The Rundfunkbeitrag

This page gives information about the Rundfunkbeitrag (the public broadcast media license fee) in Germany.

Summary

The Rundfunkbeitrag pays for public radio and TV in Germany, including TV stations such as ARD, ZDF, and arte, and radio stations such as Deutschlandradio and NDR. Every German resident must pay it, and it costs 18.36 € per month per household.

While for some reason that myth has developed, you do not need to wait for “the letter” (meaning a demand for payment) before you pay. “The letter” is not what causes you to owe money, and it’s also not necessary for registering. “The letter” is a reminder that you should already have been paying. You can register online without ever having received it.

Why does this thing exist?

After the Nazis showed how dangerous can be if a government can use TV and radio for propaganda, the people who wrote Germany’s new constitution in 1949 enshrined what later became the Rundfunkbeitrag. The money is collected so that the German public broadcasters can fulfill their missions:

To ensure fair and neutral news and current affairs programming (including investigations and documentaries) free of government, party, or commercial control. The people who wrote the constitution realised that an informed electorate was a vital ingredient in a functioning democracy, and in order to have an informed electorate they must have a neutral source of information and analysis.
Provide entertainment for as broad a part of the population as possible, in particular serving both the broad “middle” of the population as well as very niche segments.

This makes the German public broadcasters solely funded by (and beholden to) the inhabitants of Germany - not to the government, political parties, private corporations, or rich donors. The public broadcasters are one of the pillars of German democracy, and every inhabitant contributes to the continued function of that democracy through the Rundfunkbeitrag. In return, they also get free access to all the content produced by the public broadcasters, such as their TV channels, radio stations, and online content (including their libraries of past shows, called Mediatheken).

The Rundfunkbeitrag is thus similar to many other “TV and radio license fees” or “TV taxes” in other European countries, which go towards funding the public broadcasters in those countries.

Why isn’t it funded by taxes or by advertising?

The Rundfunkbeitrag is often called a tax, and in a sense it’s very similar to a tax: it’s collected from every inhabitant in Germany, irrespective of whether they use the service (ie watch TV) or not - in the same way that your taxes pay for things which you personally don’t use, but which benefit society as large (say, the armed forces, or a road in rural Saxony you’ve never driven on). You can no more opt out of paying the Rundfunkbeitrag “because you don’t watch German TV” than you can opt out of paying a part of your taxes “because you’ll never sail on the Mittellandkanal” (which is one of the many things funded by taxes).

However, you’ll note that it’s technically not a tax, but a Beitrag (there is no direct English translation, you could translate it as “contribution”). The reason it’s not a tax is that tax money can be reallocated by the government - and the authors of our constitution wanted to make sure the government didn’t have the power to withhold funding from a broadcaster who criticised it. That’s why you get a separate bill for it, instead of it being paid through your other taxes.

Advertiser-funded news has its own share of problems. Most notably, it makes the media reluctant to criticise or investigate the companies providing advertising. Additionally, it drives the media to manipulate its content to push “engagement” with the ads, driving it towards sensationalism and away from facts. In recent years, the public broadcasters have allowed a small amount of advertising on their channels, but it remains heavily restricted (20 minutes of ads a day on TV, with none during prime time) - this was a compromise to keep pace with the increasing costs of media production without having to raise the Rundfunkbeitrag.

Who has to pay?

Everyone who lives in Germany must pay; this explicitly includes foreigners, students, and people with low income. Whether you even own a TV, radio, or computer, or whether you watch public German public TV (or listen to German public radio) is irrelevant. However, there are two important things to note:

The Rundfunkbeitrag is collected only once per household/housing unit. More on the definition of “housing unit” later, but if you’re living together with other people (e.g. your spouse, your parents, other people in a shared flat (“WG”), etc), then only one person in that household has to pay, and the other people do not. Which person in the household pays, and how the other people in that household split the cost, is up to them.
People who receive state welfare benefits (Arbeitslosengeld II or Sozialhilfe), apprentices and students receiving German state support (BAföG), foreign diplomats (who enjoy diplomatic immunity), and those who are deaf and blind, are exempt from paying the Rundfunkbeitrag. People with severe disabilities pay a reduced amount (around 6 € / month).

