TV Licence UK: Cost, Rules, Exemptions & Who Needs One

Key Takeaways

What Is a TV Licence?

A TV licence is a fee paid to TV Licensing, which collects revenue on behalf of the BBC. The money funds BBC television, radio and online services including BBC iPlayer, BBC Sounds and the BBC News website. It is not a commercial subscription. It is a statutory charge set by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and enforced under the Communications Act 2003.

The television licence system has existed in the UK since 1923, originally as a wireless licence for radio. Television was added in 1946. Today, approximately 23.9 million licences are in force across the UK.

TV Licensing is administered by Capita on behalf of the BBC. It is responsible for issuing licences, collecting payments and investigating unlicensed addresses. Enforcement officers employed by TV Licensing have no special powers of entry and are subject to the same rules as any other member of the public.

How Much Does a TV Licence Cost in 2026?

The annual licence fee from 1 April 2026 is £180.00 for a standard colour licence. This is an increase of £5.50 from the 2025 fee of £174.50, a rise of around 3.1%. The increase follows the inflation-linked formula agreed in the 2022 Licence Fee Settlement, which ties annual rises to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) until the BBC Royal Charter ends in December 2027.

One licence covers every device at a single household address. You do not need a separate licence for each television, laptop, tablet or smartphone.

Television Licence Cost Breakdown

For households budgeting monthly, here is what the 2026 TV license fee works out to across different time periods:

Do You Need a TV License?

You need a TV licence if you do any of the following at your address:

• Watch or record live television on any channel, including BBC, ITV, Channel 4, Channel 5, Sky Sports, or any foreign broadcaster

• Use BBC iPlayer for any content, whether live or on-demand catch-up

• Watch live television through any online streaming service, such as Sky Go, Now TV or YouTube Live

The rule applies regardless of what device you use. A television set, laptop, tablet, smartphone or games console are all covered. It also applies regardless of how the signal reaches you: terrestrial aerial, satellite dish, cable or broadband internet.

Licence Required vs Not Required

Common Myths

Many households are confused about when a licence is actually required. These are the most common misconceptions.

TV Licence Exemptions and Discounts

The following groups may qualify for a free or reduced licence. None of these are applied automatically. You must apply through the official TV Licensing website or by phone.

How to Pay for a TV License

TV Licensing offers several ways to pay the £180 annual fee:

How to Get a Television Licence

Buying a TV licence online is the quickest option. The process takes a few minutes and your licence number is issued by email almost immediately. Here is how to do it:

1. Go to tvlicensing.co.uk and select “Buy a TV licence”
2. Enter the address where you will be watching live TV or using BBC iPlayer
3. Choose between a colour licence (£180) or a black and white licence (£60.50)
4. Select your preferred payment method: Direct Debit, debit or credit card, or PayPoint
5. Confirm your details and complete payment
6. Receive your licence number by email. Your address is licenced immediately

You can also buy a licence by calling TV Licensing on 0300 790 6165, or in person at a PayPoint outlet. If you qualify for a free licence as an over-75 on Pension Credit, or a 50% blind discount, you must apply separately through the concessions section of the TV Licensing website rather than buying online.

TV License Enforcement and Penalties

TV Licensing enforcement officers may visit your address if it is flagged as unlicensed. They work for Capita, not the BBC or any government body. They have no automatic right of entry and cannot enter your property without your explicit permission or a court-issued search warrant, which must be accompanied by a police officer.

You are under no legal obligation to open the door, answer questions or allow access to your property. If you do not need a licence, submit a No Licence Needed declaration to stop receiving enforcement letters.

TV Licensing Enforcement Letters

Unlicensed addresses receive a series of letters from TV Licensing. These are standard enforcement correspondence and do not mean you are being prosecuted. A No Licence Needed declaration will stop the letters if you genuinely do not need a licence. If you do need one, buying a licence online is the simplest way to resolve the matter.

Scotland

In Scotland, most TV licence evasion cases are handled through a fiscal fine issued by the Procurator Fiscal rather than a full court hearing.

