What is 2257 and Why is it Important? 

• 11 Nov, 2023
• Adult Site Broker

We want to start out by letting you know that Adult B2B Marketing is not a law office. Far from it.

Although we’ve done our best to ensure that all this material is accurate and has been verified, it shouldn’t be used as legal advice. A qualified attorney with experience in 18 U.S. Code 2257 compliance should provide you with any counsel you need.

Check out our list of the best attorneys for the adult business.

At Adult Business Consulting we hope you enjoy this post with some very valuable information for your company.

Defining 2257:

Overview of 18 U.S. Code 2257

Adult enterprises must adhere to US federal law regarding recordkeeping, especially production organizations and brands that create original material.

Even though many of you already have a general understanding of 18 U.S. Code 2257, also known as simply 2257, it’s crucial to keep in mind why this rule is crucial and how enforcing it assures that adult content is legitimate and consensual.

The standard law, 18 U.S. Code 2257, specifies the need for maintaining documents that prove every participant in an adult production is at least 18 years old.

Age Verification Records Keeping

For the U.S. Department of Justice to create and implement rules that regulate the actions taken by producers of sexually explicit content and media to get legitimate proof of age documentation for the models they work with and keep those documents, 2257 was first added to federal law in 1988. Since inspections could occur at any time, producers must always keep a custodian of documents on hand to make it easier for the submission of such records.

Additionally, since the purpose of law 2257 is to safeguard minors from sexual exploitation, errors in recordkeeping could result in criminal or civil sanctions for offenses.

This could seem harsh to you newcomers to the adult entertainment industry. However, the law also aims to defend people who are honest and voluntarily abide by the rules, in addition to kids.

More recently, the law was changed to make it mandatory to preserve records of any content that contains both real and fake sexually explicit material. 

This means that those who produce pornography or other images of sexual behavior involving real persons must keep records of the names and ages of the actors to prove that they are of legal age (18 years of age or older). They must also reveal where these records are located. All records are subject to scrutiny in accordance with the law. As we already stated, there may be legal or criminal consequences for failing to comply with these 2257 rules.

2257 In Practice

18 U.S. Code 2257 is a highly flexible statute. As a result, it is essential to comprehend legal definitions so that you, as a content creator, may better understand what is what when undertaking recordkeeping activities and ensuring that your work is legitimate in the eyes of the federal government.

The definitions in the rule apply to how it is used and applied. Adult businesses of all sizes, shapes, and types will probably have to deal with the 2257 regulation at some point, either as the primary content creators and publishers or as the secondary content creators and, essentially, distributors of the content across web platforms, VOD, DVD, magazines, and other distribution channels.

One practice that adult sex material creators follow is having models or performers sign paperwork attesting to their age, legal status, and identity. Getting a copy of a government-issued ID, such as a passport or state driver’s license, is customary before a scene is shot. A photo of the performer holding the issued document should be taken, and a copy of the identification should then be attached to a Section 2257 compliance form that was prepared.

The legal name, stage name, date of birth, and age of the performer should all be listed on the compliance form. Include the project’s name and the date it was first produced. Additionally, the performer must affirm the facts they provided in the compliance form and accept a sworn statement that all information, including the performer’s age, is true under penalty of perjury in accordance with the relevant laws and regulations.

Producers must preserve the studio’s copy of the 2257 form and store it securely so that it can be retrieved by federal inspectors. Producers should also give a copy of the form to the model for their records.

2257 Tools

A lawyer should handle 2257 regulation and age records, or you should do it under their direction or that of a compliance officer. There are solutions to assist with 2257 recordkeeping, too, given the enormous growth of homegrown adult content and independent studios distributing video through websites like OnlyFans and LoyalFans. To begin with, there are online legal services and open source document archives that provide 2257 release forms that may be filled out, printed, shared by email and text, stored in document cloud services, and support electronic signatures.

For your next adult shoot, consider implementing these strategies to make 18 U.S. Code 2257 compliance simpler:

A free 2257 form (.pdf) that can be downloaded with an e-signature field is available at PDFfiller.com.

The Walters Law Group, a law firm that specializes in the adult business, created and released Quick2257, a mobile app for iOS and Android that offers a straightforward form generation experience. All you must do is enter the necessary data, follow the prompts, and generate the form. Following that, you can send an email or an SMS text message to distribute the produced form.

You can rapidly generate forms and share both papers with your custodian of records.

2257 Statements of Compliance

The posting of 2257 compliance statements on adult websites is another issue that must be addressed. On websites like PornHub, xHamster, AdultTime, Brazzers, and others, you can see 2257 statements.

A 2257 compliance statement must be present on adult websites that host original or third-party content by law. The statement ought to be visible and simple to find. The producer’s efforts to make sure that every performer in the adult content is at least 18 years old and that it is lawful should be attested to in the compliance statement.

The contact information for the record custodian or custodians is also included in compliance statements. Included in this data should be the owner’s address for the website or adult studio. An attorney should complete these.

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