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Welcome to TV Licensing’s Privacy Policy

Introduction

The BBC and its role as TV licensing authority

Who is the controller of your personal data?

How to contact us

How we use your personal data

How do we protect your personal data?

Where we store your personal data

Your rights

How we use Cookies and similar technologies

Changes to this Policy



Introduction

The British Broadcasting Corporation (the “BBC”, “we”, “us”, “our”), is committed to protecting your personal data.

As well as being the UK’s principal public service broadcaster, the BBC also has responsibility for collecting the television Licence fee and enforcing the legal requirement to hold a TV Licence. 'TV Licensing' (“TVL”) is a trademark of the BBC and is used by the BBC, and companies contracted by the BBC, to administer the television licensing system.

This Privacy Policy explains how your personal data will be collected, used and shared as part of the operation of the TV Licence and sets out your rights under applicable data protection law.

Personal data includes information about you or another person such as the name on the licence, contact details, financial details and internet protocol (IP) address of a device used to access our websites and apps.

For more information about how the BBC processes your personal data when you use our services and products, please see the BBC Privacy Policy and any additional privacy information that is provided as part of a specific BBC product or service.

When this Policy refers to a person who has a TV Licence, it includes the person who buys and pays for a TV Licence and anyone else covered by the TV Licence. This might be members of a household, visitors, and employees in a workplace.



The BBC and its role as TV licensing authority

The BBC is a public service broadcaster established by Royal Charter. Our Mission is to act in the public interest, serving audiences through the provision of impartial, high-quality and distinctive output and services, which inform, educate and entertain.

More details about our functions, how we are funded and regulated are set out in statute, including the Communications Act 2003, the BBC’s Framework Agreement with the government and Ofcom’s Operating Framework and Operating Licence.

As well as being the UK’s main public service broadcaster, we’re also responsible for collecting the TV Licence fee, issuing licences, and enforcing the collection of fees in the UK, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Bailiwick of Jersey and the Isle of Man. This is explained in Part 4 of the Communications Act 2003.

As part of our role, we let households and organisations know when they need a TV Licence. They can then buy one or tell us they don’t need one.

We investigate the status of unlicensed addresses. Where the unlicensed use of a TV receiver is suspected or there is sufficient evidence that an offence has or is taking place and it is in the public interest, we will either prosecute or report our findings to the relevant authorities where we are unable to prosecute.



Who is the controller of your personal data?

Under data protection law, the BBC is the controller of the personal data collected and used for the purposes set out in this Policy.

This means that we are responsible for deciding how and why your personal data is used and for keeping your data safe and secure. We are legally responsible for your personal data including where your personal data is used in connection with the day-to-day TV Licensing operations carried out by third-party contractors on our behalf.



How to contact us

You can contact us to:

If you have any questions about this Policy or how the BBC processes your personal data, please contact the BBC’s Data Protection Officer at:



How we use your personal data

Under data protection law we must have a valid reason for each purpose for which we process your personal data. This is known as a ‘lawful basis’.

Our lawful basis for processing your personal data is that it is necessary for the performance of our TV Licensing functions. This is a task that we carry out in the public interest and in the exercise of our official authority under article 6(1)(e) of UK GDPR. Where we process your personal data for the purposes of our law enforcement activity carried out for the performance of our TV Licensing function, we are entitled to do so under data protection law.

We process special category data, such as health data, on the basis of substantial public interest to operate the TV Licensing system, such as to respond to a request for us to make reasonable adjustments.

We also process special category data where you give consent for us to process it, such as during a visit by a TVL visiting officer.


1. Operation of the TV Licence

We process your personal data to operate TV Licensing as explained below.

Issuing you with a TV Licence

In order to issue you with a TV Licence or confirm that you don’t need one, we collect and use personal data that you give us when you use the BBC’s services. We also use websites and data that third parties give us.

We collect the following personal data:

  • Your name (if it is given to us)
  • Your contact details, such as postal address, telephone number and email address
  • Information on your use of TV services (and why you may not require a TV Licence)
  • If you are 74 or over and applying for a free TV Licence, your date of birth and information about your entitlement (or that of your partner) to Pension Credit
  • Identification documents, where required to verify your
    • your address
    • that you can get a free TV Licence
    • that you can take part in a payment scheme
    • your identity, when you have asked to exercise, Your Rights and we do not have that information already

If someone acts on your behalf (i.e. where you have authorised them to give us your personal data) we will collect their name and contact details too.

