so) as an Easter egg at the beginning of the 2001 Special Edition DVD of Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975).
 * The A rating variant makes a surprise appearance on the 1984 VHS of The 39 Steps (1935).

3rd Bumper (1967?-1971?)
Bumper: On a black background, we see "BRITISH BOARD of FILM CENSORS" in a Helvetica-like font. Below that to the right is "President" and "THE RT. HON. THE LORD HARLECH K.C.M.G." (William David Ormsby-Gore, 5th Baron Harlech, the Board's then-incumbent president) below that. To the right of those two is the Board's street address. The title of the film appears below the President's credits; and on the bottom left, there is a notification saying "This film has been passed" and to the right of is the film's rating symbol. To the right of that are the signatures of the President, the Examiners (in initials), and the Secretary.

Certification Symbols and their Descriptions:

Trivia:
 * This marks the first time the certification symbols have been updated since their inception 54 years before. The new symbols, which are black borderless boxes with white letters that are in a font similar to Microgramma Bold Extended, replaced the original octagon-shaped, bordered, and Gothic-lettered symbols that were in use since 1913.
 * On July 1, 1970, the AA certificate is introduced as a mandatory certificate allowing only patrons aged 14 and over. The A certificate now allows anyone of any age to be admitted, but any content of the film given this certificate may not be suitable for anyone under 8 years of age. The minimum age for admission in X-rated films is raised to 18.

Variants:
 * The film's title may be abbreviated to its initials, such as on On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969), where the title is indicated as "O.H.M.S.S." on the certificate.
 * A version exists where everything in the bumper is more centered and a slightly different font is used (except for the rating symbol, the title of the film and the signatures on the bottom). In this variant, "BRITISH BOARD" appears above "of FILM CENSORS" and the street address appears below that, the President's credit appears below that, and the President's, Examiners' and Secretary's credits all appear below the text "This film has been (certification description)" and the film's rating to the right of that.

Technique: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Extremely rare. It is unknown if it appears on any VHS releases, but this can be found on some old 35mm prints of films released during this bumper's lifetime on eBay.

4th Bumper (1971?-December 18, 1982)
Bumper: On a black background, we see "BRITISH BOARD OF FILM CENSORS" at the left and below it, the location of the BBFC. Under it is some small info about the BBFC, including the President's and the Secretary's signatures. On the right, we see a coloured rectangle with a pattern consisting of the organisation's full name in small type and stacked on the left of it. On the rectangle is the name of the film and a line below it. Under it is "THIS FILM HAS BEEN PASSED" and the film's certification symbol.

Certification Symbols and their Descriptions:

Variants:
 * Until June 18, 1975, Stephen Murphy was the BBFC's Secretary of the Board (then the title for the organisation's chief executive officer) and his signature for said position was on cards for films made before this date such as The Wicker Man (1973). When James Ferman became Secretary, his signature was added to future cards and his title was changed to "Director".

Technique: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Rare. This bumper is seen on some pre-cert VHS releases from the UK.
 * It is unknown if the U version appears on any home media releases.
 * The AA version is on Norman Loves Rose (1982) and Creepshow (1982).
 * The UK Blu-ray releases of Gregory's Girl (1981) and the aforementioned The Wicker Man retain their original theatrical cards, which are the A and X variants of this one, respectively.
 * The X version is the easiest to find; it appears on The Evil Dead (1981), Bruce Lee - The Man, The Myth (1976), Shivers (1975), Visiting Hours (1982) and The Kentucky Fried Movie (1977).
 * If you go to see a 35mm screening of a movie released from 1971 to 1982, there's a good chance this card will appear at the start of the movie.

5th Bumper (December 19, 1982-December 31, 2002)
Bumper: On a black background, we see "BRITISH BOARD OF FILM CENSORS" in a serif font at the top and below it, the location of the BBFC. Under it is "This is to certify that", then the name of the film (in a bold Arial font, also uppercased) and a line below it. Under it is "has been passed" and the film's rating, with a description of it under it. The signatures of the President and the Director are written to the left and right, respectively.

