‘Do I really need a TV licence?’ How to check before the fee rises

The TV licence fee is set to rise to £180 a year from 1 April 2026, the UK government has announced, making it more expensive than most monthly subscriptions to Netflix and Disney+.

An annual colour TV licence will rise by £5.50 from £174.50, a 3.15 per cent increase in line with the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) measure of inflation. Meanwhile, the annual cost of a black and white TV licence will rise by £2 from £58.50 to £60.50.

The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport say the price hike will “provide the BBC with stable financial footing to deliver for audiences and support the wider creative industries”.

The TV licence fee is set by the government, which has committed to increasing it in line with CPI inflation every year from April 2024 until the end of 2027, so we can expect another rise next April.

Last month, it was reported that the BBC was investigating how it could use iPlayer to find out which households had not paid for a TV licence. This could involve millions of BBC accounts being linked with household addresses for the first time.

Not everyone needs a TV licence, and some people are eligible for exemptions and reductions, so it’s worth checking if you could save before the price increase. Here’s what you need to know.

You need a TV licence if you watch or record live TV or BBC iPlayer, but you don’t need it for other streaming services like Netflix, Disney+ and ITVX.

One licence covers a whole household, even if you watch live TV or iPlayer on multiple devices, so there’s no need to buy a licence if your housemate or family member already has one. Similarly, if you’re moving into a house that already has an active licence, you’ll be covered until it expires.

If you already have a TV licence, and you’re realising you no longer need it, you may be able to get a refund, provided that you won’t need it again before it expires and there’s at least a month left on it. You can apply for a refund using this form on the TV Licensing website.

You can get a free TV licence if you’re aged 75 or over and receive Pension Credit, a benefit for those low-income pensioners. This licence will also cover anyone you live with, regardless of their age.

A free TV licence is one of many benefits you’ll get with Pension Credit. Your income will get topped up to £227.10 if you’re single or £346.60 if you’re partnered, and you could get a council tax reduction of up to 100 per cent.

Nearly a million Brits are missing out, so it’s well worth checking if you’re eligible at Gov.uk. Once you’re accepted, you can apply for a free TV licence.

If you’re a student, and your parent or guardian has a TV licence, you may not need to pay for one.

The rule is, if someone at your out-of-term address has a TV licence, you can watch live TV or iPlayer on devices that are powered by their own internal battery and that aren’t plugged into the mains. A laptop, tablet or phone is allowed, but a TV, desktop computer or a laptop, phone or tablet that are on charge are surprisingly forbidden.

To summarise, you can comply with the rules as a student by making sure someone at your out-of-term address has paid their licensing fee and charging up your handheld device before you watch live TV or iPlayer.

If you are blind (severely sight impaired) or live with a blind person, you can get a TV licence for 50 per cent off, which would be £90 for a colour licence. You can apply for your discounted licence on the TV Licensing website.