BBC iPlayer and the TV Licence

Since September 2016, a TV licence has been required to watch any content on BBC iPlayer. This includes on-demand catch-up programmes, not just live broadcasts. The rule was introduced because a growing number of households were watching BBC programmes exclusively through iPlayer after broadcast.

The iPlayer rule applies on every device: television sets, laptops, tablets, smartphones and games consoles. It also applies regardless of your location within the UK. If you use BBC iPlayer at all, even once, you need a valid TV license.

BBC iPlayer Outside the UK

BBC iPlayer is geo-restricted and is not available to watch outside the UK without a VPN. If you are a UK licence holder temporarily abroad, your licence remains valid but iPlayer access depends on your location rather than your licence status.

Shared Accounts and Multiple Addresses

An iPlayer account can be used across devices at a single address under one licence. If someone at a different address, such as a student at university or a family member in a separate home, uses BBC iPlayer on their own devices, that address requires its own TV licence. Sharing a login does not transfer licence coverage between addresses.

BBC iPlayer Verification

The BBC’s Royal Charter review green paper, published in December 2025, raised the possibility of requiring users to verify they hold a TV licence before accessing BBC iPlayer. No changes have been implemented yet. For 2026, no login or licence verification is required to use BBC iPlayer.

What Happens to the TV License After 2027?

The current BBC Royal Charter runs until 31 December 2027. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport launched a formal Charter review in December 2025. A public consultation closed in March 2026. The government’s White Paper, setting out the preferred direction for the BBC’s remit, governance and funding from 2028, is expected in late 2026 or early 2027.

No changes to who needs a licence, how much it costs or how exemptions work will take effect until the new Charter begins on 1 January 2028 at the earliest. For 2026 and 2027, all rules remain exactly as described on this page.

TV License When Moving House

Your TV licence is tied to a single address. When you move home, your existing licence does not automatically transfer to your new property. You need to update your address with TV Licensing as soon as possible after moving.

You can update your address online at tvlicensing.co.uk by logging into your account and selecting “Change of address”. Your licence number stays the same and your new address is covered from the date you update the details. There is no additional charge for changing address mid-licence.

If you are moving out of a property and will not be watching live TV or using BBC iPlayer at your new address, you can cancel your licence and claim a refund for any full months remaining. If your new property already has a licence registered to it by a previous occupant, you still need to set up your own licence. TV licences are not transferable between people.

TV Licence for Shared Houses

Whether a shared house needs one licence or multiple licences depends on how the property is set up. If you share a house with others under a single tenancy agreement and live as one household, one TV licence covers everyone in the property and all devices used there.

If the property is divided into separate flats, bedsits or self-contained units, each unit needs its own TV licence. The key question is whether the address functions as a single household or multiple separate dwellings. Student halls of residence fall into a similar category: each individual room is treated as a separate address, so each student needs their own licence if they watch live TV or use BBC iPlayer on personal devices in their room.

A common point of confusion is bills-included rentals. A landlord providing a shared house with a single licence covering communal areas does not extend coverage to individual tenants watching live TV in their own rooms on personal devices. Each tenant in that situation needs their own licence.

Licence Rules Across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland

The TV licence is a UK-wide requirement and the rules for who needs one, how much it costs and what exemptions apply are the same across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The legislation, the Communications Act 2003, applies equally in all four nations.

There are some differences in how enforcement is handled. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, evasion is treated as a criminal offence prosecuted in magistrates’ courts, with fines of up to £1,000. In Scotland, cases are typically handled by the Procurator Fiscal, who issues a fiscal fine rather than taking the matter to court. The vast majority of Scottish cases are resolved through fiscal fines rather than prosecution.

In Wales, the TV licence also funds S4C, the Welsh-language public broadcaster. S4C receives a portion of TV licence revenue allocated by the BBC under the current Charter arrangements. In Northern Ireland, BBC Northern Ireland is funded through the same licence fee pool. The BBC has a presence in all four nations and the licence fee funds services specific to each region, including BBC Scotland, BBC Wales and BBC Northern Ireland.

TV Licence UK Quick Facts