Film Censorship & Certification in Nepal: U, PG, A Ratings and How to Get Certified

In Nepal, no motion picture may be shown to the public until it has been examined and certified by the government's film censor authority. That body is officially the Central Board of Film Censor (Nepali: Kendriya Chalchitra Janch Samiti), which sits under the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology and maintains an official portal at censorboard.gov.np. It is distinct from the Film Development Board (FDB, film.gov.np), a separate government body that promotes the industry and issues production, distribution and exhibition licences.

The legal backbone is the Motion Picture (Production, Exhibition and Distribution) Act, 2026 BS (1969 AD), supplemented by the Motion Picture Rules, 2057 BS (2000 AD). Under this framework a licence is required to produce, distribute or exhibit any film, and a person who holds such a licence must apply to the Censor Board before exhibiting the film. If the board finds a film prejudicial to the public interest it can refuse a certificate; if it can be made acceptable, the board may certify it after alterations or modifications.

In 2082 BS the board introduced the Film Examination and Classification Procedure, 2082 (Chalchitra Janch Sambandhi Karyabidhi 2082), which reoriented the system away from cutting scenes and toward age-based classification. As board member Kuber Giri put it, the focus is now 'on classification, not on using scissors.' A broader reform, the Motion Picture Bill 2081 BS, has been advancing through Parliament and would replace the censor board with a film certification committee and a more diversified rating system, but until it is enacted the arrangements described here remain in force.

Nepal uses three main certificate categories, closely modelled on the international U / PG / A convention. The rating printed on a film's certificate tells cinemas and audiences who is allowed to watch it, and the board assigns it after weighing the film's content and its likely effect on children and adolescents.

The 'A' (Adult) certificate is the most restrictive and is reserved for films intended only for adults. Filmmakers sometimes contest an A rating because it narrows the audience, and disputes over ratings and titles have occasionally reached the Supreme Court, as in the long legal battle over the film 'Gaja Baja', which was eventually released with an A certificate.

In deciding a rating the board assesses subject matter, dialogue and visuals, and in particular the treatment of violence, sex, nudity, drug use and language. The stated priority is protecting the mental health of children and adolescents, so a film with brief mature content may receive PG rather than U, while sustained adult themes push it into the A category.

Certification is the final gate before a film can play in Nepali cinemas, on television or on public platforms. Only the holder of a valid film licence may apply, so the first step for any producer is to ensure the film was registered and licensed with the competent authority. Once the film is complete, the applicant approaches the Central Board of Film Censor to book a screening for the examination committee.

The board screens the film in full. Members watch for the content criteria noted above and decide whether to issue a U, PG or A certificate, whether to ask for changes, or, rarely, to withhold certification. Under the 2082 procedure, filmmakers also complete a self-declaration form before submission, flagging any potentially sensitive content; the board says this pre-submission step has reduced back-and-forth and saved time. The reform also removed the earlier requirement that films be certified before screening at film festivals.

The steps below outline the typical route. Exact document lists and fees can change, so confirm current requirements directly with the Censor Board (censornepal@gmail.com) or the FDB before you apply.

The core censorship charge has long been modest by international standards. The application form must carry a Nepali postal stamp of Rs 50, and a fee of about Rs 15,000 is charged for the examination of the film's visuals. These figures are indicative and periodically revised, so treat them as a guide rather than a fixed tariff and verify the current schedule with the board.

Beyond the fee, applicants should be ready with a completed application form, the finished film in the required format, a synopsis of the story, and documentation of the film licence and the production company. For foreign productions shooting in Nepal, a separate filming-permit track runs through the FDB and the Ministry of Information and Communication, with its own fees and, in protected areas, substantial location charges; that permit is about permission to shoot, not the certificate to exhibit.

Timelines vary with the queue and whether the board requests changes. Producers are advised to build the censor screening into their release schedule well ahead of the planned opening date rather than leaving it to the last week.

Certification volumes give a useful picture of what reaches Nepali screens. In fiscal year 2082 BS (running roughly from Baisakh to Chaitra, i.e. mid-April 2025 to mid-April 2026), the Central Board of Film Censor certified 204 domestic and foreign films.

By rating, the data show a clear tilt toward family-friendly content: 89 films received the U certificate and 81 received PG, together accounting for the large majority, while 34 films were rated A. By language, 90 of the certified films were Nepali, 60 Hindi and 36 English, with the remaining 18 spread across other languages including Gurung, Limbu, Nepal Bhasa, Maithili, Bhojpuri, Tamang, Japanese, Korean and Bengali.

These counts reflect films submitted and certified in that single year and will differ from earlier years; they should be read as a snapshot of the 2082 BS cycle rather than a cumulative total.

Film censorship in Nepal predates the country's own film industry: a censor board was set up in 1951, in the transitional period after the fall of the Rana regime, and the 1969 Motion Picture Act gave the system its lasting legal shape. Over the decades the board's decisions have often become political flashpoints, especially where films touched on the monarchy, the Maoist conflict or ethnic and regional identities.

Notable cases illustrate the tension. 'Aago' (2000) was labelled Maoist propaganda during the civil war and banned; 'Dasdhunga' (2008) was made to bleep the names of political leaders; 'Badhshala' (2013) had torture scenes trimmed; and 'Pooja, Sir' (2025) faced demands to cut politically sensitive references. Critics argue such interventions amount to political censorship rather than child protection.

The 2082 classification procedure and the pending Motion Picture Bill are partly a response to this criticism, promising a shift from cutting content to rating it and from a censor board to a certification committee. How far that promise is realised in practice will depend on the final law and on how the new committee applies its criteria.