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Rules

The rules and procedures that govern NATAS-administered Emmy® Award competitions are subject to change or correction by NATAS at any time, with or without prior written notice. The most current version of these rules and procedures documents will be published here.

GENERAL RULES FOR 2025

The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) uses a semantic versioning system to identify document revisions, structured as [CONTEST YEAR].[NOTABLE REVISION].[MINOR CORRECTION]. Here’s how it works:

  • v.[YEAR].0.0: Initial publication of rules or documents for a given competition year.
  • v.[YEAR].0.X: Minor corrections, such as typographical fixes or formatting updates.
  • v.[YEAR].X.0: Notable updates, such as substantial clarifications, additions, or deletions, which are documented in an appendix detailing these changes.

For example:

  • The initial publication for the 2021 competition year is labeled v.2021.0.0.
  • A correction to a typographical error would be updated to v.2021.0.1.
  • A significant clarification or update would increment to v.2021.1.0.

All documents are categorized by competition and revision. For current competition rules, including eligibility dates, visit the Enter page. Questions or concerns can be directed to Academy Operations at ops@theemmys.tv.

SUBMISSION SITE

National Programming – General Rules & Procedures

PREVIOUS RULES

National Competition Call for Entries

PREVIOUS RULES

Children’s & Family

Daytime

News & Documentary

Sports