We also use information about your health or any disabilities, if you give it to us. This helps us to provide you with accessible information and support.

How do we collect your personal data?

We collect personal data you and third parties give us and through your use of TV Licence services, websites and apps in the following way:

  • When you buy a TV Licence, or where we have been notified that you do not need a TV Licence
  • If you or third parties on your behalf update us
  • When you use our services, websites and apps
  • If you give personal data to a visiting officer or a contact call centre.

Third parties share data with us, such as:

  • Government agencies, such as the Department for Work and Pensions, share personal data about free TV Licences
  • Accommodation for Residential Care (ARC) schemes share data about ARC Licences
  • Landlords share data to help us understand whether tenants are living at their properties

Categories of third-party processors we use

We use third parties when issuing you with a TV Licence, such as to:

  • - Manage website performance
  • - Manage IT related incidents and problems
  • - Provide AI Chatbots on the websites
  • - Operate websites
  • - Support our back office
  • - Data & software hosting
  • - Administer free TV Licences

Some personal data will be processed outside of the UK in the EEA, Australia and India.

The international transfer of personal data is safeguarded by UK adequacy decisions and standard contractual clauses.

Which third parties do we share your personal data with?

In specific circumstances we share your personal data with third parties which they use for their own purposes (as data controllers) such as the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

How long do we keep your personal data for?

We keep your personal data for as long as it is needed for its purpose, which is set out in this Policy. Each purpose has an exact period that we keep it for. This is set out in our Retention Policy, which we keep under review.

We keep personal data to manage your TV Licence for the length of the customer relationship.

We keep data on licensed and unlicensed addresses (including when you tell us you do not need a TV Licence) for as long as it is needed to keep our customer database up to date.

We will keep your personal data longer if it is required for legal or regulatory reasons, such as to deal with complaints.

Collection of the Licence Fee

We use your personal data to help us collect the TV Licence fee. This includes issuing any refunds and contacting you if a payment has failed.

We process the following personal data you and third parties share with us in the following ways:

  • Your name, if it is given to us when we issue your TV Licence
  • Your contact details, such as postal address, telephone number and email address
  • Your bank account or credit/debit card details
  • Payment and transaction data, such as through your use of our websites or when calling our contact centres
  • Your TV Licensing payment card if you pay by cash and give us permission to keep this information. Only those who help make payments towards your TV Licence can see this information

If someone is paying for your TV Licence on your behalf, we will collect this personal data from them.

How do we collect your personal data?

We collect the personal data you and third parties share with us in the following ways:

  • Through our websites and apps
  • Through our contact centres
  • By post
  • If you give personal data to a visiting officer
  • From PayPoint locations

Categories of third-party processors we use

We use third parties which help us to collect the Licence Fee, such as to:

  • - Validate and verify customers identities
  • - Help us to facilitate Direct Debit and card payment transactions
  • - Provide the web portal for TV Licensing Simple Payment Plan customers to sign in, make payments and view their payment schedule
  • - Handle payments and send SMS messages

Which third parties do we share your personal data with?

In specific circumstances we share personal data with third parties which they use for their own purposes (as data controllers) such as the Pay UK (BACS) and Paypoint.

Payment Providers

Unless you’re paying by cash, we share your personal data with payment providers who act as data controllers for some data processing, so that we can accept your payment. These might be financial institutions – for example, your bank, your card issuer, or our bank. They might also be payment card schemes, like Visa or MasterCard.

These payment providers may transfer data outside the UK. For more information about how they use your data, whether they transfer it outside the UK and the applicable safeguards to protect your data, we recommend you read your bank or card issuer’s (such as Mastercard or Visa) privacy policies.

You can also read more about how our bank, Natwest, and our card handler, Barclays, process your personal data in their privacy policies.

How long do we keep your personal data?

We will keep your personal data only for as long as it is needed. Each purpose described in this Policy has an exact period that we keep personal data for. This is set out in our Retention Policy, which we keep under review.

Dealing with notifications, enquiries and complaints

We use your personal data when you contact us, for example if you have an enquiry or complaint. It allows us to consider or respond to what you are telling us.

You can send us notifications (such as if you do not need a TV Licence), ask a question and make complaints about TV Licensing by visiting the Help and Contact Us page, where you can email us, or by calling 0300 790 6130 or writing to us at TV Licensing, Darlington, DL98 1TL.

