Film age ratings from the viewpoint of American families

A film age rating is a label that says what age a film is suitable for. The best-known rating system belongs to the Motion Picture Association of America (MPA), which has rated American theatrical films since November 1968, and its labels, namely G, PG, PG-13, R and NC-17, appear on posters and on film pages on sites such as IMDb. On this page we have set out the meaning of each rating, older labels such as X and Approved, several ratings from other countries such as C18, and American parents' views of this system.

Table of film age ratings in the United States

Rating	English name	Meaning
G	General Audiences	Suitable for all ages. There is nothing in the film that would be inappropriate for a child.
PG	Parental Guidance Suggested	Anyone may watch, but part of the film may not be suitable for young children and it is better for parents to know first what the film is.
PG-13	Parents Strongly Cautioned	Part of the film may be inappropriate for those under thirteen. Most blockbuster superhero and action films are in this rating.
R	Restricted	Under seventeen may see the film in a cinema only with a father, mother or an accompanying adult guardian.
NC-17	Adults Only	No one seventeen or younger is allowed to see the film in a cinema.

Beside each rating there is also a short note that states the reason for the rating, for example "intense violence and language" or "frightening scenes." These notes are often more useful for parents than the rating letter itself, because two R films may have been rated R for entirely different reasons.

What does an R rating mean?

R means the film is restricted: a viewer under seventeen at a US cinema enters the auditorium only with a parent or adult guardian. Films usually receive an R for strong violence, harsh and frequent language, drug use or sexual scenes. R is not a ban; it leaves the decision to the family. The difference from NC-17 is that with NC-17 even a parent's accompaniment is not enough.

What is the difference between PG and PG-13?

PG is a milder warning: the film is open to all but a few scenes or words may not be suitable for a small child. PG-13 was added in July 1984, after several PG films such as "Gremlins" and "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" had scenes that many parents did not consider suitable for a child. Since then PG-13 has been the middle rating between PG and R, and its warning is specifically for those under thirteen.

The X rating and NC-17

In the original 1968 system there were four ratings: G, M, R and X. The X rating was for films that those under seventeen should not see, but the Association had not registered it in its own name and pornographic films put an X label on themselves. Gradually X became identified with pornography and serious adult films fled from it. In 1990 the NC-17 rating took the place of X. The M rating was also renamed GP in 1970 and PG in 1972.

What do Approved, Not Rated and N/A mean?

• Approved or Passed: Seen on films from before 1968. These films did not have age ratings; they had only received a permit from the "Production Code" office (known as the Hays Code), which said the film matched Hollywood's moral rules of that time. Approved says nothing about a suitable age.
• Not Rated or Unrated: The film has not been submitted to the Association for rating. Many independent, foreign or unreleased films in the United States are like this. An "Unrated version" of a film is also usually a longer cut released after theatrical exhibition with deleted scenes.
• N/A: On most sites this means age-rating information for this film is not available. It is not itself a rating.
• TV-MA, TV-14 and TV-PG: These are US television ratings and appear on series and programs on streaming platforms. TV-MA is for adults and TV-14 is for fourteen and up.

Age ratings in other countries: C18 and 15 and 18

Each country has its own rating system and the labels are not the same. A few common examples:

Country	Ratings	Note
Vietnam	P, C13, C16, C18	C18 means only for eighteen and up. P is suitable for all ages.
United Kingdom	U, PG, 12A, 15, 18	12A means under twelve only with an adult. 15 and 18 state the minimum age.
United States	G, PG, PG-13, R, NC-17	Table above

If you see "C18 rating" on a film's page, that is the Vietnamese rating and is a rough equivalent of the American NC-17. Iranian home video platforms also show a suggested age for films and series, such as 12+, 15+ or 18+, whose standard is not the same as the American ratings.

What do American parents think about ratings?

The Motion Picture Association, in an online survey of 1500 parents of children aged five to sixteen, asked how far the ratings are of use to them. The condition for taking part was that both the parent and the child had seen a film in the past six months. A few main findings:

• Ninety-five percent of parents look at the rating and its note before they choose a film for their child.
• Ninety-one percent consider the rating and its notes useful, and eighty-four percent accurate.
• Eighty-one percent said the rating of films they had seen in the past twelve months was appropriate. Of the nineteen percent who considered the rating inappropriate, most of them (sixty-two percent) said the rating had been too lenient.
• Seventy-four percent said the ratings give good guidance about sexual content and violence. This figure was seventy-three for harsh language, sixty-six for substance use and fifty-four percent for smoking.

Parents' greatest concern was explicit sexual content and nudity; more than violence. Even among types of violence, sexual violence was judged more concerning than suicide and firearm violence.

The full text of this thirty-nine-page report in English is in film age ratings from the viewpoint of American parents in Namafar's reference reports.

Frequently asked questions

What are the types of film age rating?

In the United States there are five ratings: G for all, PG with parental guidance, PG-13 with a warning for those under thirteen, R under which those under seventeen only with an adult, and NC-17 which is only for eighteen and up.

What is a C18 rating?

The highest rating in Vietnam's rating system, meaning the film is only for eighteen and up.

What does an NA rating mean?

N/A usually means the site does not have age-rating information for that film. It is different from Not Rated, which means the film has not been rated at all.

What is a G rating?

Suitable for all ages. Most children's animations are G or PG.

Sources

• Motion Picture Association of America (MPA) and its Classification and Rating Administration (CARA), definitions of the ratings and the history of the rating system
• MPA, survey of parents' views of the rating system (full text in the reference reports)
• British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) and Vietnam's cinema administration, age ratings