In short: In England, a child under school leaving age usually needs a performance licence from their home council to appear in a broadcast, film or other recorded performance. The person running the production applies at least 21 days ahead, and a council-approved chaperone supervises the child unless a parent or teacher does.
If a child under school leaving age is going to appear in something that is broadcast, filmed for broadcast or film, or is paid modelling, you will usually need a performance licence from the child's local council. The person in charge of the production applies for it, and a council-approved chaperone looks after the child on set.
This page covers England. Northern Ireland has different rules, and the other nations of the UK have their own arrangements, so check with the child's council if they live outside England. It is general guidance, not legal advice. Your licensing officer at the council decides what applies to your actual production, and they are the person to ask.
Who needs a licence
Section 37 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1963 says a child may not take part in certain performances except under a licence from the local authority where they live. The performances it covers include:
- any performance where a charge is made for admission or otherwise
- any broadcast performance
- a performance recorded for broadcast, or for a film intended for public exhibition
- any performance on licensed premises
- paid sport or modelling
The GOV.UK guidance puts it in everyday terms: a child under school leaving age may need a licence to take part in films, plays, concerts and other public performances, and in sporting events or modelling where the child is paid.
For most readers of this page, the practical case is a drama, an advert, a corporate film or a music video that will be shown publicly. If the child will be on camera in something that goes out to an audience, assume you need a licence until the council tells you otherwise.
A child also counts as performing when they stand in for a performer during rehearsal or preparation for a recording. A child used as a lighting stand-in is therefore covered, even if they never appear in the finished piece.
Exemptions
The Act allows limited exemptions where no payment is made beyond expenses. They cover a child who has not taken part in other covered performances on more than three days in the previous six months, and performances arranged by a school or an approved body. The details are narrow and the counting rules matter, so do not rely on an exemption without written confirmation from the council. Where a child would miss school, a council guide says a licence is required.
Who applies, and when
The person in charge of running the event or production applies to the child's local council. You find the council from the child's postcode, not from where you are filming. A child who lives in Hampshire and is filmed in West Sussex needs a licence from Hampshire.
The GOV.UK application page says to apply at least 21 days before the event. Treat 21 days as the very latest. A licence names a specific child, so a casting change means a new application.
Expect the council to ask who the production is, what the child will do, the dates and hours, where the child will work, who the chaperone is and how the child's schooling will be covered. Have those answers settled before you apply, and check the council's own form for the full list. That means your schedule has to exist first. The shooting schedule and stripboard page covers how to build one.
Chaperones
If the child will not be with a parent, school teacher or home tutor, they must be supervised by a chaperone approved by the council. The chaperone applies to the council for approval. The GOV.UK chaperone page says to apply at least 3 months before the performance, which is a much longer lead time than the licence, so ask your council what it needs and start early.
The regulations set out what the role is:
- The council can only approve someone it is satisfied is suitable and competent to look after a child of that age and sex.
- A chaperone looks after at most twelve children at a time. If the chaperone is the child's private teacher, the limit is three.
- The chaperone has care and control of the child and must safeguard, support and promote their wellbeing while they take part in an activity, performance or rehearsal.
- If a child is injured or ill in the chaperone's care, the licence holder must tell the child's parent and the licensing and host authorities straight away.
A council guide adds that a chaperone stays with the child throughout, including breaks and trips to the dressing room, does not take on other jobs such as dresser or make-up artist, and keeps records of times, breaks and meals. Councils vary in what they ask for, so read the one that licences your child.
Treat the chaperone as part of the crew. Put them on the call sheet, tell them where the child's base is and make sure the first assistant director knows to check with them before moving the child. The call sheet template has room for it.
Hours and times
The 2014 regulations set daily limits by age. Planning your day around them is the main way a licence shapes a shoot.
| Age of child | Most hours at the place of performance in a day | Most hours performing or rehearsing in a day | Longest continuous spell |
|---|---|---|---|
| Birth until 5 | 5 | 2 | 30 minutes |
| 5 until 9 | 8 | 3 | 2.5 hours |
| 9 to school leaving age | 9.5 | 5 | 2.5 hours |
For times of day, regulation 21 allows children from birth until 5 to be at the place between 07:00 and 22:00, and older children between 07:00 and 23:00. The rules do not apply to a place where the child normally lives or goes to school.
