Do you need a TV Licence? Check before you pay

• ✓GOV.UK states it in two lines: you need a TV Licence if you watch or record live TV on any channel or service, or if you use BBC iPlayer.
• ✓Live TV means any programme watched or recorded as it is being shown live, on any TV service or streaming service. The channel does not matter and neither does the device.
• ✓BBC iPlayer is the exception to the on demand rule. Downloading or watching BBC programmes on iPlayer needs a licence whether they are live, catch up or on demand.
• ✓One licence covers an address and every device used there, although a shared house with separate tenancy agreements works differently. That case has its own section below.
• ✓A colour licence costs £180 from 1 April 2026 and a black and white licence £60.50. GOV.UK puts the maximum fine for watching or recording live TV without one at £1,000.

Sources: GOV.UK, TV Licence (read 1 September 2026); GOV.UK, cost of TV licence fee set for 2026/27 (read 1 September 2026); TV Licensing, do I need a TV Licence (read 1 September 2026)

• ✓GOV.UK: you do not need a TV Licence for streaming services such as Netflix, Disney Plus, Amazon Prime Video or YouTube, or for DVDs.
• ✓TV Licensing draws the line at live, not at the service. On demand programmes on Netflix, YouTube or Amazon Prime Video need no licence, while watching a programme live on those same services does.
• ✓BBC iPlayer is the only service where on demand viewing still needs a licence.
• ✓If nobody at the address watches live TV or uses BBC iPlayer, you can complete a No Licence Needed declaration with TV Licensing. It also stops the letters.
• ✓If you have already paid and the honest answer turns out to be no, you can claim back the complete months you have left. The refund rules are further down this page.

Sources: GOV.UK, TV Licence (read 1 September 2026); TV Licensing, what can I watch without a TV Licence (read 1 September 2026); TV Licensing, telling us you do not need a TV Licence (read 1 September 2026)

• ✓A free licence is for people aged 75 or over who receive Pension Credit. Age alone is not enough: TV Licensing is clear that if you are over 75 and not receiving Pension Credit, you pay for a licence.
• ✓Either part of Pension Credit counts, Guarantee Credit or Savings Credit or both. TV Licensing checks entitlement with the Department for Work and Pensions as part of the application.
• ✓You can apply at 74 if you already receive Pension Credit. TV Licensing updates your payments to cover you until your 75th birthday, and the free licence takes over from there.
• ✓The blind concession is 50%: £90 for a colour licence and £30.25 for black and white. It needs evidence, and it covers everyone who lives with you. Partially sighted (sight impaired) does not qualify.
• ✓If the licence at the address is in somebody else's name, it has to be transferred into the name of the person who qualifies.

Sources: TV Licensing, aged 74 and over (read 1 September 2026); TV Licensing, blind (severely sight impaired) (read 1 September 2026); GOV.UK, TV Licence (read 1 September 2026)

• ✓You can apply for a refund if you will not need your licence again before it expires and you have at least one complete month left on it.
• ✓Any refund is calculated in unused months, so it can run from one month to 11 depending on how long is left.
• ✓You can apply up to 14 days before the date you no longer need the licence, rather than waiting until afterwards.
• ✓If you are eligible for the over-75 or the blind concession, you can apply for a refund at any time and for any length of time left on the licence.
• ✓TV Licensing aims to process refunds within 21 days of receiving the application, and pays by cheque or BACS.

Sources: TV Licensing, cancellations and refunds (read 1 September 2026); TV Licensing, how we work out refunds (read 1 September 2026)

• ✓If you have signed a joint tenancy agreement with your housemates, you need only one TV Licence. It acts as a communal licence covering the devices in the shared accommodation.
• ✓Separate tenancy agreements work the other way. If you have signed your own and you watch TV in your room, you need your own licence, and it also covers communal areas such as the lounge and kitchen.
• ✓In halls of residence, the university should hold a licence for the communal areas shared by students. A student watching live TV or BBC iPlayer in their own room needs a licence for that room.
• ✓TV Licensing puts the responsibility on the tenants unless the tenancy agreement states that the landlord is responsible.
• ✓Leaving halls or a tenancy part way through a licence year is a common refund case, because the same complete-months rule applies.

Sources: TV Licensing, tenants and lodgers (read 1 September 2026); TV Licensing, cancellations and refunds (read 1 September 2026)

• ✓The TV Licence is a statutory fee. There is no provider to compare, no deal to introduce you to, and no commission for anyone.
• ✓That includes pay TV. Sky, Virgin and the rest are a separate commercial question that belongs with broadband, and putting them here would turn the one page that can tell you that you owe nothing into a page that looks like it wants something.
• ✓Taupia earns nothing whether you buy a licence, claim a free one, or cancel and take the refund.
• ✓What Taupia does with this bill is track it: the renewal date, the amount, and each housemate's share on the rule your household sets.
• ✓If you are moving into a new address rather than reviewing a licence you already hold, the move-in guide covers updating the address with TV Licensing.