TV Licensing is responsible for enforcing the TV licence in the UK. The job of investigation and collection has been contracted out to Capita PLC.
TVL enforces the law through a combination of letters containing escalating threats of legal action and home visits by Capita TV Inspectors.
Visiting officers are engaged by Capita Business Services Ltd (“Capita”), a company contracted by the BBC to administer the television licensing system under the BBC trade mark 'TV Licensing'.
This website was published in support of honest people who genuinely believe they do not require a TV licence and wish to remain within the law.
If a householder is following the rules for viewing and setting up their TV equipment without a TV licence, they should have no need to worry too much about TVL letters or visits. However, even when obeying the law, citizens are entitled to know the rules on TV Licensing and also their rights if they are visited by TV Licence Inspectors.
TVL sends out thousands of letters every week to homes and business premises that are shown on their database as not having a TV licence.
Quite often, legal letters are also sent to people who have already declared that they do not require a TV licence, requesting that they purchase a new one.
Where a formal declaration has been made to TVL that a TV licence is not required then these letters can either be ignored or a complaint made to TVL requesting that they stop sending them.
TV Licence Inspectors make random house calls on addresses that are shown on the TVL database as not having a TV licence. This sometimes includes householders who have formally declared themselves to TVL as not requiring a TV licence.
According to the TVL website, TV Licence Inspectors must immediately identify themselves, prove their identity by showing their card and state the purpose of their visit. They must also provide a telephone number when requested so that the person being visited can confirm the the identity of the inspector.
TVL appears to pursue a general policy of guilty until proven innocent and will not regard a property as being legally unlicensed until an inspector has visited and physically checked TV equipment for compliance with the law.
When a TV Licence Inspector is sent to an address, the householder will be regarded as a potential suspect until proven otherwise. In such circumstances, the householder is effectively the subject of a criminal investigation and it pays to bear this in mind should an inspector ever call.
See the extract below, drawn directly from the TVL website.
Visiting officers may interview an individual they suspect to have committed an offence under the Communications Act 2003 but only after they have cautioned that person i.e. informed them of their legal rights, including that they have the right not to answer any of the questions.
This is in accordance with the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 or the Scottish criminal law.
An officer is obliged to make a written record of that interview and an individual has the right to refuse to sign the record or to ask for corrections to be made if they believe that it is not an accurate record of the interview.
Householders are not obliged to say anything when questioned by a TV Licence Inspector. There is no law that requires a householder to make a verbal or written statement in relation to an enquiry about a TV licence.
TV Licence Inspectors have no right of entry into a person’s home without a search warrant issued by a magistrate. Warrants are rarely issued to TVL, so unless an inspector claims to be in possession a warrant and can produce the genuine article, they have no power of entry.
The law states that if a TV License Inspector suspects a householder of a having committed a criminal offence then they should immediately caution the householder in a manner similar to that stated below:-
“You do not have to say anything. But, it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence.”
When a TV Licence Inspector questions a householder, they generally complete a form 178 which is a record of what was found at the address and what was said by the householder. A householder is under no legal obligation to sign a Form 178 or any other form presented by TVL.
You have no obligation to grant entry to a visiting officer if you don’t wish to do so. If refused entry by the occupier, the visiting officer will leave the property.
A householder is under no lawful obligation whatsoever to voluntarily answer any questions, sign any documents or allow TVL entry into their home without a search warrant.
The question of whether or not a householder voluntarily offers a verbal statement, signs a document or consents to TVL entering their home is purely a matter for them, based on their own views on the matter and possibly also the information we have provided on this website.
Here are some of the reasons we have heard householders give for declining to voluntarily cooperate with TV Licence Inspectors who are not in possession of a search warrant:-
We are not claiming any of the above to be true, simply repeating some the responses we have seen and heard from householders online and in emails as a result of running this website.
Be sure to read the section below on search warrants as a search warrant changes matters significantly.
Here are some of the things that TVL inspectors might look for and some of the ways they might attempt to discover if any offences have been committed in the absence of a TV Licence:-
Note that the BBC iPlayer app cannot be removed from some Smart TVs and on-demand devices. The presence of this app does not of itself constitute an offence, so long as it has not been primed with an active online BBC iPlayer account in preparation for viewing.
TVL can apply for a search warrant from a magistrate if it has evidence that a householder is watching or recording live TV or BBC iPlayer without a licence.
