Survivor Rulebook

The Survivor Rulebook is a contract signed by all participants before competing in the game of Survivor. Though these rules are not explicitly revealed on television, they are to be followed by every Survivor contestant, or face expulsion with possible forfeiture of any prize money, and in some cases, incarceration.

About
A copy of the rulebook has been leaked by TV critic Andrew Dehnart, who publishes Reality Blurred. While most conversations about these rules are low key, this has influenced contestants to how they should act based on their signed contract, or face legal problems. Despite these limitations, there are few instances where players have tried to use them to their advantage, or otherwise evade them.

The Rulebook
The rulebook is a nine-page contract signed by all contestants before being subjected into the competition. Though the rules may vary per season, and are subject to change, depending on the sole discretion of the Producer and/or if the US and/or local governments say so. The following is a summary of the conditions stated in the rulebook as of May 31, 2010.

Pre-Game

 * Contestants are expected to abide both US and local laws.
 * Contestants may not bring his/her luggage at camp during filming, though one hand-held item (known in the show as Luxury Items). Also, they are only allowed to wear pre-approved clothing.
 * Contestants must disclose their full medical history.
 * Contestants may receive meager food supplies such as small sacks of rice, beans and the like, thus expecting significant weight loss. In pre-determined cases, food will be provided as prizes in Reward Challenges.
 * Stealing personal items from other contestants is strictly prohibited. This includes personal clothing and Luxury Items. But with the advent of the Hidden Immunity Idol, the said item is considered a personal item, thus cannot be stolen from its host.
 * The contestant should be responsible to his/her actions, as the Producers may not protect him/her if the contestant faces public scrutiny.

Daily Island Living

 * Contestants are to be videotaped and/or recorded 24/7, whether they are clothed, partially or fully nude. Additionally, contestants may talk to the cameramen, though they would not talk back.
 * Contestants may be divided into predetermined number or tribes (usually two), though there have been cases where the cast was divided into three or four tribes. Contestants are expected to stay with their team unless a tribe switch or a merge happens.
 * There are parts of the series location that are "off-limits" to the tribe.
 * During conflicts in between contestants, they are not allowed to purposefully inflict physical harm to each other, or face disqualification and forfeiture of any consolation prize.

Environmental Issues

 * Breaking these rules would not only result into forced expulsion from the game, but would result into violation of both US and local law, and the contestant in question may face prosecution.
 * Players may only eat food items (both flora and fauna) that are approved by the Producers. They may only hunt just for food.
 * Contestants are not allowed to destroy or litter the camp, voluntarily or otherwise.
 * Rare/endangered species native to the location are not allowed to be hunted for food.
 * Contestants are only allowed to use certain trees and Producer-given materials to create their shelter. There would be a list of vegetation they should not use as shelter materials.

Challenges

 * Contestants are to participate in challenges that can be physical and/or mental. Contestants are expected at the challenge sites at all times, even contestants are not participating in the challenge (known as "sit-outs").
 * Players must follow the rules stated in the instructions. The Producer always reserves the the right to disqualify a contestant from a challenge if he/she fails to comply with these rules.
 * The Producer has the sole discretion to whether continue or cancel a challenge, should the need arise.
 * In individual challenges, players are forbidden to help another win.

Tribal Councils

 * Similar to challenges, complete attendace of any tribe is expected at Tribal Council.
 * A player may not cast a vote against him/herself, nor immune players. Doing so will force the player in question to redo his vote.
 * The Producer has the sole discretion to increase/decrease the number of Jury members. There is a possibility that the Jury may be less than seven, depending on circumstance. Furthermore, the Jury are required to watch subsequent Tribal Councils.
 * If a contestant refuses to vote, he/she will either face expulsion or become ineligible for immunity at the next Tribal Council.
 * It only needs a plurality of votes to eliminate a contestant, not a majority.
 * If a tie occurs, a second vote would commence, where the people involved in the tie will be eligible for elimination (see Tiebreaker).

Additional Rules

 * Contestants may be evacuated from the game for medical reasons. With this, Tribal Councils may be delayed if necessary.
 * Contestants are responsible to report to the Producer about any situation that might compromise the safety of both the contestants and any personnel on location, such as infections and diseases.