The hours at the place include any education the child must receive under their approved arrangements, even if it takes place somewhere else. Schooling counts against the day.
The regulations also set minimum breaks, minimum rest overnight and a maximum number of consecutive days. Those figures are in the regulations and your licence conditions, so read both before you build the schedule.
A worked example
A seven-year-old is cast in a one-day shoot. They fall in the 5 until 9 band, so the limits are 8 hours at the place and 3 hours of performing or rehearsing, with no more than 2.5 hours in one spell.
If the call is 08:00, the child must be gone by 16:00 at the latest, and less if lessons are fitted in. Of that, 3 hours is the budget for rehearsing and filming together. Do the long lighting set-ups with a stand-in so the cast child's performing time is kept for the camera. A child stand-in counts against their own hours, so an adult stand-in is the simpler choice.
Two practical lessons come out of it. First, schedule the child's scenes in the order that makes best use of their performing hours, not the order that is easiest for the lighting. Second, build in spare time, because a child who is tired or upset finishes the day early, and you need the shots done by then.
Planning the shoot around a child
- Schedule early. Put the child's scenes first, when they are fresh and well inside their limits.
- Prepare the set. Light and rig with a stand-in, then bring the child in for the shot.
- Keep the set safe. Brief the crew on the child's presence. Rain, haze, smoke, hot lamps, cable runs and rigging all need a fresh look when a child is on set. General guidance only: a competent person must assess the actual job and its risks. The risk assessment template is a starting point.
- Give them a base. A quiet space where the child and chaperone can wait, with a place to change. A studio dressing room is a suitable kind of space.
- Talk to the parents. Tell them the plan, the hours and who will be with their child.
- Pay properly. The ordinary rules for paying children and limits on child employment apply to children in performances.
- Keep records. The licence holder keeps records, and the chaperone keeps their own.
If you plan to hire a room and a crew for a shoot with children, say so when you book, so the dressing room, the day's length and the crew are planned from the start. Granary's crew hire page explains how crew are booked.
Common mistakes
- Applying to the wrong council. It is the child's home council, not the filming location's.
- Applying with no schedule. The council needs hours and dates, so the schedule comes first.
- Leaving the chaperone late. The approval lead time is longer than the licence.
- Forgetting stand-ins. A child standing in for a performer counts as performing.
- Planning to the limit. A day built to the last minute has no room for a tired child.
- Assuming an exemption. Get it confirmed in writing.
Sources
- GOV.UK, Performance licences for children, read 5 November 2026
- GOV.UK, Apply for a child performance licence, read 5 November 2026
- GOV.UK, Chaperone approval for child performers, read 5 November 2026
- legislation.gov.uk, Children and Young Persons Act 1963, section 37, read 5 November 2026
- legislation.gov.uk, The Children (Performances and Activities) (England) Regulations 2014, regulation 15 (Chaperones), read 5 November 2026
- legislation.gov.uk, The Children (Performances and Activities) (England) Regulations 2014, regulation 21 (Earliest and latest times), read 5 November 2026
- legislation.gov.uk, The Children (Performances and Activities) (England) Regulations 2014, regulation 22 (Attendance and hours), read 5 November 2026
- Cumberland Council, A guide for chaperones and performance licence holders, read 5 November 2026
Related guides
Questions we get asked
Do I need a licence for a child to appear in a video?
Often yes. A child under school leaving age needs a licence from their local council to take part in a performance that is broadcast or recorded for broadcast or film, or is paid modelling or sport. Limited exemptions exist for unpaid appearances, so ask the council if you are unsure.
How far ahead do I apply for a child performance licence?
The GOV.UK application page says to apply at least 21 days before the event. The chaperone approval page gives a longer lead time of at least 3 months, so start the chaperone process as early as you can.
Who can be a chaperone for a child performer?
The licensing council must approve the chaperone as suitable and competent to look after the child. One chaperone can look after up to twelve children at a time, or three if the chaperone is the child's private teacher.
granary.digital · 01243 884993 · studio@granary.digital · The Old Grainstore, Adsdean, Chichester, West Sussex, PO18 9DN · Prices exclude VAT unless marked inc VAT