IMDb Recognizes Dubbing Artists in New Credit Category Rollout

IMDb, the widely used film and television database, has introduced 12 new professional credit categories, expanding recognition for a range of behind-the-scenes roles — including Voice Actor – Dubbing.

The new categories span Choreography, Color, Craft Services, Health & Safety, Intimacy Coordination, Legal, Production, Production Finance & Accounting, Property, Publicity, Puppetry, and Voice Actor – Dubbing.

Previously, many of these roles were grouped under “Additional Crew.” The expansion brings IMDb’s total number of professional credit categories to 45.

“Our vision is to ensure every profession involved in making movies and TV shows receives equal recognition,” IMDb CEO Nikki Santoro wrote in a LinkedIn post announcing the update.

Dubbing Takes the Spotlight

For the language and localization industry, the addition of a Voice Actor – Dubbing category is the most significant change.

IMDb will now accept dubbing credits across seven languages — English, French, German, Hindi, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish — giving multilingual voice actors and dubbing studios greater visibility on one of the industry’s most influential databases.

Yaminie Patodia, Head of IMDb India, explained in a LinkedIn post that “as content production becomes more complex, skills require more specialization and that’s why it’s important to recognize and accurately represent the credit, as professionals use IMDb as an information resource.”

Patodia added that she is “especially excited about the new category for voice artists given the vast amount of content that gets dubbed in various languages.”

In several LinkedIn posts, industry professionals welcomed the change, highlighting how visible credits help voice actors build verifiable career profiles and ensure that dubbing is recognized as skilled performance rather than background work.

IMDb Commits to Ongoing Industry Dialogue

IMDb worked closely with several industry unions and organizations — including the Choreographers Guild, Colorist Society, IATSE, the National Association of Voice Actors, the Property Masters Guild, and SAG-AFTRA — to make this happen.

Santoro noted that “their insights shaped these updates, and their members’ passion reminded us why this recognition is so important, not just professionally, but personally.”

While categories such as subtitling are not yet listed separately, the update could pave the way for more granular crediting of multilingual and localization roles in the future. 

“We’ll continue listening, learning, and expanding recognition based on industry feedback,” Santoro said.