Every U.S. movie rating — G, PG, PG-13, R, or NC-17 — is assigned by the Classification and Rating Administration (CARA), described by the Motion Picture Association as "a group of current parents" who screen each film and vote. The system is voluntary, not government-run, and a distributor who disagrees with a rating can formally appeal for a less restrictive one.
Families see these five letters on nearly every poster and trailer, but the process behind them is easy to miss. Here's what the ratings mean, who's actually deciding, and what happens when a studio wants a different one.
Who Actually Decides a Movie's Rating?
The Classification and Rating Administration (CARA) is the ratings arm of the Motion Picture Association (MPA), and its raters are, by design, ordinary parents rather than critics or industry insiders. According to the MPA's official rules, board members must be parents of children between 5 and 15 years old when they join, can serve up to seven years, and are barred from having ties to the entertainment industry. The board is currently chaired by Kelly McMahon, an Executive Vice President at the MPA, with Negeen Papehn overseeing policy and business operations. The organization's own guiding question for raters, per its website: "What would I want to know about this film before I let my kid see it?" Beneath the chair, Senior Raters — currently Matt O'Connor and Mario Moogan, per the MPA's own listing — lead the board's day-to-day deliberations on individual films.
What Do the Five Ratings Actually Mean?
Each rating carries a specific, published definition from the MPA. A film can also carry a short descriptor explaining why — the familiar "rated PG-13 for violence and language" line — built from categories the MPA lists as violence, action, language, sex, nudity, drugs, smoking, and theme.
| Rating | Official Meaning |
|---|---|
| G | All ages admitted; nothing that would offend parents of younger children |
| PG | Some material may not be suitable for children; parents are urged to check before letting younger kids attend |
| PG-13 | Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13; a sterner warning than PG |
| R | Restricted — anyone under 17 needs an accompanying parent or adult guardian, due to adult material such as language, violence, nudity, or drug use |
| NC-17 | No one 17 and under admitted; content the board considers patently too adult for younger viewers |
How Does a Film Actually Earn Its Rating?
The process starts with the studio, not CARA. A distributor completes a Submittal Agreement, pays the applicable fee, and names a "rating contact" who deals with CARA on the film's behalf. Rating Board members then screen the finished film together and assign both a rating and, if needed, a descriptor. The rating contact has up to six months to accept the result; once accepted, CARA issues an official certificate. If a studio re-edits a film after submission, every distributed copy must match the version the board actually watched. If a re-rated film keeps the earlier version in circulation too, the MPA's rules require at least a 90-day withdrawal period so theaters aren't showing two differently rated cuts side by side.
Can a Studio Appeal a Rating It Doesn't Like?
Yes, but only within tight limits. Under the MPA's published rules, an appeal must be filed within 25 business days of the original rating and at least 25 business days before the film opens publicly. Appellants may only ask for the next less restrictive rating — not skip several categories at once — and get one appeal per version of a film. The Appeals Board itself is separate from the Rating Board: it draws members from MPA studios, the National Association of Theatre Owners, independent producers, and other unaffiliated members, serving staggered three-year terms, with a quorum requiring at least nine members present. At a hearing, each side gets a limited window to argue its case — 15 minutes to present, another 15 to respond, plus short replies — before the board votes by secret ballot. Overturning the original rating takes a two-thirds majority. The filing fee for an appeal is set at 10% of the film's original rating fee, with a $250 minimum.
How Long Has This System Been Around?
The rating system dates to 1968 and passed its 50th anniversary in 2018. The MPA describes its mission on the same continuous terms today: "For nearly sixty years, we've protected creators' rights to tell the stories they want to tell while also providing American parents with advance information." The letters have shifted some over the decades — earlier ratings like GP, M, and the original X have since been retired — but the current five-rating structure, and the parent-board model behind it, has been the constant.
Parent note: The rating itself is only half the picture. The short descriptor line under it — the specific reason for violence, language, or theme — is often more useful for deciding whether a particular PG-13 or R title fits a particular kid, since two films with the same letter can differ widely in intensity.
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