In this guide
- The line at the bottom of the page
- What the law actually says
- The scandal that created it
- What happens on a real set
- Primary and secondary producers
- The court battles
- 2257 in the OnlyFans era
- Performer age vs viewer age
- My take
I am not a lawyer. This is general information about a US law, not legal advice. The facts below come from the text of the law, US federal regulations and court rulings. The opinions are mine.
If you have ever scrolled to the bottom of an American adult website, you have seen something like: “18 U.S.C. 2257 Record-Keeping Requirements Compliance Statement.” Most people think it is legal decoration. It is not. It is the reason that, in 14 years of shooting in this industry, the first thing that happens on a professional set before anything sexual is paperwork and an ID check.
Let me explain what that line means and why I think it is one of the few laws in porn that almost everybody inside the industry supports in principle.
The line at the bottom of the page
That notice is required by 18 U.S.C. § 2257, a section of the US federal criminal code. It tells anyone, including law enforcement, that the producer has verified the age of every performer in the content and keeps the records at a specific address, under the responsibility of a named person called the custodian of records.
A sister section, § 2257A, added in 2006, covers simulated sexually explicit content, such as some mainstream scenes where sex is implied but not real.
What the law actually says
The core of 2257 is simple. Anyone who produces visual depictions of actual sexually explicit conduct must (Cornell LII: 18 U.S.C. § 2257):
- Check each performer’s identity with an official photo ID before production, to confirm the performer is at least 18.
- Record the performer’s legal name, date of birth and any other names they have used, including stage names.
- Keep a copy of the ID and link the records to the specific content.
- Label every depiction with a statement saying where the records are kept.
- Make the records available for inspection.
The detailed rules on what to store, how to index it and how long to keep it are in 28 CFR Part 75, the Justice Department regulations (eCFR: 28 CFR Part 75).
The penalties are serious. Under the statute, failing to comply can mean up to five years in federal prison for a first offence, and more for repeat offences.
The point of 2257 is not to punish porn. It is to make sure that every single person on screen was an adult, and that someone can prove it.
The scandal that created it
The law was passed in 1988 as part of the Child Protection and Obscenity Enforcement Act. Two events shaped it.
The first was the 1986 Meese Commission, the US Attorney General’s Commission on Pornography, whose final report recommended tougher federal controls on the adult industry.
The second was the Traci Lords scandal. In 1986, it became public that Lords, one of the most famous adult stars of the time, had made most of her adult films while she was under 18, using false identification. Producers and distributors had to pull huge amounts of material from shelves. The industry was shaken, and lawmakers argued that producers had to take personal responsibility for checking ages. Lords later left the adult industry and built a mainstream acting career.
I explained the culture of that period in my guide to the golden age of porn.
What happens on a real set
People imagine porn sets as chaos. On professional sets in the US and Europe, the beginning of a shoot looks more like a bank appointment.
Typically, every performer:
- shows a valid government photo ID, often two forms
- is photographed holding the ID, sometimes next to their face
- signs a model release and a 2257 form listing legal name, stage names and date of birth
- signs consent paperwork and, on many sets, records a short consent statement on camera
Only then does anything sexual start. I described the consent side in consent on a porn set, and the health-testing side in STI testing in porn.
The producer then stores those records, and the custodian of records is legally responsible for them.
Primary and secondary producers
The regulations distinguish between two kinds of producers.
A primary producer is the one who actually films or photographs the content. A secondary producer is someone who publishes, reproduces or distributes it, for example a website that licenses scenes from studios.
Under rules updated in the 2000s, secondary producers can also have obligations to keep copies of records or to be able to point to the primary producer’s records. That is why so many sites, including ones that only distribute content, carry a 2257 statement. This part of the rules has always been controversial in the industry because of the burden it creates.
The court battles
Free speech groups have challenged 2257 in court for years. The best-known case was brought by the Free Speech Coalition, the adult industry’s trade association, together with photographers, artists and educators.
The results are mixed:
- In 2016, the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled that the law’s system of warrantless inspections of producers’ records violated the Fourth Amendment and was unconstitutional on its face (Free Speech Coalition v. Attorney General, 825 F.3d 149, 3d Cir. 2016). The FBI had not carried out inspections since 2007 anyway.
- In 2020, the same court ruled that the record-keeping and labelling rules were not unconstitutional as a whole, but violated the First Amendment as applied to some of the individual plaintiffs, artists and educators whose work clearly involved adults, and it limited relief to those plaintiffs (Free Speech Coalition v. Attorney General, 3d Cir. 2020).
The practical result: the law is still in force, producers still have to keep records, and the criminal penalties are still there, even if surprise inspections are off the table.
2257 in the OnlyFans era
The creator economy has changed who counts as a producer. Today, a woman filming with her partner on her phone for OnlyFans may be producing exactly the kind of content 2257 was written for.
Platforms have responded with their own systems. OnlyFans verifies creators’ identity and age before they can earn, and its rules require anyone else appearing in content to be verified or to have signed release and ID documents. Other platforms do the same. This also became more important after the scrutiny of the payment processors, because Visa and Mastercard demand that adult sites verify the age and consent of everyone shown.
My advice to creators: if you film with anyone, collect their ID and a signed release before filming, store them safely, and get advice from a lawyer who understands adult content. I covered the security side in OnlyFans creator privacy and safety.
Performer age vs viewer age
Do not confuse 2257 with the new age verification laws for viewers. 2257 is about proving the people in the content are adults. The newer state and national laws, which I explained in porn age verification laws, are about stopping minors from watching it. Different goal, different law, often confused in the news.
My take
I have complicated feelings about many laws that target porn. Some are moral panic disguised as protection. But the principle behind 2257 is one I support completely: nobody under 18 should ever appear in adult content, and every producer must be able to prove it.
Yes, the paperwork is boring. Yes, the rules on secondary producers can be excessive, and the courts were right to strike down warrantless inspections of people’s homes and studios. But when I see a crew checking IDs carefully before a shoot, I do not see bureaucracy. I see an industry that learned from one of its worst scandals.
The people who should worry about 2257 are not professional studios. They are amateurs and creators who film with friends without collecting a single document. If you are in that group, fix it today.
For the human stories behind this industry, read my columns on House of Maximo. Follow my work at maximogarciaworld.com, and for the 18+ side, fuckingpornstars.net.
Sources
- Cornell Legal Information Institute. 18 U.S. Code § 2257: Record keeping requirements.
- Cornell Legal Information Institute. 18 U.S. Code § 2257A: Record keeping requirements for simulated sexual conduct.
- eCFR. 28 CFR Part 75: Child protection restoration and penalties enhancement act of 1990; record keeping and record inspection provisions.
- US Court of Appeals, Third Circuit. Free Speech Coalition v. Attorney General, 825 F.3d 149 (2016).
- US Court of Appeals, Third Circuit. Free Speech Coalition v. Attorney General, No. 18-3188 (2020).
- Free Speech Coalition. What the latest 2257 ruling means to you.
