How Are Movies Rated in the U.S.?

Who rates movies in the United States?

Movie ratings in the U.S. come from the Classification and Rating Administration (CARA), which the Motion Picture Association (MPA) and the National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO) set up as part of a voluntary system to give parents information about films.^[1] CARA is run as an independent division of the MPA, and its Rating Board rates films shown and distributed in the United States.^[1] The theater owners' group renamed itself Cinema United in March 2025.^[8]

The Rating Board does not decide what filmmakers may put in a film, and it does not judge a film's quality.^[1] Its stated aim is to reflect the current values of most American parents, not to set them.^[1] From 1945 until it adopted its current name in September 2019, the MPA was called the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA).^[9]

What do G, PG, PG-13, R and NC-17 mean?

CARA's rules, as revised in July 2020, define the five ratings.^[1]

The rules say a G rating is not a "certificate of approval" and does not mean a film was made for children.^[1] They also say NC-17 does not mean "obscene" or "pornographic" and should not be read as a negative judgment.^[1] Every film rated PG, PG-13, R or NC-17 also gets a rating descriptor, a short phrase that tells parents which content led to the rating.^[1]

How is a movie rated, and who are the raters?

Every member of the Rating Board must be a parent and may have no other connection to the entertainment industry.^[1] Raters must have a child between the ages of five and 15 when they join, and they can serve up to seven years or until their youngest child turns 21.^[2] Except for the Chair and the senior raters, their names are kept secret to protect them from outside pressure.^[1][2]

A filmmaker or distributor submits the finished film with a fee based on the cost of making it and the size of the company.^[1][3] The raters watch the whole film, and each one votes for a rating and gives reasons.^[2] According to CARA's FAQ, a senior rater then leads a discussion, and the rating and descriptor are settled by a simple majority vote.^[2] A filmmaker who wants a lower rating can edit the film and resubmit it at no extra fee, the MPA's 2018 report says.^[3]

Is the movie rating system a law?

No. CARA describes its ratings as voluntary and says the system was created as an industry-led alternative to government censorship.^[2] A 1990 report in The Christian Science Monitor noted that there is no force of law behind the rating system.^[7]

MPA member studios agree to submit every film they release in theaters, but independent filmmakers are not required to.^[2] A producer or distributor outside the MPA can turn down a rating and release its film unrated.^[1] CARA says many independents still seek a rating because most theaters prefer rated films.^[2]

CARA says most U.S. theaters, as members of Cinema United, enforce the ratings.^[2] The R rating itself does not stop parents from bringing younger children, though many theaters have their own policies; with NC-17, children are not admitted even with an adult.^[2]

How can a filmmaker appeal a movie rating?

A producer or distributor can appeal to the Classification and Rating Appeals Board, which is chaired by the MPA's chief executive and includes representatives of studios, theater owners and independent companies.^[1] The appeal must be filed within twenty-five business days after the rating is certified, and the filmmaker can ask only for the next less restrictive rating.^[1]

At the hearing, the board watches the film and hears statements from the filmmaker and CARA, which may not cite box-office effects or foreign ratings.^[1] Overturning a rating takes a two-thirds vote, and members may vote to overturn only if they find the original rating "clearly erroneous."^[1] In 2017, according to the MPA's 2018 report, 563 films were rated, five were appealed and one rating was overturned.^[3]

When did movie ratings start in the U.S.?

Before ratings came the Production Code: from July 15, 1934, every film made by a member of the studios' trade group needed approval from its Production Code Administration.^[4] By 1968, films such as "Bonnie and Clyde" pushed the MPAA to replace the Code with letter ratings.^[4] The new system began in November 1968 in partnership with the National Association of Theatre Owners, and the original ratings were G, M, R and X.^[3]

The M rating, for "Mature," confused moviegoers; it became GP in 1970 and PG in 1972.^[3] PG-13 was added in 1984, after parents were angered by frightening content in PG films such as Steven Spielberg's "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom."^[3] Time magazine dates the announcement to July 1, 1984, and says the first PG-13 film in theaters, "Red Dawn," arrived that August.^[5]

In September 1990, the MPAA dropped the X rating and replaced it with NC-17, the Associated Press reported.^[6] Critics said X, never copyrighted, had become tied to pornography because adult-film makers used it freely; the new rating would be copyrighted.^[6] Universal's "Henry & June" was set to be the first NC-17 film.^[6] The same year, the MPAA began adding descriptors, at first only to R-rated films.^[3] News reports at the time glossed NC-17 as "no children under 17 admitted," while today's rules word it "No One 17 and Under Admitted."^[6][1]