 * While the aforementioned rulebook is currently in effect as of May 31, 2010, these are the rules that are added as of the latest season:
 * At the Survivor: Nicaragua Reunion Show, it was revealed that after the controversial back-to-back quits of NaOnka Mixon and Kelly Shinn, the producers decided that starting from Survivor: Redemption Island, not only quitting is considered a violation of their contract, this would result to a contestant's exclusion to the Jury (if the quitter left the game while during the Jury phase of the game) and withholding their consolation prize.
 * If a tribe wishes to go to Tribal Council after winning an Immunity Challenge, they may do so, as long as this choice is a unanimous decision.

After Filming

 * After filming, contestants are not allowed to reveal "the ways of production" three years after his or her appearance on the show.

Prize Money

 * All contestants, including the winner may only collect their prizes under the discretion of the Producer, and after all episodes have been aired. The Producer may give an extra consolation prize, but is not obliged to do so.
 * Each contestant is liable for paying taxes or any other legal obligation that has something to do with the cash prize.
 * Conspiring to share winnings between contestants is strictly prohibited.
 * While the prize matrices for seasons with more than 16 contestants remain unknown (except for the last and runner-up placers, who would receive $2,500 and $100,000 respectively), the pay scale for a 16-player format would be:

Known Rule Breaches/Exemptions
While the producers are mostly silent on legal issues that surround the show, here are the known cases the Survivor Rulebook was either breached or almost breached:
 * Survivor: Borneo winner Richard Hatch was known for his imprisonment after allegedly not paying his taxes.
 * In Survivor: Marquesas, Paschal English, who was eliminated on Day 37, skipped the Day 38 Tribal Council due to him passing out immediately after his elimination.
 * Jon Dalton is known for trying to take advantage of this, among other things, when he confessed at the Survivor: Pearl Islands Reunion Show that he was hoping Rupert Boneham would try to hit him and get ejected.
 * In Survivor: Palau, an impromptu Tribal Council was held after a challenge that ended late at night, thus having the Jury absent.
 * In Survivor: Samoa, Russell Hantz was infamous for burning a pair of socks (which is technically clothing) of another contestant. Whether he was penalized or not is currently unknown.
 * In Samoa, Ben Browning was pulled out from challenge due for continually inflicting unnecessary physical harm to the other contestants after several warnings from the host (i.e. intentionally tripping member of the other tribe). Note that Jeff Probst also serves as one of the producers.
 * In Samoa, Russell Swan was medically evacuated in the middle of a challenge due to severe low blood pressure, which forced Jeff to cancel the challenge entirely, with neither tribe declared as winner.
 * In, Sandra Diaz-Twine burned Russell Hantz's hat on Day 39, a violation of stealing/defiling personal belongings.
 * In Survivor: Nicaragua, It was speculated that Sash Lenahan attempted to bribe Jane Bright that he would pay off her mortgage in exchange for Jury votes -- a direct violation of the Rulebook.
 * In Survivor: South Pacific, Sophie Clarke asked Albert Destrade to help her win an individual Immunity Challenge to help defeat Ozzy Lusth. Jeff Probst immediately intercepted it by telling it was prohibited.
 * Several contestants, alliances or tribes willfully sent themselves to Tribal Council by losing Immunity Challenges on purpose, to eliminate a contestant who was either unliked or considered as a threat. This is likely because they are required to participate in all challenges.

Controversial Rule Changes

 * The return of the six pre-merge evictees from Survivor: Pearl Islands who were brought back for a chance to return to the competition without informing the remaining contestants beforehand, stirred controversy. Years later, a similar twist, Redemption Island, received mixed to negative response from fans.
 * In Survivor: Fiji, the "Haves vs Have Nots" (also known as the "rich versus poor" twist) gave one tribe an unfair advantage by giving them luxuries uncommon in the game of Survivor such as a lavish shelter, food, cutlery, and a bed. The rival tribe was only given a machete and a pot. This predictably resulted in a lopsided pre-merge competition, in favor of the "rich" tribe. In one episode, the "rich" tribe won a Immunity Challenge with an added stipulation -- a dilemma between keeping their lavish camp in exchange for immunity. Jeff Probst even showed disdain for the said twist, but was overruled by Mark Burnett.

Gallery
Retrieved from Andy Dehnart

Trivia

 * The rule on pre-approved clothing items may likely be the reason why most recent seasons have its contestants wearing clothes that are of their tribe color (e.g. a red tribe with its members wearing red at the start of the competition).