Journal · Film production

Bangladesh Film Censor Board rules

A censor certificate is not a filming permit. One paper is for showing a film to the public in Bangladesh. The other is for arriving with a camera. Mixing the two wastes weeks.

This is a practitioner briefing for producers and agencies. It is not legal advice. Confirm the current form with a lawyer and with the local desk before you lock a release date.

Two different papers

A filming permit is about access: clearance for foreign crews, location letters, and sometimes extra papers for drones or restricted sites. That is the job of a film fixer in Bangladesh. See the filming permits guide.

A censor (or certification) certificate is about public exhibition inside Bangladesh — cinemas, television, and, under newer law, some streaming. If the film only airs outside Bangladesh, this certificate is usually not the first paper you need.

The law, in short

Public exhibition of films in Bangladesh was governed for decades by the Censorship of Films Act, 1963. That framework was replaced by the Bangladesh Film Certification Act, 2023, which shifted the language from censorship to age-based certification. Independent legal analysis has found that a substantial share of the 2023 Act's provisions are carried over almost unchanged from the 1963 censorship law, so the practical effect on the ground is still closer to the old system than the new name suggests.

In September 2024 the government formed the Bangladesh Film Certification Board under this newer Act, replacing the previous Censor Board. Age-based certification is already in active use, not merely proposed — the board has certified more than ten films to date, including what has been reported as the country's first A-grade certified film. The exact category labels and thresholds are still being refined in practice, so treat any specific list of age bands as provisional until confirmed directly with the board or a local producer at the time of filing.

What the board looks at

The published guidelines ask whether the film is likely to:

• make crime or vice look easy or admirable;
• offend a section of the public;
• damage relations with another country;
• pass off copied work as original.

Cuts can be required. A refusal can be appealed to government. If the picture is political, communal or military, use a lawyer — not only a fixer.

What a visiting commercial usually does

A brand film shot in Dhaka that will only run in Europe or the Gulf: filming permits and visas first. A censor certificate later, or never, unless you also show the film in Bangladesh.

A feature or series that will play in Bangladeshi cinemas or on a local platform: allow time for certification after the picture is locked. The file usually includes the film, a dialogue list, a synopsis and any songs.

Do not send a rough cut "to be safe" unless a local producer has checked the current form. Incomplete files wait.

How the Dhaka desk uses this

Azizul Hoque Shiplu's fixer desk will tell you whether you need a shoot permit, a certificate for local release, or both — and who holds the current form. Direction is optional. The pathway is not.

Frequently asked questions