TVL states on its website that TV Inspectors will be accompanied by local police officers when executing a search warrant and that in certain circumstances TVL may require the police to force entry. In practise forced entry is rarely, if ever, actually carried out.
If you refuse your name, the police have the power to arrest you to establish your identity.
It is an offence to wilfully obstruct a TVL search warrant. A householder refusing entry to their home, refusing to identify themselves or refusing access for checking TV equipment might also face a charge of obstructing a search warrant.
A householder is not obliged in law to answer any questions or sign any document during the execution of a TVL search warrant.
It is advisable for a householder to briefly answer any questions directly related to the checking of TV equipment. This is mainly to avoid any charges of obstruction.
TV Licensing is only allowed to physically check your TV and TV recording equipment, not any computers or mobile phones but they will take note if any computers are attached to a live TV feed such as a TV aerial.
You may be requested to turn on your television. If you refuse then TVL will likely attempt it themselves.
If the householder feels so inclined, there is no law that prevents the filming of a search warrant being executed using a video camera or smartphone, so long as any filming does not materially obstruct TV Licence Inspectors in the execution of their duty.
If a householder has strictly followed the recommendations on this website regarding viewing habits and television equipment and has not obstructed the search warrant then no offences will have been committed, hence no prosecution either.
An application to a magistrate (or sheriff in Scotland) for a search warrant may only be made when there is good reason to believe that an offence has been committed, evidence of the commission of that offence is likely to be found, and conditions regarding access to the property warrant the granting of a search warrant.
TV licence related convictions generally occur because of one or more of the reasons below:-
One of the main ways that TVL establishes guilt is to check the TV equipment for any live TV that has been recorded. This is why it’s so important to remove any TV aerial and satellite connector cables and any live TV or satellite boxes from your TV unit and place them well beyond use.
People who fail to observe the rules on viewing TV and setting up TV equipment correctly when not in possession of a TV licence are placing themselves at risk of prosecution.
Play by the rules, then you can never be prosecuted for TV licence evasion.
If a householder has acted with good intentions and has followed the rules on viewing TV without a licence, they will be innocent of any offence and should have nothing to fear from TVL. Even in the highly unlikely event of a search warrant being taken out against them.
Ideally, a householder would have done the following prior to any visits from TVL:-
For many years, TVL has claimed to run a fleet of detector vans.
There is not one case so far known where TV detector van evidence has been presented by the prosecution in a court of law in the UK. TVL claims this is because detector van evidence is only ever presented in order to obtain a search warrant.
TVL also claims that necessary evidence to secure a conviction is subsequently obtained via a search warrant, removing the need to offer detector van evidence during a court case.
There many accusations laid against TVL that detector vans do not and never have worked and are in fact no more than a scare tactic. TVL claims it has advanced detection technology but many question the validity of the science behind it and the likelihood that such TV detection technology could actually work with modern television designs.
In the absence of hard scientific evidence either way, only the individual can decide what to think and believe about the effectiveness of TV detector vans and technology.
Most importantly, if householders stick to the recommendations on this website in relation to legal TV viewing habits then any detection technology that might exist should offer them nothing to fear.
There has been a trend in recent years for a minority of householders to remove TV Licensing’s “implied right of access” onto the grounds their property.
This method is otherwise known as W.O.I.R.A. for short and can simply be carried out by writing to TVL, telling them that consensual access to the property in questions has been lawfully withdrawn.
This is a legally effective solution in lawfully preventing routine visits from TVL, however, sometimes TV Licence Inspectors simply disregard it.
In some parts of the country TVL has successfully used the existence of a W.O.I.R.A. notice as a reason for a magistrate to issue a search warrant in order to gain access to a property. In this sense, a W.O.I.R.A. would appear to be more or less a self-defeating exercise.
Much is written about this on the internet and a W.O.I.R.A. should only ever be considered in extreme cases of harassment. Such a notice may be best taken out with the help of a qualified solicitor to advise on and oversee any such procedure.
This website provides useful information on the TV licence for UK citizens but we cannot comment or offer advice to citizens on individual court cases.
Where a householder has been prosecuted for a TV licence related offence, they should seek the services of a qualified solicitor immediately. This is particularly so where a householder believes themselves to be innocent of any offence. An alternative first port of call might be the Citizen’s Advice Bureaux and this should also be done without delay.