Licence Fee for Public Broadcasting

The licence fee amounts to €18.36 per month (as of 2024), which is booked every three months. That means you have to pay €55.08 every three months. You can also opt for a semi-annual or annual prepayment. Once you register, you can decide whether you want to transfer the funds manually or prefer it to be collected automatically (via SEPA direct debit).

In principle, every adult has to pay the fee. However, the contribution is to be made per household and not per capita; that is, the inhabitants of each flat/house need to pay once collectively. So, for instance, if you and your family live together in a flat, one adult person's contribution suffices for the entire household.

The same applies if you share a flat with flatmates. If you live alone, you have to pay €18.36 per month. If you live with several adults, altogether, you pay a total of €18.36 which you can then split amongst yourselves. Then one of you should register with the Contributions’ Service ("Beitragsservice ") and make the payments.

The licence fee will not be automatically withdrawn from your account. You have to first register at rundfunkbeitrag.de- and if you are moving, you will need to provide your new address. You can change your address online at www.rundfunkbeitrag.de. In case you leave Germany and give up your flat, you have to unsubscribe on the same website (in “Abmelden” section).

Please note: The Contributions’ Service performs a so-called registration data reconciliation ("Meldedatenabgleich") and obtains the registration data of all the adults registered in Germany from the residents' registration offices. As a result, they can easily determine who has not yet registered for their licence fees.

If you do not register within a month, you are committing an administrative offence, which can be punished by a fine of up to €1000. If you do not pay despite repeated warnings, your account may get impounded. In the worst case, you may face hefty fines or even imprisonment.

You have to register when you move in or out of a flat within a month. Otherwise, you will face a fine, which you must pay within four weeks from the due date. The way you pay the fee depends on your agreement with the Contributions Service. If you use the SEPA procedure, the Contributions Service will automatically deduct the fees from your bank account. If you prefer to transfer the money manually, make sure you transfer the funds on time. If you forget to pay, you will receive a so-called "Festsetzungsbescheid". You then have to pay your contributions plus a so-called "late payment fine" ("Säumniszuschlag"), which is a kind of penalty for the delayed payment.

Individuals who receive social benefits, for instance, from the Jobcenter or Social Welfare Office, may be exempted from contribution. Furthermore, those going through vocational training and students who receive vocational training allowance (BAB) or BAföG (and no longer live with their parents) can apply for an exemption.

To apply for an exemption, you must fill an application form at rundfunkbeitrag.de, print it out and send it to the contributions' service along with the form, you need to submit necessary certificates from the respective authority (i.e. Jobcentre, Bafög Office, etc.). You can find the address of the contribution service at rundfunkbeitrag.de.

Please note: If you share a flat with several people and not all are exempt from the licence fee, your household needs to pay licence fees.

Anyone who is being cared for in an elderly home or nursing home full-time can opt out at the "Abmelden" section and stop making contributions. Furthermore, blind, partially sighted, deaf and hearing-impaired individuals can apply for their licence fees to be reduced on the same website at section "Befreiung oder Ermäßigung beantragen".

Refugees living in shared accommodation do not have to pay the licence fee. This is because the individual rooms in the accommodation are not considered flats. If you receive a letter from them, talk to the social workers in your accommodation. They can help you write a letter to the Broadcasting Fee Service. The letter should contain certain information and can look like this:

"Dear Broadcasting Fee Service team,

I have been contacted by the Broadcasting Fee Service and asked to pay a broadcasting fee.

I am currently living in your shared accommodation at the above address.

Please take note of this and refrain from sending me any further letters.

Yours sincerely" 

In German: 

“Sehr geehrtes Rundfunkbeitragsservice-Team,

ich bin vom Beitragsservice angeschrieben und zur Zahlung eines Rundfunkbeitrags aufgefordert worden.

Derzeit lebe ich in deiner Gemeinschaftsunterkunft unter der oben genannten Anschrift.

Ich bitte um Kenntnisnahme und darum, dass von weiteren Anschreiben abgesehen wird.

Mit freundlichen Grüßen“

You must pay the licence fee if you live in your own home and have an income. It is sufficient if one adult person in the flat registers for the broadcasting fee and pays the fee. The broadcasting fee is paid per household and not per person. You can be exempted from the broadcasting fee if you do not have your own income. You can find out more about this in the section “Can I be exempted from the broadcasting fee?”.

You also have to pay a licence fee for your business premises. The amount of the fee depends on the number of your permanent establishments, employees and motor vehicles (cars, trucks, etc.). On rundfunkbeitrag.de, you can calculate the amount of your due contribution.

Please note: If your office is located in your home, you still have to register it as a business premise at the Broadcast Support Service. However, if your office does not have a separate entrance (and can only be accessed via the flat door), you do not have to make a separate contribution for your business.

For every business premise for which you pay a broadcasting fee, there can be one car (used privately and for work) for which you do not need to make any contributions. In other words, if you have a business premise and a car (which is used privately and for work), you do not have to make an extra contribution for the vehicle. However, for each additional vehicle that is used privately and for work, you have to pay a licence fee (monthly €5.83).

If you have problems with the service, you can contact a migration advice centre. You can find a counselling centre nearby at bamf.de and jugendmigrationsdienst.de. Their staff speak different languages. You can also seek advice (in German) from the consumer advice (Verbraucherzentrale). The staff there are specialised in providing help with these types of problems.