Directors UK

Overview

Directors UK is the professional association for screen directors working in film, television, commercials, and digital media in the United Kingdom. With over 8,500 members, it is the primary professional body for UK directors. The organization evolved from the Directors and Producers Rights Society (DPRS), a collecting society that managed secondary-use payments for directors. Directors UK performs two distinct functions: it is both a representative body advocating for directors' creative and economic rights, and a collecting society that distributes royalty payments to members for the reuse of their work.

Directors UK is the UK member of FERA (Federation of European Film Directors) and a member of the Society of Audio-visual Authors (SAA), the British Copyright Council (BCC), and the International Confederation of Societies of Authors and Composers (CISAC). It is also a shareholder in the Educational Recording Agency (ERA).

If you are a director working in the UK with a broadcast television credit or a commercially distributed feature film, Directors UK manages your royalty payments for secondary use of your work and advocates for your creative rights under UK copyright law.

Membership Costs and Requirements

Directors UK offers three membership levels with distinct eligibility criteria and fee structures. All prices include VAT.

Full Membership

For directors with a principal director credit on a broadcast UK television programme or a commercially distributed and screened feature film whose work is eligible under the distribution schemes.

Full Membership includes permanent registration on distribution schemes (you keep receiving payments even if your subscription lapses), access to screenings and events, career development opportunities, free legal advice on director-related work, and other benefits. Subscriptions are renewed annually in either March or September, with the first year calculated pro rata.

Associate Membership

For directors with a minimum of two completed director credits on audiovisual works that have been publicly screened or commercially exploited but are not eligible for distribution scheme payments (e.g., festival shorts, advertising promos, music videos, video games, VR projects).

Associate Members must provide evidence of directing credits, such as emails, letters, contracts, festival programmes, or online listings. After five years, Associate Members must provide evidence of a further professional directing credit to maintain membership. Associate Members who gain eligible credits can upgrade to Full or Distribution-Only Membership.

Distribution-Only Membership

For directors with a principal director credit on a broadcast UK television programme or commercially distributed feature film who want only the royalty payments without member benefits.

Payment Methods

Full and Associate subscriptions are paid by Direct Debit from a UK bank account. Non-UK residents can pay by bank transfer (contact membership@directors.uk.com). Card payments are not accepted. Applications are manually processed and can take up to 8 days.

Royalty Distribution and Rights Management

Directors UK's most concrete financial benefit is its royalty distribution system. The organization has negotiated agreements with UK broadcasters (BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, S4C, Sky UK) and independent production companies through the Directors UK Rights Agreement, which is administered jointly with PACT.

How Distributions Work

Directors UK collects payments for secondary use of members' works through several channels:

• UK Rights Agreement: Payments from broadcasters and independent producers for secondary use of commissioned works
• UK Royalties: Domestic royalty collections
• Foreign Royalties: Payments collected through reciprocal agreements with international sister societies
• BBC Residuals: Residual payments for BBC productions
• Educational Recordings: Payments for educational use of members' works

Distributions are issued to members four times per year. In May 2026, Directors UK paid out its largest international distribution to date: £4.46 million in payments to 2,616 members for the reuse of their work overseas.

Reporting Requirements for Producers

Under the Directors UK Rights Agreement with broadcasters and PACT, independent production companies must:

1. Pay a recharge commercial fee to the commissioning broadcaster based on the genre of the work produced
2. Report sales and DVD/Blu-ray/DTO sales of works to Directors UK annually

The reporting year runs from July 1 to June 30, with reports due by September 30 following the end of the reporting period. This applies to all production companies that have made or distribute UK shows commissioned by BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, S4C, or Sky UK.

Creative Rights and Advocacy

Directors UK's advocacy focuses on directors' status as the creative authors of their works under UK copyright law. Under UK law, directors hold moral rights: the right of integrity (to object to deforming alterations) and the right of paternity (to be identified as director). Directors UK monitors contractual practices that seek to waive or undermine these rights.

In 2023, Directors UK and PACT, along with BBC Studios and ITV Studios, established the Directors and Producers Forum, which produced a landmark set of guidelines for director-producer collaboration across all genres in the UK. These guidelines define the working relationship between directors and production companies and serve as a reference point for directors working with UK broadcasters.

UK Production Context

UK television production is the primary employment context for most Directors UK members. The BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Sky, and streaming platforms (Netflix UK, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+) commission substantial volumes of British scripted drama. The UK's high-end television tax relief (25% on qualifying productions) has made UK television drama a major destination for international streaming investment, creating significant directorial employment.

UK theatrical feature production is supported by the BFI Film Fund, Film4, BBC Film, and private equity. While fewer in number than television productions, feature films remain the primary career focus for many UK film directors.

What Filmmakers Should Know

For UK Directors

If you have a principal director credit on a broadcast UK television programme or a commercially distributed feature film, you should join Directors UK to receive royalty payments for secondary use of your work. Even if you do not maintain your annual subscription, your distribution scheme registration is permanent, so you will continue receiving payments. Apply at directors.uk.com/join.

For Producers Hiring UK Directors

Understand that Directors UK's Rights Agreement with broadcasters and PACT imposes reporting and payment obligations on production companies. If you produce works commissioned by UK broadcasters, you must report secondary sales to Directors UK annually and may need to pay a recharge commercial fee. The Directors and Producers Forum guidelines define standard expectations for director-producer collaboration.

For International Productions Shooting in the UK

If you are hiring a British director, Directors UK provides professional context for understanding UK director expectations around authorship rights, credit standards, and contract terms. The PACT/Directors UK guidance documents on director agreements are a useful reference for structuring UK director engagements. UK copyright law grants directors moral rights that cannot be fully waived in the way they can under US work-for-hire doctrine.

See Also

For the UK crew union operating alongside Directors UK, see BECTU in this directory. For the European directors federation Directors UK belongs to, see FERA in this directory. For the UK producers association, see PACT in this directory. For the Directors and Producers Forum guidelines, see the FERA announcement. Use the Indie Film Budget Calculator to estimate how UK director fees and royalty obligations affect your production budget.