GEZ: Television and Radio Licence Fee

If you wish to watch television and listen to the radio whilst you are in Germany, you will need to pay a licence fee. This is payable to the GEZ (Central radio and television fee collecting agency). Anyone who owns a radio and television is required to pay the licence fee, regardless of whether they use it. You are also required to pay the licence fee if you watch television via the internet, if the signal is fed directly into your computer (such as via DVB-T), and if you are able to watch television or listen to the radio on your mobile phone.

You may not wish to pay the licence fee, but it is a requirement and you could face heavy fines if you are caught watching television or listening to the radio without this licence. The licence fee is usually paid every three months: it is not possible to pay on a monthly basis. For a radio you will pay roughly €65 a year, for a radio and television you will pay roughly €205 a year. You can contact the GEZ via their website gez.de for more information and a registration form. It is also important to remember that when you leave Germany, you will need to cancel your registration to avoid continuing to pay the licence fee.