Cinema
Motion pictures are rated in Austria by a commission of the Austrian Federal Ministry for Education, the Arts and Culture (Bundesministerium für Unterricht, Kunst und Kultur). This commission issues an age recommendation for each movie title from the following list:
- Freigegeben für alle Altersstufen – no age restrictions, all ages
- Freigegeben ab 6 Jahren – not recommended for people younger than 6 years of age
- Freigegeben ab 10 Jahren – not recommended for people younger than 10 years of age
- Freigegeben ab 12 Jahren – not recommended for people younger than 12 years of age
- Freigegeben ab 14 Jahren – not recommended for people younger than 14 years of age
- Freigegeben ab 16 Jahren – not available to people younger than 16 years of age
The ratings are published on the ministries website and can be either accepted or changed by the nine federal states.
DVD and video
Home video releases are not rated, or rated X, in Austria. Usually the German FSK-ratings are printed on the cases, although they do not have any legal meaning. For this reason, many films which are banned in Germany can be bought on DVD in Austria with a 14 or 16 rating.