From 1920 to 1924, the supervisory headquarters was chaired by Dr. Carl Bulcke; in 1924 he was replaced by Ernst Seeger (who later served as Minister of Film in the Propagandaministerium under Joseph Goebbels).

The only grounds on which a film could be censored were in perceived cases of danger to the interests of the state or in threats to public order and security.

Films determined unobjectionable were then submitted to the Parliament (German: Reichsrat) for review of artistic aspects by the Central Institute for Education and Instruction.

The council was reduced to a purely advisory function and the chair, under supervision of the Propagandaminister, had the final word on all films.

At the end of the war, the film inspection agency had to stop its work and ceased to exist with the fall of Nazi Germany.

In the Federal Republic of Germany, the Voluntary Self-Regulation of the Film Industry (German: Freiwillige Selbstkontrolle der Filmwirtschaft, FSK) was created as a democratic alternative.