Certification Symbols and their Descriptions:

Trivia: The cinema 12 certificate was modified and renamed 12A. Those under 12 could now be admitted to 12A films, provided that they were accompanied by an adult aged at least 18 years old, although the BBFC recommends that 12A films are generally unsuitable for children under 12 years old. Contrary to popular belief, the certificate was not introduced for the film Spider-Man (2002); the first film to receive it was actually The Bourne Identity. However, Spider-Man and other 12-rated films still on general release at the time were reclassified as 12A. Introduction of the 12A followed two years of consultation and a trial period in Norwich, during which time the certificate was known as PG-12. The video 12 certificate remained unchanged. Shortly after the new certificate was introduced, all of the symbols were graphically modernised but retained all their main features (colour, shape, etc.).

Variants:
 * When the BBFC changed their name in 1984, the card was modified accordingly. The word "CENSORS" is replaced with "CLASSIFICATION", and "has been passed" now says "has been classified for cinema exhibition".
 * On January 26, 1985, William David Ormsby-Gore (Lord Harlech), the then-incumbent president of the BBFC, died in a car accident while still in office. Out of respect for his memory, the section where the President's signature would usually go is covered up for films classified from that date until George Lascelles, 7th Earl of Harewood, succeeded him in June 1985.
 * In the earlier days of the card's use, the text was larger and in a different font.
 * On video releases, the text is shifted to the left, and says "has been classified for supply as a video recording".
 * The early video cards had ludicrously over-sized text for the title.
 * The 12/15/18 variants of the video card had "Suitable" tacked on to the front of the phrase, and the numbers were written as numbers rather than words. The PG variant also reads "General viewing, but some scenes may be unsuitable for young children".
 * Video versions after 1986 omit the word "that" from "This is to certify that".
 * Until August 1, 1989, home video releases often featured unofficial cert symbols with a plain background; from that point on in time, the official cert symbols were used.
 * When Andreas Whittam-Smith became President on December 10, 1997, the card underwent a slight change; the basic layout remained the same but the appearance of the certificates was slightly different.
 * On Screen Original releases, the film's name is written in a more crude font, and adds "SCREEN ORIGINAL PRESENTS" above the name.
 * On some CBS/Fox, Curzon Video and Castle Pictures rental releases, an alternate placeholder is used with the text "The following feature has been categorised by the British Board of Film Classification as" followed by the rating symbol.
 * On some Palace Video releases, "This is to certify", the name of the movie, and "has been classified to supply as a video recording" are removed from the card.

Technique: None, usually. However, a few Medusa tapes have a special transition for the card.

Music/Sounds: None.

Music/Sounds Variants:
 * On some Krypton Force tapes, Strauss' Radetzky March (serving as the intro music for the Krypton Force ident) plays in the middle of the card.
 * On the Palace Video release of The Snowman (1982), the last note of the Palace Video ident's music is played over the card.

Availability:
 * Cinema version: Probably rare, however it can be found on old VHS releases.
 * The U version appears on the original retail release of The Transformers: The Movie (1986).
 * The PG version is found on The Cartier Affair (1984) and Strictly Ballroom (1992).
 * The 12 version is a really tough find but it can be found on the sample tape of Dances with Wolves (1990).
 * The 12A version does not appear on any home releases.
 * The 15 version is seen on High Spirits (1988), Cantonen Iron Kung Fu (1979), and Missing in Action (1984).
 * The 18 version is the easiest to find - it's seen on I Drink Your Blood (1970), Tenebrae (1982), Q: The Winged Serpent (1982), The Return of the Living Dead (1985), Sweet Sixteen (the horror film on Replay Video, not the Ken Loach film), Tuareg: The Desert Warrior (1984), and Cujo (1983).
 * It is unknown if an R18 version exists, though it is quite unlikely.
 * If you go to see a 35mm showing of a movie from 1982-2002, this card will most likely show up before it.
 * The latest known film to be released with this card is City of God, released at the start of 2003. It also made a surprise appearance with the July 2019 theatrical re-release of The Matrix (1999).
 * Home video version: Insanely common. Basically any Warner Home Video release from around 1986-1997, most Medusa Home Video releases, Krypton Force, and Screen Originals releases and others had this before the movie.
 * The Uc version can be found on the early Guild Home Video releases of Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends and the Palace Video release of The Snowman. The blank version appears on Palace Video's retail release of Night of the Demons (1988).

6th Bumper (1982-1985)
Bumper: On a black background, we see this text:

THIS FILM HAS BEEN PASSED BY THE BRITISH BOARD OF FILM CENSORS AND GRANTED A (BLANK) CERTIFICATE

where (BLANK) is filled with the relevant rating of the movie that follows (either U, PG, 15, or 18).

