Department for Culture Media and Sport

british film certificates

To claim UK film tax relief, your film needs to be certified as a British film. UK co-producers of films made under international co-production treaties must also have their films certified as British, even if they are not eligible for film tax relief.

Film tax relief applications

Send your application to the Certification Unit at the British Film Institute. This applies to both the cultural test and to international co-productions.

Television co-productions produced after 2006

Send your application to the Certification Unit at the British Film Institute. The UK’s film tax relief cannot be claimed for television productions.

S.42 and S.48 tax relief applications (Film completed before 1 January 2007)

Send your application directly to DCMS. Find out about S.48 tax relief cut-off dates and S.42 tax relief cut-off dates.

Application forms and further details are available on request from: tim.scott@culture.gsi.gov.uk.

Television co-productions that began production before 2007

Send your application directly to DCMS.

Requests for copies of certificates

Send your request directly to DCMS.

2006 and 2007 system changes

Use the Transitional arrangements for domestic films PDF (11kb) chart to check:

  • which certification rules apply
  • which office to apply to for a certificate
  • which tax reliefs apply
  • the cut-off dates for the film old tax reliefs

If your film is an international co-production, find further information about the tax cut-off on our co-production page.

Further information

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