How do we collect your personal data?

We collect the personal data you share with us in the following ways:

  • When you notify us about something (for example, that you do not need a TV Licence)
  • When you make an enquiry
  • When you make a complaint

Categories of third-party processors we use

We use third parties which help us to:

  • - Deal with notifications, enquiries and complaints, and
  • - Provide an interactive voice recognition (IVR) solution to verify customers identity

Some personal data will be processed outside of the UK in Guernsey, Jersey, Isle of Man.

The international transfer of personal data is safeguarded by UK adequacy decisions.

Which third parties do we share your personal data with?

In specific circumstances we share personal data with third parties which they use for their own purposes (as data controllers) such as the Channel Islands Social Services Departments.

How long do we keep your personal data for?

We will keep your personal data for as long as it is needed. Each purpose described in this Policy has an exact period that we keep personal data for. This is set out in our Retention Policy, which we keep under review.

We delete personal data as follows:

  • Phone recordings within 13 months
  • Records of complaints within three years or seven years (depending on the level of escalation of the complaint)
  • Customer satisfaction survey responses within 18 months

Communications

We may from time to time send you communications about TV Licensing, for example by post, email, or text. They help us:

  • Issue a TV Licence
  • Explain more about TV Licensing, like what activities need a TV Licence, how to pay, and what happens if you do not pay
  • Explain a payment scheme, missed payments, expiry dates and help with renewals
  • Ask about unlicensed properties

Automated Decisions

We use your personal data to make automated decisions about what communications to send or show you. As part of this, we might also use such decisions to place you in a particular group of customers with similar characteristics.

This helps us to make sure our decisions are quick, fair, efficient and correct, based on what we know.

We use automated decisions to:

  • Tell you about missed payments
  • Suggest more suitable payment schemes
  • Stop some devices from seeing some messaging if the device was used to buy a TV Licence through tvlicensing.co.uk
  • Send letters to unlicensed customers
  • Issue TV Licence renewals
  • Decide what messaging to display on third-party websites and social media networks
  • Ask about No Licence Needed redeclarations

How do we use your personal data?

We use your personal data you share with us to:

  • Help suggest more appropriate payment plans to customers who miss payments
  • Encourage customers with a paper TV Licence to go paperless
  • Understand trends when unlicensed customers use services that need a TV Licence, like BBC iPlayer
  • Carry out customer research through surveys. This helps us to improve the TV Licensing scheme. You can choose if you want to take part or not
  • Look into new ways to reach customers who do not have a TV Licence and are in similar groups. This is so we can tell them what services:
    • Are funded by the TV Licence
    • They are allowed to use once they have bought a TV Licence

How do we collect your personal data?

We collect the personal data that you and third parties share with us to help us communicate with you and improve our services in the following ways:

  • Personal data you share with us such as your name, contact details and financial information (including payment method, record of payments/missed payments and TV Licence expiry date). This helps us to contact you about your licence.
  • Data we collect when you use our websites, services and apps, such as when a payment is made or if a payment does not complete.
  • Reputable third-party organisations we work with (such as third-party data providers) give us data that you have provided to them. We will never use this third-party data for the purposes of marketing.
  • We use technology in our emails, to understand whether you opened the email, how many times you opened the email and what device you used. This helps us to understand whether our emails are being read and if they are effective.
  • Third-party websites and social media networks use personal data that they hold to help us to:
    • create groups or ‘segments’ of customers who share similar characteristics and show them relevant messaging about TV Licensing on third-party websites and social media networks.
    • understand whether our messaging is being read and is effective using statistical data.
  • Data collected by the BBC is shared with us as follows:
    • Use of BBC services (such as any history of consuming BBC content though bbc.co.uk and BBC iPlayer); and
    • Data given to the BBC (such as through a BBC Account). For more information see the BBC Privacy Policy

We may also invite you to participate in our surveys from time to time. If you agree to participate, in most cases, we do not collect information which will identify you. If we propose to collect personal data to help us contact you and understand your responses, we will tell you before we collect it. You can then decide whether you wish to take part in the survey. You can opt out from receiving future invitations to take part by emailing us or calling us on 0300 790 6130.