Technique: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: It is unknown how often this bumper was used, if very frequently at all. It appears to be generic filler for a different card. If you went to a 35mm screening of a movie from 1982-1985 (such as Explorers (1985)), there's a slight chance this could have appeared instead of the usual bumper.

7th Bumper (January 1, 2003-December 31, 2011)
Bumper: On a black background, at the top left of the screen we see the new BBFC logo with "British Board of Film Classification" below it in a small font. Below that is "This is to certify that" and the title of the film below it in a bold Arial font - that is on a line, and below that line is "has been classified for cinema exhibition". The certification symbol and its meaning are now to the right of the screen. The signatures of the President and the Director are below the main part, and the BBFC's web address "www.bbfc.co.uk" is to the top right of the screen.

Certification Symbols and their Descriptions:

Variants:
 * When initially introduced at the start of 2003, the cards were designed and printed in a 4:3 aspect ratio regardless of the aspect ratio of the film they preceded. From around late 2004, they were printed according to the aspect ratio of the film they preceded, with CinemaScope films having wider cards, for example. This change seems to have occurred around July or August 2004; the earliest film confirmed to have a ratio-relevant card is the re-release of What Ever Happened To Baby Jane? (1962), classified on August 27, 2004.
 * From late 2008, when the BBFC started making their cards digitally rather than printing the titles on physical cards, the text for the movie title became smaller.

Technique: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Seen in cinemas before all films from the start of 2003 to the end of 2011.
 * Films using this card include the 2006 remake of The Omen, released to British cinemas (as well as around the world) on June 6, 2006, Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (2005), many Disney-Pixar films during the era (beginning with Finding Nemo (2003) and ending with Cars 2 (2011)) and others.
 * The last film released with it was The Artist (2011).
 * An R18 version presumably exists, because Deep Throat (1972) was classified R18 on film in 2005, though due to the conditions under which R18 films must be shown, and the fact that Deep Throat is probably the only film ever given a theatrical R18, it'll likely never surface.
 * If you go to see a 35mm screening of a movie from between 2003-2011, this card will most likely turn up before it.

8th Bumper (January 1-February 29, 2012)
Bumper: Based on the original 1913 rating bumper, on a white background, we see an old-looking certificate. Inside it is the arched phrase "British Board of Film Classification" with "Celebrating 100 Years 1912-2012" inside it. Below that is "This is to certify that" in cursive writing, a dotted line and "has been classified for cinema exhibition" below the dotted line. At the bottom are the signatures for the president and the director, and either side of those are the cert symbol and description and the BBFC Centenary logo.

Certification Symbols and their Descriptions:

This is same for all the other 2012 Retro Cards.

Technique: None.

Trivia: This and the other Retro Cards were made in celebration of the BBFC's 100th anniversary, having started operations in 1912 and to show what the BBFC rating bumpers were like over the years.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Seen in cinemas before all films released from January 1 to February 29, 2012. Examples include The Muppets, The Woman in Black and War Horse.
 * It was also seen before Premium Rush, released on September 14, 2012, due to that film originally being intended for a January release.

9th Bumper (March 1-April 30, 2012)
Bumper: Styled off and quite similar to the 1932 bumper, with the following features:
 * The word "Classification" in place of "Censors" (text still uppercase)
 * The BBFC Centenary logo replacing the old Board emblem; the words "BRITISH BOARD OF" and "FILM CLASSIFICATION" are to the left and right of the logo, respectively
 * The phrase "CELEBRATING 100 YEARS 1912-2012" (in an italic serif font, with "1912-2012" in a much smaller size) replacing the Board's street address
 * The phrase "has been classified for cinema exhibition" replacing "has been Passed for/as (rating description)"
 * The certification symbol and its corresponding description are placed directly below the "has been classified for cinema exhibition" text, then the reference number and the Board's website address being displayed below
 * The signatures for the President and the Director being located at the bottom left and bottom right of the frame, respectively

Technique: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Was seen in cinemas before films released from March 1 to April 30, 2012. Examples include The Hunger Games, ''The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists! (The Pirates!: Band of Misfits in the United States) and Avengers Assemble (Marvel's The Avengers'' in the United States).

