18 U.S.C. § 2257
If you produce sexually explicit content, § 2257 requires you to verify and keep records proving every performer was an adult, index those records so any depiction can be traced to the people in it, name a Custodian of Records publicly, and hold all of it for seven years.
That is the whole obligation. The rest of this page is what each part actually means, and what a complete record looks like.
18 U.S.C. § 2257(b)(1)
Before production, the producer has to inspect a government-issued photo ID for every performer in every explicit depiction, and record what was examined. Not a checkbox that someone is over 18. The actual document, on file.
28 CFR 75.2
Legal name, every name ever used (stage names, aliases, maiden names), date of birth, the ID itself, and a copy of the depiction the record belongs to. Missing aliases is one of the most common gaps.
28 CFR 75.2(a)(1)
Records have to be indexed so an inspector can go from any published URL or title to the performers in it, and from any performer to everything they appear in. Both directions. A folder of ID scans is not an index.
28 CFR 75.6
Published content needs an attached statement giving the custodian's name and a physical address where records can be inspected. If you are the custodian, that address is yours, and it is public.
28 CFR 75.4
Records are kept for seven years. You cannot delete them early even if the performer asks, and you cannot delete them because you stopped producing.
Primary producers are anyone who actually films, photographs, or records the explicit content. If you are in the room, you are a primary producer, including when you are the only person in it.
Secondary producers are anyone who publishes, reproduces, or reissues that content. Under 28 CFR 75.1(c)(2)a platform carrying explicit user content can carry its own record-keeping obligation, separate from the creator's.
The point people get wrong: a platform verifying your ID is satisfying its own secondary-producer obligation. It is not keeping your records for you. When you move platforms or post the same content in two places, the records that travel with you are the ones you kept yourself.
§ 2257 sets the federal floor. The card networks set a higher bar on top of it, and they enforce far more often. Visa's Integrity Risk Program and Mastercard's AN 5196 both require documented performer consent and a public removal path for anyone depicted in your content. Those are separate obligations. Satisfying § 2257 does not satisfy them.
In practice a payment processor will act on a card-network gap long before a federal inspection ever happens. If you are reading up on § 2257 because a processor asked you something, that is the reason.
Plenty of producers do. It means collecting and encrypting IDs, chasing signed releases, maintaining the cross-reference index by hand, publishing your own address as custodian, and not losing any of it for seven years.
Easy2257 does that part. Talent verify themselves through a secure link, so you never handle their documents. The index builds itself as content is logged. Custodian of Records service is included on every plan, so your home address stays off the public statement. Each scene closes into an audit-ready archive with SHA-256 hashes on every file.
Solo creators
$120/year
Your own records, statement page, and custodian.
Shoots with other performers
$39.95/scene
No subscription. Covers seven years of custody for that scene.
The notice attached to published content naming the Custodian of Records and the physical address where records can be inspected, as required by 28 CFR 75.6. It is the public-facing part of the obligation.
No. The regulation specifies what information a record must contain, not a government form to fill in. Any format works as long as it holds the required information and is indexed and retrievable.
Seven years under 28 CFR 75.4. Early deletion is not permitted, including at a performer's request.
If you film yourself in explicit content, you are the primary producer of it, so the record-keeping obligation is yours. The record is about you.
A § 2257 record-keeping violation carries up to five years imprisonment for a first offense. In practice, most producers encounter card-network enforcement from their processor long before any federal inspection.
This page is general information, not legal advice. Easy2257 acts as Custodian of Records and warrants the integrity of what is submitted, not the truth of its contents. Consult an attorney for guidance specific to your situation.