Clearcast is the company responsible for the pre-transmission examination and clearance of television advertisements.  As part of their licensing agreements with Ofcom, broadcasters are required to clear advertising before it is broadcast and advertisements transmitted on UK terrestrial and satellite channels should be submitted to Clearcast for approval.  Clearcast is owned and funded by eight commercial broadcasters all of whom are represented on Clearcast’s board.  Other broadcasters using Clearcast for clearance pay individually for Clearcast’s services.

Pre-production scripts and finished commercials are considered against the BCAP Television Advertising Standards Code and Clearcast’s own Notes of Guidance.

Clearcast also manages the attribution service which standardises and validates attribution data for all BARB reported commercial copy transmitted on TV in the UK and reports attribution for transmission by UK broadcasters in the Republic of Ireland.