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How to Apply

06 February 13

Interested in becoming an Academy member? Find out if you are eligible and how to apply.

Please read the following page in full before submitting an application.

Applications from individuals working in the Film and Television sectors are considered once a year, in the Spring, and as membership is capped (see below) there are only a limited number of places available each year. The deadline for these applications is 31 March each year. Applications may be sent at any time, but will be kept on file and considered together.

Applications from individuals working in the Games sector are considered on a monthly basis, and may be sent in at any time.

All applications for full voting membership of the Academy should be sent to the London office.

Eligibility for Full BAFTA Membership

All applicants must currently work and have at least five years professional experience in a creative, technical or executive role directly related to the production of either:

feature films theatrically distributed in the UK.
television programming made and broadcast in the UK.
video games distributed in the UK.

Applicants who are based outside the UK, must in addition satisfy one of the following criteria:

be a British Citizen.
have been born in the UK or Republic of Ireland.
be actively working on and making a creative contribution to UK productions fulfilling the criteria listed above.
work for a UK broadcaster, distributor, production company or industry body.
have won or been nominated for a British Academy Film Award, British Academy Television Award, British Academy Children’s Award, British Academy Video Games Award or a Britannia Award.

In addition, all applicants must be deemed to have made a significant contribution to the industry by the relevant Sector Committee. The committees will consider such factors as:

credits on productions which are of a recognisably high standard or which are considered particularly ground-breaking or innovative.
a large number of significant credits or a long career in the industry
nominations for major awards
a professional qualification relating to a technical field
membership of a relevant professional guild

Please note that the qualifications for membership outlined above are the minimum criteria necessary for eligibility; meeting them does not guarantee membership. In addition, the Board of Trustees reserve the right to accept people who do not meet the above criteria in exceptional circumstances.

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Applying

You may download a membership application at the bottom of this section.

Applicants must be proposed and seconded by two current members of BAFTA. Section 4 of the form should be signed by the two members, one of whom should give a short reference outlining the applicant's contribution to the industry (this can be submitted on a separate sheet if preferred). The proposer and seconder must be familiar with the applicant's professional experience. (This requirement may be waived for applicants who have been nominated for BAFTA Awards in certain categories; please check with the Membership Department before applying).

Applicants must supply a current CV with their applications. A photograph is also requested.

We also ask that applicants complete a diversity monitoring form. This information is not made available to the committees, and no decisions are based on this information.

On completion, membership application forms should be returned to the address below.

Applications must be received by 31 March to be considered for the coming year's intake, but we recommend sending an application as soon as it is ready to be kept on file, as this date is subject to change. Successful applicants will take up their membership from June.

This deadline does not apply for members from the Video Games Sector. Applications from Video Games developers can be sent in at any time and are considered on a monthly basis

Please do not send payment with your application.

Applications can be emailed as scanned attachments to membership@bafta.org or posted to:

MEMBERSHIP DEPARTMENT
British Academy of Film and Television Arts
195 Piccadilly
London
W1J 9LN
Tel: +44 [0]20 7734 0022
Fax: +44 [0]20 7437 0473

View a list of Current BAFTA Members (1.7 MB)

Download a Membership Application form (215 KB)

_{Please note, the application requests that candidates provide their date of birth. This information is optional, and is not used as the basis for any membership decisions}

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The Membership Cap

The Academy’s voting membership was capped at 6500 in 2005, comprised of 5000 BAFTA members and 1500 members of the US affiliates. Consequently, the Academy can only take a limited number of new members each year.

Whilst we seek individuals who have made a significant contribution to the film, television and video games industries, we also aim to ensure we have a balance of experts from a wide variety of technical disciplines. This means we do sometimes have to turn down applications from areas where we may be over-represented, or when we simply do not have any spaces available for new members.

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Voting Rights and Restrictions

Full members have the right to register to vote in any of our award ceremonies for which they feel qualified by their professional experience.

However, the number of members voting in the Film Awards is capped, and as a result, new members may not be given the option to vote in the Film Awards immediately upon joining.

Film voting places will be allocated to existing members as they become available. When allocating film voting places, priority will be given to those working in Film and particularly to those working in areas currently under-represented within the Film Voting Membership.

In addition, members based outside the UK are currently only able to vote in four categories for the Television Awards (Mini-Series, International, Single Documentary and Single Drama), and two categories for the Children's Awards (International and Feature Film).
Members based outside the UK can not currently vote in any categories of the Television Craft Awards.

There are currently no restrictions on voting in the Video Games Awards.

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Full/Branch membership
Further information for applicants in Scotland, Wales and the USA

We also have branches in Glasgow, Cardiff, Los Angeles and New York, who each run their own programme of screenings and events.

Individuals accepted for Full membership who are based in Scotland, Wales or the USA, will also be members of the relevant branch, and will hold all additional rights and benefits of Branch membership in addition to those of Full membership. This includes voting in the UK branch awards, and participating in Branch Board and Committee elections.

Applicants in Scotland, Wales or the USA who are not accepted for Full membership, may be offered Associate membership of the relevant branch; applicants should indicate whether this of interest on their application form.

Applicants who only wish to apply for Branch (Associate) membership, should apply directly to the relevant branch office; please see the relevant branch site for more detail. (Links in the "More sites" menu at the top of this page)

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Annual Full Membership Rates 2013/14

General		£420.00
Regions	Applies to individuals living and working more than 60 miles (as the crow flies) from 195 Piccadilly in London	£280.00
Wales/Scotland	Applies to individuals based in Wales or Scotland. Carries additional rights and benefits with the relevant branch	£280.00
Branch (US)	For individuals who are based in the USA. Carries additional rights and benefits with the relevant branch. US Branch members pay their fees to the relevant branch office. Please note these rates are not confirmed for 2013/14 and may be increased.	$300 (New York rate) / $350 (Los Angeles rate)
Overseas	For individuals primarily based in countries other than the UK or USA	£280.00

A joining fee of £150.00 ($150 in the US) will be charged to new members in addition to their subscription fees.

(All rates are inclusive of VAT where applicable)

Members are encouraged to set up direct debits for their fees. Members who choose to pay by other methods may be charged an additional administration fee of £25.