6 questions you need to avoid paying TV licence fee

A standard TV licence costs £180 for colour televisions and £60.50 for black and white sets, but not everyone is required to pay the fee.

Those who do not meet these criteria can submit a “No Licence Needed” declaration through the TV Licensing website.

The form uses a series of yes or no questions to determine eligibility.

If you have not previously notified TV Licensing, additional questions will follow.

TV Licensing warns that, if you declare you do not need a licence, you may be subject to a home visit.

It says: “If you tell us you don’t need a licence, we may visit you to check.

“If we then find that you have been watching, recording or streaming programmes illegally, you risk prosecution and a fine of up to £1,000 (£2,000 in Guernsey) plus any legal costs and compensation you may be ordered to pay.”

What six questions do you need to answer to not need a TV licence?

Before completing the declaration, TV Licensing asks a series of questions to confirm eligibility:

1. Do you or does anyone in your household ever watch TV on any channel? For example, on ITV, Channel 5, Channel 4, BBC or Dave?
2. Do you or does anyone in your household ever watch TV on any TV service? For example, on Sky, BT, Virgin Media or Freeview?
3. Do you or does anyone in your household ever watch TV live on any streaming service? For example, on ITVX, Sky Go, Prime Video, YouTube.
4. Do you or does anyone in your household ever watch foreign channels on TV or live online, for example, on ZeeTV or Al Jazeera?
5. Can you confirm that you and your household never watch BBC iPlayer? Watching S4C on demand doesn’t require a licence.
6. Can you confirm that you and your household never record TV, for example, on Sky, BT, Virgin Media or Freeview?

Not paying for a TV licence could lead to a £1,000 fine if someone is found to be watching, recording or downloading live TV (Image: Getty Images)

If you answer “no” to the first four questions and “yes” to the last two, the website will display a message stating: “Based on your answers, it looks like you don’t need a TV Licence.”

However, it is important to note that live content on platforms like YouTube or Prime Video may still require a licence.

TV Licensing’s guidance reads: “If you are watching a TV programme live on YouTube, you need to be covered by a TV Licence.

“A licence is not required to view user generated content, clips and videos on YouTube.

“This includes live streamed content that is not part of a television broadcast. Or being broadcast at the same time by other means.”

A licence is required to watch live content on Amazon Prime or Netflix, but not for on-demand viewing.

For Disney Plus, the guidance states: “You don’t need a TV Licence to watch on-demand programmes on Disney Plus.”

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What is the fine for not paying for a TV licence?

TV Licensing states that not paying for a TV licence could lead to a £1,000 fine.

This would be a possibility if someone has been watching, recording or downloading programmes illegally.

It adds: “We could visit your address to confirm if you need a TV Licence.

“If we find that you have been watching, recording or streaming programmes illegally, you risk prosecution and a fine for not having a TV Licence of up to £1,000 plus any legal costs and/or compensation you may be ordered to pay.”

Do you think it is worth paying for a TV licence, or has it become too expensive? Let us know in the comments.