CEA Card terms, fees and participating cinemas change; confirm the current fee and your cinema's booking steps before applying.
In brief
- CEA Card: disabled guest over 8, qualifying benefits include DLA, PIP, Attendance Allowance, AFIP, Blind Persons Registration
- Cineworld: subtitled screenings of one new release at least twice a week, Sunday afternoon and Monday evening
- Card covers one companion ticket; book the wheelchair space and screening format separately
Who qualifies, and what the card does
Brent Council's local offer page describes the CEA Card as a national scheme enabling a disabled cinema guest to receive a complimentary ticket for someone to go with them when they visit a participating cinema, with the cardholder aged over eight. People who receive Disability Living Allowance, Attendance Allowance, Blind Persons Registration, Personal Independence Payment or Armed Forces Independence Payment are listed as eligible. Cineworld's accessibility page gives the same picture from the cinema side: any customer in receipt of Disability Living Allowance or Personal Independence Payment is eligible to apply, the scheme grants a free ticket for someone to accompany them, an administration fee is payable to process the application, and proof of eligibility will be required. Around 90 per cent of UK cinemas accept the card, according to council and charity summaries, but the card does not guarantee that every cinema or every screening is covered, so check that your chosen cinema participates before you book. The cardholder is the disabled person; the free ticket is for the companion, and the cardholder buys their own ticket as normal.
Subtitled, audio-described and relaxed screenings
A CEA Card solves the companion cost, not the screening format, so check the format separately. Cineworld says all of its sites offer subtitled screenings of one new release at least twice a week, on a Sunday afternoon and Monday evening, with larger locations possibly adding a Thursday evening screening, and that audio description headsets are available at certain locations on request from a team member at the till. It also describes relaxed or sensory screenings, usually on the first Sunday of every month, with lights kept on at a low level, sound turned down, and no trailers or advertisements, where customers may bring their own food and drink. Hearing loops are available at select locations. None of these are automatic: subtitled and audio-described performances are listed per film and per cinema, so filter the listings for the format you need, then add the CEA companion ticket to the same booking. A wheelchair space, a subtitled screening and a free companion ticket are three separate choices, and a good booking gets all three right.
How to apply, and what to watch out for
Apply through the CEA Card website, with proof of one of the qualifying benefits and the administration fee; the card is valid for a year and needs renewal. Recent guides put the fee at £6.50 for 12 months, but confirm the current fee on the application page before paying, since fees change. Once you have the card, booking differs by chain: ODEON, for example, asks you to enter the CEA card number as a special code when booking online, while other chains have their own steps, so follow your cinema's CEA instructions rather than assuming one method works everywhere. Watch out for three things: the card covers one companion, not a whole group; some screenings, such as premium or event cinema, may be excluded, so check the terms for your screening; and the card does not remove the need to book a wheelchair space, which is a seating choice made separately. Used correctly, the CEA Card turns a cinema trip from two full-price tickets into one, which is often the difference between going and staying home.
