Thanks to the way streaming services like Netflix, ITVX, YouTube and others have overhauled the TV watching landscape, it’s possible to watch your favourite shows without the need to pay for a TV licence. Whether you need to pay for one or not is a particularly popular question around now as thousands of students prepare to head to university for 2023.
Students aren’t exempt from needing a TV Licence and do have to pay for one – but they don’t always need one. And even for non-students there are a lot of times you don’t need a TV Licence either. So what are the current rules? You can get more story updates straight to your inbox by subscribing to our newsletters here.
Legally watching TV without a TV Licence
A common misconception is that TV Licences are only needed to watch BBC content. Many will comment saying things like ‘oh well, I don’t watch anything on the BBC so I don’t need to pay’. This is a myth, and rules on streaming platforms were changed some years ago. But there are lots of ways you can watch TV without a TV Licence.
A TV Licence is a legal requirement if you do any of these:
- watch or record TV on any channel via any TV service (such as Sky, Virgin, Freeview, Freesat)
- watch live on streaming services (e.g. ITVX, Channel 4, YouTube, Amazon Prime Video, Now, Sky Go)
- use BBC iPlayer
TV Licences are per house, not per person, though. This means if you live in a house with multiple people, you don’t all need a TV Licence *unless* your rooms are counted as separate addresses. Put simply, one address = one licence, so a group of students all living under one roof can split the cost.
When a TV Licence is not required
You’re exempt from a TV Licence for watching DVDs or Blurays and services including Netflix, Disney Plus, Amazon Prime Video or Apple TV as long as it’s NOT live content. E.g. you can watch Drive To Survive, Stranger Things, Ted Lasso or Marvel’s Secret Invasion without a TV Licence, totally legally.
As the TV Licensing says: “You need to be covered by a TV Licence to watch programmes live on any online TV service – such as ITVX, Channel 4, Amazon Prime Video, Now or Sky Go. You don’t need a TV Licence if you only ever watch on-demand programmes on any TV service apart from BBC iPlayer.”
If you do want to stream the latest TV shows without needing a TV licence, you can sign up for Disney+ TV here, Amazon Prime TV here or Netflix here
Does the TV Licence van really exist?
When you decide that you don’t need a TV Licence, you can’t just not buy one and call it a day. You have to declare to TV Licensing that you are exempt – for example if you know for sure you will only watch Netflix or non-live YouTube videos, or just play PS5, but not watch TV.
The infamous ‘TV Licence detection vans’ are thought to be a myth by many, but the TV Licensing website claims: “We have a fleet of detector vans that can detect the use of TV receiving equipment at specifically targeted addresses within minutes.” It adds: “We have a database of approximately 31 million licensed and unlicensed addresses. This tells us if your address has a TV Licence.
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“All our visiting officers have access to this database. This means they can check if you have a licence or not. If you tell us that you do not need a TV Licence, our officers may still visit you to confirm this.”
So it’s best to contact the TV Licensing before they come knock on your door. The maximum fine is £1,000 plus legal costs and compensation and a court can order you to pay it.