Categories of third-party processors we use

We use third parties when we send you communications about TV Licensing, such as to:

  • - Help us send post, SMS and email communications
  • - Provide for the hand delivery of TVL calling cards to unlicensed addresses
  • - Provide names, addresses and email addresses where these are unknown to us
  • - Help us manage our customer surveys
  • - Manage, target and analyse our communication campaigns to customers and unlicensed addresses
  • - Provide us with geo-demographic data to help us understand customers and households
  • - Check changes in property occupancy
  • - Translate our communications
  • - Make reasonable adjustments to out communications to blind persons

Some personal data will be processed outside of the UK in Guernsey, Jersey, Isle of Man and the US.

The international transfer of personal data is safeguarded by UK adequacy decisions and standard contractual clauses.

Which third parties do we share your personal data with?

In specific circumstances we share personal data with third parties which they use for their own purposes (as data controllers) such as the Post Office and Channel Islands Post Office.

How long do we keep your personal data?

We will keep your personal data for as long as it is needed. Each purpose described in this Policy has an exact period that we keep personal data for. This is set out in our Retention Policy, which we keep under review.

We keep personal data as follows:

  • Messaging campaigns (such as a licensed property name and post/email address or unlicensed property address) are kept for up to three months
  • Analysis of groups or ‘segments’ or customers interests are kept for up to six years
  • Contact history (such as dates letters and emails were received and sent) is kept for up to seven years
  • Personal data provided to us by a third-party data provider is deleted once it has been used for checking the quality of our customer database or to contact individuals.

We keep statistical information indefinitely to help us measure the effectiveness of our communications. This is not personal data as no individual can be identified from that information.

We use your personal data to communicate with you through several different channels such as post and email. Even though we do not engage in direct marketing [email direct marketing], we still offer our customers a limited opt out for email communications. However, if you later decide to use our online TV Licence services you will be opted back in to receiving email communications sent by us, even if you have previously opted out. It is therefore not currently possible for you to permanently opt out of all email communications sent by us.

You cannot opt out of postal communication, as we require it as a minimum necessary channel to contact you. You can also choose an alternative correspondence address if you wish for communications to not be sent to your licensed address. However, if you provide an email address, we will endeavour to email you instead of sending communications via post.

We have a public duty to keep costs as low as possible and reduce our carbon footprint. So, where possible we would rather contact you electronically, for example by email or text.

If you have given us your email address, we will use this to send you email communications to contact you about your TV Licence, including sending you a link to your online TV Licence. However, if you prefer to receive your TV Licence via post, you can opt out of receiving an online TV Licence by signing into our website to switch to a paper licence.

If you have a TV Licence, you can tell us you don't want to receive emails and would prefer us to send letters instead.

If you have told us you don’t need a TV Licence, you can tell us not to send emails. We will send you letters instead.

But you may be opted back in to receive email communications in future, as described below.

Whenever you use our online TV Licensing services, such as renewing your licence, changing your address or bank account, or informing us that you do not need a licence, you will need to provide an email address. By doing so you will be opted back into receiving email communications, even if you have previously opted out. This email address will then be used to send you an email with information confirming your online transaction, and/or if we need to contact you about the transaction, for example if there has been an issue with your renewal payment.

If you tell us not to contact you by email, from then on, we will instead call you or write to you (if you have provided a post address) if we need to contact you - unless you provide your email address to us after opting out of email communications as described in the section above.

If you pay for your TV Licence using the Simple Payment Plan, and you want us to stop emailing you, you can write to us at: The Simple Payment Plan Team, TV Licensing, PO BOX 673, Hull HU9 9TR or you can call us on 0300 555 0510.

Currently, due to systems limitations, we cannot send you messages by email if you have a free TV Licence, or if you pay for your TV Licence using a TV Licensing Payment Card.

If you have given us a mobile number, we may use it to send you SMS text messages about your TV Licence, where appropriate. For example, to let you know if a payment has failed. However, we will primarily communicate to you via email or post.

We do text customers in certain segments, for example customer satisfaction surveys, Cash customers who miss payments, informing Direct Debit customers about their very first payment being taken. In certain situations, you will be able to opt out of these communications, for example customer satisfaction surveys.

If you want to tell us not to send you text messages, you can email us or call us on 0300 790 6130. From then on, if we need to contact you, we will instead call you or email you (if you have provided an email address).

If you pay for your TV Licence using the Simple Payment Plan, and you want us to stop sending you texts, you can write to us at: The Simple Payment Plan Team, TV Licensing, PO BOX 673, Hull HU9 9TR or you can call us on 0300 555 0510.

