18 U.S.C. 2257 statement
What the record-keeping law requires, who it binds, and where this site stands in relation to it.
All performers featured are adult professionals. Pornstar Ranked hosts no explicit media. Records required by 18 U.S.C. 2257 are held by the respective production companies.
What 18 U.S.C. 2257 requires, and of whom
Section 2257 of Title 18 of the United States Code, with the regulations at 28 CFR Part 75, requires producers of visual depictions of actual sexually explicit conduct to keep records showing that every performer depicted was at least 18 years old at the time of production, to index those records by every name the performer has used, and to name a custodian of records. The obligation follows the making of the depiction: it attaches to whoever films or photographs the conduct, and in narrower terms to anyone who reproduces or publishes such a depiction in their own material. A publisher that carries no such depiction produces none.
Where this site stands
Pornstar Ranked hosts no explicit media. Nothing published here is a visual depiction of actual sexually explicit conduct. What it publishes is text — biographies, credits, award records and scores — together with portrait and event photographs republished under Creative Commons and public-domain licences, all of which are itemised on the copyright page. On that basis this site is neither a primary nor a secondary producer within the meaning of 28 CFR Part 75, and the records that section 2257 requires for these performers’ filmed work are held by the production companies that made it.
Everyone written about here is an adult
That is enforced by exclusion rules applied before scoring rather than by a disclaimer after publication. Nobody is added to a ranking who falls into any of these categories:
✕ Excluded from every ranking
- Performers with credible unresolved allegations of coercion, assault or trafficking. A ranking is an endorsement of a professional record, and we will not extend one where consent is in question.
- Anyone whose age at the time of any listed credit cannot be independently verified as 18 or over.
- Performers who have publicly asked to be left off editorial rankings. Removal requests are honoured without argument and without requiring a reason.
- Content, imagery or links sourced from leaks, hacks or non-consensual distribution — regardless of how widely circulated it is elsewhere.
Every date, award and credit behind those judgements is matched against at least two independent sources before publication, and each ranking passes a named legal review before it goes live.