# Do pubs need a TV licence? What the £180 covers, when a screen needs none, and the rule for an inn with rooms > A pub needs a TV Licence, £180 a year, to show live TV on any channel or use BBC iPlayer. When a screen needs none, and the 15-room rule for inns. - Page to cite: https://aeolookup.com/hospitality/do-pubs-need-a-tv-licence-cost-rooms-streaming/ - Publisher: AEO Lookup (https://aeolookup.com/) - Section: Restaurants, pubs and small hotels, Allergens, licensing and rates - Published 1 October 2026 - Key fact: A pub needs a TV Licence, £180 a year on 1 October 2026, if it shows or records live TV on any channel or service or uses BBC iPlayer; one licence covers a single premises, a hotel or inn pays one £180 fee for up to 15 rooms with a set and £180 more for every further five rooms or fewer, and using a television without a licence is an offence with a fine of up to £1,000. - Sources: TV Licensing, TV Licence for businesses and organisations, Hospitality, Hotels hostels mobile units holiday lets and campsites, and its streaming services FAQ (tvlicensing.co.uk); GOV.UK, TV Licence; Communications Act 2003 section 363 on legislation.gov.uk; PPL PRS, Pubs and bars, and PRS for Music Tariff P 2026.10 (pplprs.co.uk); all read 1 October 2026. Yes, if the pub shows or records live television on any channel, or uses BBC iPlayer. A TV Licence costs £180 a year, the same for a business as for a home, and one licence covers a single premises. A pub whose screens only play on-demand programmes from services other than iPlayer does not need one. The rule and the fee are the same across the UK. ## What needs a licence and what does not | On the screen | Licence needed | |---|---| | Live TV on any channel, such as BBC, ITV or Channel 4 | Yes | | Pay TV, such as Sky, Virgin Media or EE TV | Yes | | A programme shown live on a streaming service, such as YouTube, Netflix or Amazon Prime Video | Yes | | BBC iPlayer, live or on demand | Yes | | On-demand programmes on streaming services other than iPlayer | No | | Clips and videos on YouTube that are not part of a television broadcast | No | | Videos and DVDs | No | The rows are from TV Licensing's pages and GOV.UK. TV Licensing says it plainly for this trade: pubs and other hospitality venues do not need a licence to watch on-demand programmes on any streaming service except BBC iPlayer. The device does not matter: a television, a computer or anything else. ## What it costs GOV.UK gives the fee as £180, or £60.50 for a black and white set, for homes and businesses alike. TV Licensing says a business can pay in one go or spread the cost quarterly, monthly or weekly. One licence covers one address. TV Licensing says a single property, such as a shop or office, needs only one licence. A business with more than one address needs a licence for each, or a Company Group TV Licence, which is one annual payment for all the properties and is arranged by phone. TV Licensing does not issue invoices. For the accounts it points to the licence itself, viewed online, or the payment confirmation email. ## A function room, a private box, or letting rooms Two special licences apply to this trade. Both cost £180 for up to 15 units, then £180 for every extra 5 units or fewer. | Venue | What counts as a unit | |---|---| | A pub, restaurant or sports bar with rooms or boxes for guests' entertainment | Each room or box where a set is installed or used | | A hotel or inn | Each accommodation unit where a set is installed or used | An accommodation unit is a room, and most of the accommodation must be let for fewer than 28 consecutive nights. The hotel page adds that other areas where a set is installed or used must also be covered, so ask TV Licensing to confirm that the bar is on the same licence as the bedrooms. Both are applied for on TV Licensing's own form and paid in full by BACS or cheque. ## One owner's bill, worked An owner has two pubs and a 12-room inn. | Site | What is watched | Licence | Fee | |---|---|---|---| | Pub one | Sport on three screens | One licence for the address | £180 | | Pub two | One screen that plays on-demand films from a streaming service, never live | None | £0 | | The inn | A set in each of 12 letting rooms | Hotel licence, up to 15 units | £180 | | Total for the year | | | £360 | If the inn had 22 rooms, the first 15 would cost £180 and the other 7 would be two further steps of five or fewer: £180 + 2 × £180 = £540. Pub two is only free while the screen is never switched to a live channel. One evening of live news in the bar needs the licence. ## Staff and customers' own devices TV Licensing draws the line at the plug. - A phone or tablet running on its own battery is covered by the licence at its owner's home, if there is one. A customer with a home licence who watches the match on a phone at the bar is covered by it. - A device plugged into the mains at the pub is not covered by a home licence. A chef's tablet on charge in the kitchen showing live TV needs the pub's address to be licensed. - Where a member of staff, a customer or a visitor has no licence at home, TV Licensing says the business address must be covered, even for a device on its battery. ## What happens if you do not have one Section 363 of the Communications Act 2003 makes it an offence to install or use a television receiver without a licence. The fine is up to level 3 on the standard scale, which GOV.UK gives as up to £1,000. If the venue does not need a licence, TV Licensing asks to be told so. Tell it, and keep the declaration true. ## What the TV Licence does not cover - **The music in the programmes.** PPL PRS says sports programmes carry music in their titles and adverts, so a pub showing them usually needs TheMusicLicence as well. The PRS line for a television in a bar of up to 120 square metres is £128.34 a year plus VAT from 1 October 2026, and our guide to [what a music licence costs a pub](https://aeolookup.com/hospitality/music-licence-cost-pub-2026-ppl-prs-tariffs/) adds up the rest. - **The subscription.** A TV Licence is needed to watch pay TV. It does not replace the contract with the broadcaster. We did not read broadcaster prices for this guide. - **The council's licence.** The [premises licence](https://aeolookup.com/hospitality/premises-licence-fees-pub-restaurant-bands-annual-fee/) sets the hours, and serving through a late kick-off outside them needs a [Temporary Event Notice](https://aeolookup.com/hospitality/temporary-event-notice-pub-cost-deadline-limits/). ## Buying a pub A buyer should ask for the licence number at completion and sign in to check the expiry date. Our guide to [transferring a premises licence when you buy a pub](https://aeolookup.com/hospitality/premises-licence-transfer-how-long-buying-a-pub/) has the rest of that list. ## A check for this week 1. List every screen and what it shows: live, iPlayer, or on demand only. 2. Count the addresses, and the rooms or units with a set at each. 3. Sign in to each licence and note the expiry date. 4. Put the £180 beside the other fixed yearly costs, such as [business rates](https://aeolookup.com/hospitality/pub-business-rates-2026-27-new-multipliers/). 5. Tell TV Licensing about any site that needs no licence. This is general information, not legal advice. TV Licensing confirms which licence your premises need. ## Short answers from this page **Do pubs need a TV licence, and how much is it?** Yes, if the pub shows or records live TV on any channel or service, or uses BBC iPlayer. A TV Licence costs £180 a year and one covers a single premises. On-demand programmes on services other than iPlayer need no licence. Using a television without one is an offence with a fine of up to £1,000. **How many TV licences does a small hotel or a pub with letting rooms need?** One hotel licence fee of £180 covers up to 15 accommodation units where a set is installed or used. Above 15, TV Licensing charges another £180 for every extra five units or fewer, so 22 rooms cost £540. Most of the accommodation must be let for fewer than 28 consecutive nights. Ask TV Licensing to confirm the bar is covered. --- ![](https://aeolookup.com/img/d/owner-line.png) General information for UK small firms, not legal, tax or financial advice.