TV Licensing

Do you need to get a TV Licence?

Find out by answering these questions:

1. Do you watch or record programmes as they’re being shown on TV (we call this ‘live TV’)?
2. Do you watch BBC programmes on iPlayer?

If you said YES to EITHER of these questions, you DO need a TV Licence.

If you said NO to BOTH questions, you DON’T need a TV Licence.

Watch our YouTube video to find out when you need a TV Licence.

You can watch TV in lots of different ways:

• On a TV set
• On a computer or laptop
• On a mobile phone
• On a tablet (like an iPad)
• With a games console (like a PlayStation or Xbox)
• With a digital box (or digibox) connected to your TV (like Sky, Virgin, BT TV, Now TV, Apple TV)
• With a Blu-ray, DVD or video recorder

You need a TV Licence if you use anything to watch live TV on any channel, or BBC programmes on iPlayer.

You only need one TV Licence for your home.

How much does a TV Licence cost?

A standard TV Licence costs £147. Find out how to buy one.

You could pay less for your licence or get it for free:

• If you’re over 75
• If you’re blind
• If you live in a residential care home.

Please tell us if you don’t need a TV Licence

If you don’t watch live TV on any channel, and you don’t watch any BBC programmes on iPlayer, you don’t need a TV Licence. You also don’t need one if your home is empty and no one lives there.

If you don’t need one, please tell us. Then we won’t send you any letters for about two years. If it’s because your home is empty, we won’t write to you for about six months.

• Tell us on this website
• Call us on 0300 790 6165*.
• Write to us at: TV Licensing, Darlington DL98 1TL

We may send a TV Licensing Officer to your home to check what you have told us is correct. We have to do this because some people who say they don’t need a TV Licence actually do need one.

If you do not get a TV Licence when you need one you would be breaking the law. This means you could be prosecuted and fined up to £1,000*.

*The maximum fine is £2,000 in Guernsey and £500 in Jersey.

If you need any more help, please check the other pages in this section or call us on 0300 790 6165*.

*Calls to our 0300 numbers cost no more than a national rate call to an 01 or 02 number, whether from a mobile or landline. If you get inclusive minutes with your mobile, calls to an 0300 number will be included.