Free TV licence 2026: who qualifies and how to apply

Updated 2 Nov 2026, 11:08 · First published 2 Nov 2026

You can get a free TV licence if you are 75 or over and you, or a partner who lives with you, receive Pension Credit. Here is who qualifies, how to apply and what other discounts exist.

Who gets a free TV licence?

Free licences for everyone over 75 ended in 2020. Since then, only over-75s who receive Pension Credit, or who live with a partner who does, can get one free. The rules have not changed under the current government, despite reports suggesting otherwise. They were inherited from previous governments.

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How to apply

You apply through TV Licensing’s website. You can apply from the age of 74 if you already receive Pension Credit: you keep paying until the end of the month before your 75th birthday, and then the free licence starts.

Not on Pension Credit? Check if you can claim it

Many pensioners who are entitled to Pension Credit do not claim it. As well as a free TV licence, it can unlock help with housing costs, council tax and heating. You can claim online or by phone, and a claim can be backdated by up to three months.

Other discounts

• Blind or severely sight impaired: a 50% discount on the licence fee
• Living in residential care: you may qualify for a reduced-fee licence through your care home

Anyone who watches or records live TV on any channel, or uses BBC iPlayer, needs a licence. If you do neither, you can tell TV Licensing that you do not need one.

Sources: TV Licensing, Birmingham Live via Yahoo News, House of Commons Library. Photo: BBC Broadcasting House, Gary Bembridge, CC BY 2.0.

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