Department for Culture Media and Sport

co-production agreements

Where creative control of a film is shared between British and international partners, with a mix of British and international film production, a film could be called a co-production.

Co-production status can help filmmakers, as they often qualify for benefits like tax relief, in both the UK and the partner country. To be eligible, films must comply with the relevant “co-production agreement”.

There have been 385 co-production films made over the last seven years, with an average UK expenditure of 35%, which has been worth over £700 million to the economy.

The British Film Institute advises applicants and DCMS on the granting of co-production status in the UK. Foreign co-producers apply to the relevant "competent authority" in the partner country.

 

Applying, current agreements and News

Applications for official co-production status

Films that began production after 1 January 2007

UK co-producers must apply to the Certification Unit at the British Film Institute, email: certifications@bfi.org.uk 

Films that began production before 1 January 2007

UK co-producers should continue to apply to the Film Certification Officer at DCMS, email: tim.scott@culture.gsi.gov.uk

30 September 2007 cut-off for S.48 & S.42 film tax relief

30 September 2007 was the cut-off in the Finance Act 2006 for acquiring a film that completed before 1 January 2007 (and began filming before April 2006) and claiming S.48 relief for any acquisition expenditure incurred by then. More information available on our tax relief page.

It was also the cut-off in the Finance Act 2006 for acquiring a film entirely made between April and December 2006 and claiming S.42 relief for any acquisition expenditure incurred by then. For these purposes, the co-production application form and guidelines are available on request from christopher.halliday@culture.gsi.gov.uk
Check the changes to the system for 2006 and 2007

For your film, it is important to know which office to apply to for a certificate, which tax reliefs apply and the cut-off dates for the film old tax reliefs. These can all be checked in the chart Transitional arrangements co-production films PDF (11kb).

The address for sending completed applications to DCMS is:

Film Certification Officer
Creative Industries Division
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
2-4 Cockspur Street
London SW1Y 5DH

 

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The co-production application process

A co-production application is a two stage application process:

  • a provisional application must be made at least four weeks before principal photography commences
  • the final application must be made after the production process is complete

The treaties and details of the partner countries, and application forms and guidance notes for applying for co-production status (relating to the new film tax relief) are available from the British Film Institute website.

Foreign co-producers applying for co-production status abroad will need to contact the relevant “competent authority” in that country:

 

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Co-production agreements in force

The UK has seven existing co-production treaties, with: Australia, Canada, France, India, Jamaica, New Zealand and South Africa.

  • The treaty with Jamaica came into force on 19 November 2007

  • The Indian treaty was brought into force in October 2008

The UK has also signed up to the European Convention on Cinematographic Co-production.

Copies of the agreements

Applications should also check the latest co-production news.

 

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Latest news on co-production treaties

We:

  • signed a treaty text with Morocco in October 2009 - we expect constitutional procedures to be completed and this treaty to be fully ratified and operational this year, 2011
  • signed a treaty texts with Israel and Palestine and we expect constitutional procedures to be completed and the treaties to be fully ratified and operational this year, 2011
  • are currently considering next steps in negotiating a treaty text with China
  • are in the process of revising the UK/Australia treaty, as we committed to doing in 2003/4 - whilst these negotiations have taken time, we hope to gain agreement on a revised text shortly

Last updated: April 2011

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Websites of interest