The logos and what they mean
Suitable for viewing by all ages.
Parental guidance advised. Themes or content may not be suitable for children.
Suitable for people 14 years of age or older. Those under 14 should view with an adult. No rental or purchase by those under 14. Parents cautioned. May contain violence, coarse language and/or sexually suggestive scenes.
Suitable for people 18 years of age or older. Persons under 18 should view with an adult. No rental or purchase by those under 18. Parents strongly cautioned. Will likely contain: explicit violence; frequent coarse language; sexual activity; and/or horror.
Restricted to 18 years and over. No rental or purchase by those under 18. Content not suitable for minors. Video contains frequent use of: sexual activity; brutal/graphic violence; intense horror; and/or other disturbing content.
Exempt. Contains material not subject to classification such as documentaries, nature, travel, music, arts and culture, sports and educational and instructional information.
The following descriptions are general definitions of each of the sixteen information pieces that may be used when classifying films. These definitions are included so that each board uses a common definition.
Not Recommended For Young Children
The film may be inappropriate for young children. An example might be the death of a family pet, a complicated family breakdown, or images considered frightening or disturbing for the very young. "Young Children" would be persons age 8 and under.
Not Recommended For Children
The film may include scenes that reflect a more mature situation, such as drug use/abuse. "Children" would be persons age 13 and under.
Frightening Scenes
The film contains images that might shock or frighten a person. These scenes might be found in a thriller, suspense or war genre.
Mature Theme
The film contains images or storylines that may be disturbing or incomprehensible to minors. The film may contain portrayals of domestic violence, racism, religious matters, death, or controversial social issues.
Coarse Language
The film contains profanity, threats, slurs, sexual references, or sexual innuendo.
Crude Content
The film contains material or humour that is unrefined or coarse and that may be seen as harsh, rude, or offensive.
Nudity
The film contains images of full frontal, partial, or rear nudity. Context will be determined by the situation, clarity, detail, repetition, and whether the nudity is in a non-sexual or sexual situation.
Sexual Content
The film may contain images and/or verbal references of sexual themes, sexual innuendo, fondling, implied sexual activity and simulated sexual activity.
Violence
The film may contain restrained portrayals of non-graphic violence, portrayals of violence with some bloodletting and/or tissue damage, and frequent more prolonged portrayals of violence resulting in bloodletting and tissue damage. The degree, frequency and intensity of the acts of violence will be factors in the classification decision.
Disturbing Content
Indicates the expected natural reaction by an audience to any elements of a film, including the tone of a film, pertaining to distress or suffering. This includes the implication or threat of physical and/or psychological violence, even when violence is not depicted.
Substance Abuse
The film may contain descriptive scenes depicting the use of illegal substances, the excessive use of tobacco or the use of alcohol resulting in impairment.
Gory Scenes
The film may contain graphic images of bloodletting and/or tissue damage. Includes horror or war representations. Degree, frequency and intensity will also be a major factor in the classification decision.
Explicit Sexual Content
The film contains sexual acts, shown in full, clear, unequivocal and realistic detail that may or may not be gratuitous to the film.
Brutal Violence
Visually explicit portrayals of violence, which may be characterized by extreme brutality, extreme bloodletting and/or extreme tissue damage. May include images of torture, horror or war.
Sexual Violence
The film contains scene(s) depicting the degradation of an individual in a sexual manner. May contain images of non-consensual acts with the intent to inflict harm, for example, simulated rape and/or the use of threat to force compliance in sexual activity.
Language May Offend
The film contains language that may be offensive to some groups, i.e. sacrilegious language such as Goddamn; also used for PG films that contain expletives
