TV Licence rules are often misunderstood, particularly when it comes to home visits and whether inspectors must be allowed inside.
According to TV Licensing guidance, visiting officers should show identification, explain the purpose of their visit and act lawfully, politely and fairly.
Officers can only enter a property if the occupier gives permission, unless a search warrant has been issued.
TV Licensing says officers must respect privacy and confidentiality, avoid threats or intimidation, and leave if asked to do so unless they have a valid search warrant.
During a visit, officers may ask to check whether live TV or BBC iPlayer is being watched or used without a valid licence.
They may also complete a record of interview where they believe an offence may have been committed, but only after issuing a formal caution.
TV Licensing says the person being interviewed does not have to let the officer into the property and has the right to remain silent.
They can ask to speak to a lawyer, refuse to sign the record of interview, or request changes if they disagree with the notes.
A standard colour TV Licence currently costs £180 per year, while a black-and-white licence costs £60.50.
Watching, recording or downloading TV programmes without a valid licence can lead to prosecution.
If convicted, a person could face a fine of up to £1,000, plus legal costs and any compensation ordered by the court. In Guernsey, the maximum fine is up to £2,000.
A TV Licence is not required for on-demand films or programmes from services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, Disney+, Now, ITVX, Channel 4 or My5, provided they are not being watched live.
It is also not required for DVDs, Blu-rays, YouTube clips or streamers’ recorded videos, or S4C programmes watched on demand.
A TV Licence is required to watch or record live TV on any channel or service, and to watch anything on BBC iPlayer.
This includes live streams of programmes, news or sport on services such as ITVX, Sky, YouTube or Netflix, as well as live TV through paid packages such as Virgin, EE TV or Sky.
