Several groups can currently get a free TV licence
A proposal has been put forward for an “automatic” system for who gets a free TV licence. You need to get the £180 licence if you watch live TV, including streaming online content such as Amazon or Freeview.
However, some people can get a free TV licence with no need to pay the fee. One major group who don’t have to fork out for a licence are those on Pension Credit, if you are aged 75 or over. However, you do need to contact TV Licensing to claim your free licence. Consumer experts have called for a change in this area. Thomas Gibbons, a free money and debt advice expert at Money Wellness, said: “The simplest improvement would be making the free licence automatic for those who qualify, rather than requiring an application.
“TV Licensing can already verify Pension Credit with the DWP, so there’s no good reason for an eligible 80-year-old to keep paying £180 a year because nobody told them to apply.” Some other groups can also get a discounted TV licence.
TV licence discounts
These include:
- A discounted £7.50 TV licence – If you are living in an eligible residential care home, supported housing or sheltered accommodation. You must be either retired and over 60 or disabled to qualify
- A 50 per cent discount – If you are registered blind or live with someone who is registered blind. The licence must be in the name of the blind person.
‘Haven’t kept pace’
Mr Gibbons said: “The concessions haven’t kept pace with how people actually struggle now, either. Support is tied almost entirely to age and Pension Credit, yet we see plenty of working-age households in real financial difficulty for whom £180 is a significant sum.”
To help people who may struggle to pay the whole amount, TV Licensing has several ways for you to spread out the £180 bill. For example, you can pay monthly or quarterly amounts by direct debit.
Mr Gibbons warned people may not know about these options. He said: “Better promotion of the flexible payment options would help, and so would treating a missed payment as a debt problem to be sorted out rather than an offence to be prosecuted.
“That change alone would make the system feel a lot fairer to the households under the most pressure.”
TV Licensing comment
A TV Licensing spokesperson said: “Anyone aged 75 or over who receives Pension Credit can apply for a free TV Licence, and we would encourage anyone who may be eligible and has not yet applied to do so. In 2025/26, the BBC funded around one million free TV Licences, including 827,000 for people aged 75 and over who receive Pension Credit.
“More information about TV Licence concessions and how to apply can be found on the TV Licensing website or by contacting our customer service team.”
The group said that when a person applies for a free TV licence, it does automatically check whether they receive Pension Credit. It goes through this by application when checking their details against DWP records and Department for Communities records in Northern Ireland.
The authority says it works with organisations that support people who may be eligible for concessions and the simple payment plan. TV Licensing also provides help through its customer support team, and includes information about its concessions and the support available, in the letters that are sent out to households.
How the eligibility rules work for the concessions and payment plans is set out in legislation, and is a decision for the Government, it says.