10th Bumper (May 1-June 30, 2012)
Bumper: This is a revamp of the 1967 bumper. On a black background, we see filming boundaries surrounding the screen, which has "BRITISH BOARD of FILM CLASSIFICATION - CELEBRATING 100 YEARS 1912-2012" at the top with the BBFC Centenary logo next to it. Below that is the standard "This is to certify that (name of film) has been classified for cinema exhibition" with the cert symbol and description at the bottom right and the two signatures to the left.

Technique: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Was seen in cinemas before films released from May 1 to June 30, 2012, including Men in Black 3, Moonrise Kingdom and Rock of Ages.
 * It was also seen before the 2019 re-releases of Jaws (1975) and presumably Don't Look Now (1973), due to those using DCP prints from 2012.

11th Bumper (July 1-August 30, 2012)
Bumper: Modeled off the 1971 bumper, except the background colour of the right part of the bumper now matches the colour of the cert (green for U, yellow for PG, for 12A,  for 15, and  for 18) and the heading of the left part now says "BRITISH BOARD OF FILM CLASSIFICATION" with the BBFC Centenary logo above it and the BBFC website address (www.bbfc.co.uk) and the signatures of the President and the Director below it. The stacked text of the leftmost side of the coloured rectangle also now says "BRITISH BOARD OF FILM CLASSIFICATION", the phrase "HAS BEEN PASSED" becomes "HAS BEEN CLASSIFIED FOR CINEMA EXHIBITION", and the certification symbol is in a black background with white text, but having the same shape as the standard variant. Below the certification symbol is the rating description, with the reference number displayed below.

Technique: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Was seen in the cinema before films released from July 1 to August 31, 2012. Examples include Ted, The Three Stooges, the re-release of Total Recall (1990), and The Dark Knight Rises.

12th Bumper (August 3, 2012)
Bumper: On a white background, we see drawn curtains with two stars at the top of them, and the BBFC logo (in and gold) between the stars. Below that are multiple drawn things, including a red soda cup, a bag of popcorn, tickets, a hot dog, fries, two pencils (which contain the President's and Director's signatures) and a camera which is projecting a space where the certification symbol (in this case, "U") goes. There are also spaces for the reference number and title.

Technique: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Was only seen in cinemas before Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days.

13th Bumper (September 1-October 31, 2012)
Bumper: Similar to the 1982 bumper, except with the updated certification symbol and the BBFC Centenary logo. The web address is also below the "BRITISH BOARD OF FILM CLASSIFICATION" text.

Technique: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Was seen in cinemas before films released from September 1 to October 31, 2012. Examples include ParaNorman, Skyfall and Ruby Sparks.
 * However, Premium Rush used the January-February 2012 bumper instead since it was originally classified for release in January.

14th Bumper (November 1-December 31, 2012)
Bumper: Same as the 2003 bumper except with the BBFC Centenary logo in place of the regular BBFC logo and "A Century of Cinema" next to it.

Technique: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Was seen in cinemas before all films released from November 1 to December 31, 2012, although Argo and Pitch Perfect used the previous bumper since they were originally classified for release in October. Examples include Parental Guidance, Seven Psychopaths, and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.

15th Bumper (January 1, 2013-April 26, 2019)
Bumper: We see a smaller white BBFC logo with "Age Ratings You Trust" below it in the top left corner and, on the top right corner, the certificate's reference number with the Board's web address (www.bbfc.co.uk) below. Both the "Age Ratings You Trust" text and the web address are in a secondary colour based on the film's rating (green for U, yellow for PG, for 12A,  for 15, and  for 18). Below the BBFC logo is the standard "This is to certify that (name of film) has been classified for cinema exhibition" message except the line and the "has been classified for cinema exhibition" text are in a brighter shade of the same secondary colour. Below that is the certification symbol with the consumer advice (called "Insight" from 2014) and meaning next to it with the meaning also being in the certificate's secondary colour.

Certification Symbols and their Descriptions:

Variants:
 * For films certified from February 24, 2014 until the retirement of this bumper, the consumer advice is changed; the BBFCInsight logo is now present with the consumer advice, which now looks slightly different (it would be "strong bloody violence, strong language" for Olympus Has Fallen (2013).)
 * From March 12, 2016 onward, David Cooke's signature is replaced by that of the new Director, David Austin.
 * From 2015, the Insight does not appear on the card if it contains spoilers for the film. This occurred on The Neon Demon (2016) and The Survivalist (2015).
 * The Insight for Shaun the Sheep Movie (2015), also does not appear on the card, but for an unknown reason.
 * On the card for Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014), the Insight logo is missing.

