The Government has signed the Communications (Television Licensing) (Amendment) Regulations 2026 (SI 2026/104), laid before Parliament on 6 February 2026 and in force from 1 April 2026. According to legislation.gov.uk, the instrument applies to TV licences issued on or after 1 April 2026.
From that date, the standard colour TV licence increases from £174.50 to £180.00 and the black and white licence from £58.50 to £60.50. The uprating applies to both the General Form and the Multiple Form categories in Schedule 1 of the 2004 Regulations.
Instalment options are updated across the board. The premium instalment licence has per‑instalment amounts adjusted to £46.25, lifting the total payable from £179.50 to £185.00. The budget instalment, easy entry and simple payment plans are aligned to the revised £180.00 annual charge.
Budget instalment provisions are re‑dated to 2026 and their calculation tables are replaced. Paragraph 7 updates include new figures of £102.75 and £15.45 used in determining amounts due in specified scenarios, maintaining consistency with the new full‑year rate.
The easy entry plan is re‑profiled. New wording sets the first 21 instalments at £7.00 and the remaining four at £6.50. Related changes across paragraphs 11 to 17 increase various deposits and staged amounts, including £91.00 (from £90.00), £76.00 (from £72.00) and £13.00 (from £12.50).
Further adjustments within the easy entry provisions raise a range of interim payments by small increments-typically between 20p and 85p-and in several places increase the count of initial higher instalments from seven to eight. These modifications reflect the recalibrated £180.00 licence level.
The simple payment plan, which does not apply to ‘black and white only’ licences, has its tables in paragraph 21 replaced to mirror the £180.00 rate. The substituted tables set revised weekly, fortnightly and monthly payment amounts; these particular tables do not extend to the Channel Islands under this instrument.
Hotels, hospitality areas and mobile units are addressed in Schedule 5. The ‘relevant amount’ used to calculate fees in these settings rises to £60.50 for black and white and £180.00 for colour, with matching changes in the associated provisions.
Territorial extent is confirmed as England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and-via existing extension Orders under the Communications Act 2003-the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. However, regulation 4(43) and 4(44) and Schedule 2 do not extend to the Channel Islands.
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport cites sections 365(1), 365(4)(b) and 402(3) of the Communications Act 2003 as the enabling powers, extended to the Crown Dependencies by Orders made in 2003 and 2004. Treasury consent under section 365(6) is recorded in the instrument.
Key dates are set out on the face of the instrument. The Secretary of State, Lisa Nandy, signed on 3 February 2026; Treasury consent by Stephen Morgan and Christian Wakeford was given on 4 February 2026. The instrument was made on 4 February 2026, laid on 6 February 2026 and commences on 1 April 2026.
For households and businesses, the practical effect is straightforward. Licences issued before 1 April 2026 remain at existing rates for their term. Licences issued on or after that date will be charged at the new levels, with instalment customers moving onto the updated schedules as set out in the substituted tables.
The Explanatory Note states that no full impact assessment has been produced as no, or no significant, impact on the private, voluntary or public sector is foreseen. The measure functions as an uprating and technical alignment of existing schemes rather than a redesign of the licensing framework.