Definition of “housing unit”

In most cases, your “housing unit” (and who lives there) is fairly obvious: it’s the house or flat where you live, where you might live alone, or with your partner, spouse, family, or roommates. A good definition of a “housing unit” is “the smallest unit which is directly accessible from a common or public area”. Therefore:

For sublet rooms: If the sublet room is in a larger apartment, and cannot be accessed without going through the apartment, then it’s a part of the apartment, and a single Rundfunkbeitrag covers both. However, if a sublet room has its own entrance (either to the outside, or to a corridor shared with other apartment entrances), then it counts as a separate housing unit, and the inhabitant(s) of the sublet need to pay for their own Rundfunkbeitrag.
For student dorms: each individual room counts as its own housing unit, as each room is accessible via (usually) a common corridor. Whether rooms share a common kitchen and/or bathroom makes no difference.
Some forms of shared living space, such as asylum seeker dormitories, boarding schools, military barracks, and hospices, count as a single housing unit.

While most multi-person households figure out how to split the Rundfunkbeitrag with minimal fuss, some shared flats (“WGs”) struggle. Roommates may come and go, and the person who officially pays on behalf of the entire flat may also leave at some point, forcing someone else in the flat to take over. Therefore, if you’re living in a shared flat, discuss this with your (prospective) roommates to ensure that everyone agrees on how to handle paying for the Rundfunkbeitrag collectively.

How to register

When you first move to Germany, and once you’ve found somewhere (semi-)permanent to live (i.e. not a hotel or your friend’s couch), then you should register with the ARD ZDF Deutschlandradio Beitragsservice, the organisation which collects and manages the Rundfunkbeitrag. This organisation used to be called Gebühreneinzugszentrale der öffentlich-rechtlichen Rundfunkanstalten (“GEZ”); they changed their name a few years ago, but you’ll still see the occasional reference to the “GEZ”.

If you’re living alone, or you’re the person paying on behalf of your household, then you can register online using this form. Using this form you can decide how to pay, and with what frequency (e.g. quarterly or yearly). Using a Lastschrift (SEPA direct debit) is by far the most comfortable way to pay, as you never need to remember to send money manually, and you can cancel it at any time.
If you’re moving in with other people (e.g. into a shared flat), and someone in the flat is already paying the Rundfunkbeitrag, then you can contact the Beitragsservice online. You’ll need the Beitragsnummer of the person who is paying the Rundfunkbeitrag. Essentially you’re telling them “someone in the housing unit I live in is already paying the Rundfunkbeitrag for our housing unit, and here are their details”.

If you don’t register with them, then they will eventually send you a letter (having been informed of your new address by your registration with the municipal authorities, the Anmeldung) asking you to pay. However, it’s better to register with them proactively; you’ll pay the same amount in either case, and if you register yourself, you can avoid any misunderstandings.

Moving within Germany

You also need to inform the Beitragsservice any time you move to a new address within Germany; you can use either the the second form linked above, or the form for de-registering your apartment because you’re moving in with someone who is already paying (selecting the option “weil ich zu einem anderen Beitragszahler ziehe.”).

Leaving Germany

If you’re leaving Germany to go live in another country, then you need to de-register to stop paying the Rundfunkgebühr. Use the de-registeration form (selecting the option “weil ich dauerhaft ins Ausland ziehe.”). You will need to provide your Abmeldebescheinigung (the proof that you de-registered with the municipal authorities).

What happens if I don’t pay?

The Rundfunkbeitrag may not be a tax, but it has the full force of the German state behind it. This means that the letters will keep coming. They will get more insistent, then the late fees will start piling up, and if you still don’t pay, then you will probably get a court summons. If you fail to show up, then it will end with a bailiff knocking on your door to impound your belongings, in order to pay off your debt.

Germany has judicial cooperation treaties with many other countries, so this debt could well follow you back to your home country. It’s a common misconception amongst foreign students that they are exempt, or that they can get away with not paying - while they can attempt to fly under the radar, it’s about as risky as not paying taxes, and remember that the German state knows where everyone lives, thanks to the Anmeldung.