Films and Censorship Act 1985, film, video, document and sound-recording classification and minor-supply restriction
Films and Censorship Act 1985, No. 1 (Cook Islands)
A citation is an address, not a summary. The first part names the law; what follows narrows it to the exact section, article or paragraph.
In force.
An adult content age verification (AV) rule binding private bodies.
As of 7 September 2026.
What this law does
Drafted with AI from the cited sources under the direction of UnGovr staff. UnGovr holds editorial responsibility for this page.
Sections 4 and 5 require a person renting or exhibiting film to the public to hold a renter's or exhibitor's licence issued by the Minister. Sections 16 to 18 require every film to be approved by a censor before public exhibition, and the censor may approve a film generally, refuse approval, require excisions, or approve it subject to exhibition being restricted to a specified class of persons. Section 23 extends the same approval requirement to video tapes sold or rented to the public.
Sections 28 to 31 give the censor the function of classifying a document or sound recording as indecent, as not indecent, or as indecent unless its circulation is restricted to a specified age or class of persons, considering among other things the age groups to or among whom it is likely to be distributed.
Section 32 makes it an offence to sell, deliver by way of hire, or possess for sale or hire any indecent document or sound recording, and separately an offence to sell, deliver, give, exhibit, or offer to a person under the age of 18 years any document or sound recording which is indecent. Section 25 makes it an offence for a renter's licence holder to rent a video tape otherwise than in accordance with the section 23 approval requirement. The Act is administered by the Crown Law Office through an appointed Chief Censor.
If you get it wrong
Criminal exposureYes
Criminal exposure note
Section 32(2) makes it an offence, punishable on conviction by a fine not exceeding $500, to sell, deliver by way of hire, or possess for sale or hire an indecent document or sound recording, or to sell, deliver, give, exhibit, or offer to a person under the age of 18 years a document or sound recording which is indecent. Sections 4, 5, 17, 25, and 27 each carry the same $500 fine cap for their respective licensing and approval offences, and section 34 caps at $500 any other contravention of the Act for which no penalty is specifically provided. No provision states a term of imprisonment.
Penalty structure
Section 32(2) caps the fine for the indecent-document and under-18-supply offences at $500. Every other offence in the Act (renting or exhibiting film without a licence under sections 4 and 5, exhibiting an unapproved film under section 17, renting an unapproved video tape under section 25, obstructing a constable under section 27, and any other contravention under section 34) carries the same $500 fixed cap. The Act states these amounts in Cook Islands dollars, at par with the New Zealand dollar.
- Rule
- Fixed only
- As of
- 7 September 2026
- Currency
- NZD
- Fixed cap
- 500
Who enforces it
Enforcement body
Chief Censor of films and documents
What it reaches
Obligation class
Age verification, Licensing
When LexLint raises it
publishes_adult_content