Motion Picture Association film rating system

<p>The Motion Picture Association film rating system is used in the United States and its territories to rate a <a href="/facts/Film/wM3b9Kk3">motion picture</a>'s suitability for certain audiences based on its content. The system and the ratings applied to individual motion pictures are the responsibility of the <a href="/facts/Motion_Picture_Association/QHz4RQIN">Motion Picture Association</a> (MPA), previously known as the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) from 1945 to 2019. The MPA rating system is a voluntary scheme that is not enforced by law; films can be exhibited without a rating, although most theaters refuse to exhibit non-rated or <a href="/facts/List_of_NC-17_rated_films/bhXLLGcn">NC-17 rated films</a>. Non-members of the MPA may also submit films for rating. Other media, such as <a href="/facts/Television_programs/eooTEhwW">television programs</a>, <a href="/facts/Parental_Advisory/2Wo5LW3A">music</a> and <a href="/facts/Video_game_content_rating_system/SbcofaKo">video games</a>, are rated by other entities such as the <a href="/facts/TV_Parental_Guidelines/4WaD7eEE">TV Parental Guidelines</a>, the <a href="/facts/Recording_Industry_Association_of_America/8a7K0Ubf">RIAA</a> and the <a href="/facts/ESRB/hSKzzqmG">ESRB</a>, respectively.
</p><p>In effect as of November 1968, following the <a href="/facts/Hays_Code/wgntMFzn">Hays Code</a> of the <a href="/facts/Classical_Hollywood_cinema/YNQn6lGH">classical Hollywood cinema</a> era, the MPA rating system is one of various <a href="/facts/Motion_picture_content_rating_system/dzbagj7j">Motion picture content rating systems</a> that are used to help parents decide what films are <a href="/facts/Appropriate_for_children/axPzlxv6">appropriate for their children</a>. It is administered by the Classification & Ratings Administration (CARA), an independent division of the MPA.
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Motion Picture Association film rating system open-in-new

Motion Picture Association film rating system