Federal Requirements When Collaborating in Adult Content Creation

So you want to work with a co-star! That is great and can lead to huge sales and even great working relationships, opportunities and friendships. 

However, there are absolutely legal requirements that MUST be followed when having co-performers in anything even remotely NSFW. This applies even to just simulations of NSFW content. 

The US Department of Justice states 

This means that producers of pornography, or depictions of any sexual activity using actual people, are required to verify that the performers are of legal age (18–years–old or older) by maintaining records of the performers’ names and ages.  They also are required to disclose the location of these records.

This law is broken down into subsections. Subsection A states, in general terms, anyone who creates or produces (that would be us, the person selling this content on our fan sites etc.) NSFW content, or implied NSFW content, with the intent to distribute it for commerce MUST create and maintain records of all performers identities. 

To break this down further into the meat and potatoes we look at the following section from myadultattorney.com 

Any person to whom subsection (A) applies shall, with respect to every performer portrayed in a visual depiction of actual sexually explicit conduct –

(1) ascertain, by examination of an identification document containing such information, the performer’s name and date of birth, and require the performer to provide such other indicia of his or her identity as may be prescribed by regulations;
(2) ascertain any name, other than the performer’s present and correct name, ever used by the performer including maiden name, alias, nickname, stage, or professional name; and
(3) record in the records required by subsection (a) the information required by paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection and such other identifying information as may be prescribed by regulation

So how about we look at that in English and not legalese. What is required:

• A copy of the performers identification document, or at minimum the legal name and date of birth written the exact same as what appears on the document. DO NOT ACCEPT pre-photocopied documents as those can very easily be doctored. 
• Any and all stage names or other names they have EVER been known by
• Any and all other identifying information you can possibly imagine needing. 

Remember: when it comes to the federal government, it is significantly safer to err on the side of over-prepared rather than unprepared. 

Please see the attached 2257 compliance form for further examples of everything you MUST record, and maintain record of when working with a co-performer. 

That is unfortunately not all we MUST Record and maintain record of

Now we know the performer is who they say they are, we must also have legal documentation of them agreeing and consenting to acting in the performance role, their consent for us to film it, and their consent for it to be distributed. This protects our ass more than anything else and is an absolute necessity to help prevent future lawsuits and other legal battles.  This is a legal contract they are signing allowing us to capture, use, and redistribute their image.

Example of mentioned documents attached below. 

This is not legal advice and I am not a lawyer…. This is all extensive research based. I would be terrible as a lawyer to be honest…