Technique: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Common. It was seen in British cinemas during that time period.
 * The last film known to be released with this bumper was Eighth Grade, released on April 26, 2019.
 * However, it is still possible to see it; if you go to see a re-release of a film that was originally shown between 2013 and 2018, as well as re-releases of older films that had a BBFC submission in that timespan, it will most likely appear.

16th Bumper (February 6, 2019- )
U rating

PG rating

12A rating

15 rating

Bumper: We see a similar smaller BBFC logo with the text "View what's right for you" next to it on the top left of the card, and this text:

Get more info on our app bbfc.co.uk/app

on the top right side. Below this is the certificate, and next to that is a space for the film's title and the Insight below that, which are different colours depending on the certificate (green for U, yellow for PG, for 12A,  for 15, and  for 18). Below the Insight is the meaning of the certificate, with the signatures of the President and the Director on the bottom.

Certification Symbols and their Descriptions:

Variants:
 * The BBFC certificates underwent a graphical redesign in late 2019 (now in a solid background color, with smoother edges for the triangles on the U and PG certificates, and the text in a plain, white Helvetica font), with the new symbols appearing with this bumper before films released on October 31, 2019. The BBFC's logo was redesigned as well, which appears in the top left corner. The bumper is otherwise identical.
 * Packaged media continued to use the 2002 certification symbols until late April 2020, where a transition period has been allowed for usage of either the old or new symbols until October 5, 2020, when only the 2019 symbols are allowed to be used.
 * On Maleficent: Mistress of Evil (2019), the usual black background is replaced by a stylised drawing of Maleficent over a pastel purple-pink background. Additionally, the signature of the designer of the background (with "Black Card Designer" displayed below the signature, in a different font from the one used for the words "President" and "Chief Executive") is displayed to the left of the reference number, and the rating symbol (in this case, PG) uses the new design. Much like the bumper seen before Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days, this design was the winner of another contest run by the BBFC.

Technique: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Current; seen in British cinemas before every film.
 * The first film known to be preceded by it was Alita: Battle Angel, released on February 6, 2019.
 * However, it did not immediately start to appear before every film; several films released between February 6 and April 26, 2019 still had the previous bumper, including If Beale Street Could Talk, The Kid Who Would Be King (though certain screenings were allegedly preceded by this bumper), Instant Family and Wild Rose.
 * The first film to be released with a card featuring the 2019 certificate design was Sorry We Missed You, released the day after the new certificates were implemented (Doctor Sleep, released the day they were implemented, still used the 2002 cert design).

(1971?-December 18, 1982)
Bumper: On a black background, we see "BRITISH BOARD OF FILM CENSORS" at the left and beside it, the text "(rating symbol) TRAILER ADVERTISING (A/AN) (rating symbol) FILM" with a horizontal white line dividing each side (e.g. “U trailer advertising an AA film” means that the film is rated AA and its accompanying trailer is rated U).

Certification Symbols and their Descriptions:

Technique: None.

Music/Sounds: None.

Availability: Extremely rare; presumably used with several trailers at the cinema (as was the purpose) around the time but prints of this age are hard to find.
 * Available as an extra on the DVD of Scanners (1981), which is attached to the theatrical trailer.

(December 19, 1982-?)
Bumper: On a black background, we see an age rating for the trailer at the top and below it, the age rating of the film that it advertises, with accompanying text.

Certification Symbols and their Descriptions:

Variants:
 * Some bumpers only show the rating of the trailer (e.g. if the film has not yet been certified).
 * The cinema variants rearrange the "TRAILER ADVERTISING" text horizontally and remove the white border. These also appear on Palace and Guild videos.

Technique: None.

Music/Sounds: None. However, before Nukie (1987), the trailer's opening music plays over the card.

Availability: Rare, but it can be found on old British VHS rentals between the 1980s and the mid-1990s, mainly from (CBS/)Fox Video, Palace Pictures, VFO, Medusa Communications, Castle Pictures, Thorn-EMI Screen Entertainment, Videoform Pictures, Capital Home Video and Guild Home Video. Also played before trailers at the cinema.