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19/12/2005Who's afraid of the GEZ?

We all like watching a bit of telly now and again. But before you get too comfortable on the sofa, make sure you have your German TV licence paid up.

This is why I became an expat - so I could watch TV in a foreign country

When my friend Oliver picked up his girlfriend at her parents' home to take her to live with him in Speyer, her father was noticeably disturbed. As they packed her things he yanked Oliver aside, leaned in confidentially and whispered, almost desperately, "Make sure you take her television with you!"

No doubt he’d heard the stories about the notorious GEZ television licence authorities. Everybody has. GEZ field representatives peering through basement windows to discover unregistered televisions, interrogating the neighbors of suspected delinquents, popping up during dinner at a friend’s front door. He knew that if her television remained down in his basement, it was fair game for the GEZ – and that, somehow, they would find it.

What you need to know

EUR 17 a month? It's worth it just for the German comedy shows.

In Germany, the costs of public radio and television broadcasting are paid with fees collected by the GEZ (Gebühreneinzugszentrale). If you own either a television or a radio, you are required by law to register with and pay them; at a rate of EUR 5.52 a month for a radio, EUR 17.03 for a television, which includes the radio fee. And before you ask: no, GEZ fees are not included in the price of cable TV. Payments are due quarterly or may be made biannually or annually in advance.

Simple enough, right? Sure. Unless there’s more than one in the house. If you and your roommate share one television, only its owner must pay. But, say, you own the television in the living room, and your roommate bought the little one in the kitchen, you’re both liable. Own a car with a radio? If you’re paying for a household appliance, it’s covered. If not, you’ll have to register the car’s.

As with couples, married or otherwise, a family need only pay one licensing fee - unless another wage-earning adult, perhaps a grandmother or grown child, lives with them; if she owns a television, she’s on her own.


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