We work with trusted third-party partners, like social media networks and other third-party website publishers, to identify groups of individuals with shared demographic and/or behavioural characteristics. This helps us to tailor TV Licensing messages to particular groups of individuals on these third-party networks' websites. We do this by sharing your encrypted contact data (such as your postal address or email address) with our third-party partners which is then compared with encrypted information held by them. When a match is found, this information is then used to group you together with other individuals who share your characteristics, and a tailored TV Licensing message is then presented to these individuals on the third-party network or website.

Third-party websites and social media networks give us information to help us to measure the effectiveness of our website and social media network posts and messaging campaigns. This helps us to understand if our messages are read or if they are clicked. This helps us tailor our messaging campaigns to ensure that they are relevant and effective and to design services for different customer groups.

Our messaging campaigns help the BBC to fulfil our public function to collect the TV Licence fee and to enforce the requirement to hold a TV Licence. We provide relevant information that informs users when a TV Licence is needed and how to buy one.

Updating Us

We take measures to make sure our records are correct and up to date.

To keep the information, we store up to date, we use the personal data you share with us and personal data we receive about you from our trusted third-party data providers.

You can help us keep your personal data up to date by letting us know if:

  • You move property
  • Your email address or phone number has changed
  • Your name has changed or has been misspelled
  • Your postcode is wrong
  • Your bank details have changed
  • You are changing your licence format, such as opting for a paperless licence
  • You would like to cancel your TV Licence
  • You do not need a TV Licence

You can also ask us to update any of your personal data if you think it is inaccurate, out of date, or incomplete at any time by:

How do we collect your personal data?

We collect personal data you and third parties give us as follows:

  • If you contact us
  • When you use our services, websites, and apps, such as whether you have purchased a TV Licence and your internet protocol (IP) address using cookies and similar technologies
  • From reputable third-party organisations we work with including:
    • Third-party data providers
    • Government agencies in relation to free TV Licences, including the Department for Work and Pensions, the devolved administration of Northern Ireland and the Governments of Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man
    • Accommodation for Residential Care (ARC) schemes in relation to ARC Licences
    • Landlords in relation to tenants of their properties

Third-Party Data Providers

Reputable organisations that you may have engaged with give us data. This helps us to understand whether the personal data we hold about you is correct by comparing it with the data they hold about you in their databases from publicly available sources (such as the Edited Electoral Roll) and data you have given them (such as through purchases or surveys). This includes third parties such as Equifax, Experian, Ordnance Survey, Read Group and Royal Mail.

We use personal data to help us as follows:

  • Associating a name with contact information, such as a post or e-mail address
  • Understanding demographic information, such as the characteristics of household groups
  • Understanding changes to properties, such as changes in occupancy, whether the occupier moves out, property use and type (residential or business)

Royal Mail

The BBC receives postal address information for properties from Royal Mail (Postcode Address File). We use this information to ensure our customer database is accurate, such as to add new addresses and delete addresses which no longer exist.

Address base

The BBC has access to Ordnance Survey’s Address base data, as a member of the Public Sector Geospatial Agreement (PSGA). TV Licensing use this data to identify and understand more about addresses we have on our database, including geospatial location, as well as to identify any addresses that we may not have on the database.

Categories of third-party processors we use

We use third parties when you update the personal information that we hold, such as to:

  • - Manage and update our database
  • - Check the accuracy of customer names, addresses, telephone numbers held on our customer database
  • - Check whether there has been a change in property occupancy
  • - Match customer email addresses to other information that we hold
  • - Provide archival services

Which third parties do we share your personal data with?

In specific circumstances we share personal data with third parties which they use for their own purposes (as data controllers) such as the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

The BBC also shares Postcode Address File addresses with Royal Mail as part of the process to ensure our customer database is accurate. Royal Mail may be able to identify occupiers of UK addresses if they use other information which they hold. Royal Mail is the data controller responsible for the safeguarding and processing of the personal data it holds. You can see the Royal Mail PAF / Postcode Address File product website for more information on how Royal Mail processes personal data.

How long do we keep your personal data for?

We will keep your personal data for as long as it is needed. Each purpose described in this Policy has an exact period that we keep personal data for. This is set out in our Retention Policy, which we keep under review.

Personal data provided to us by a third-party data provider is deleted once it has been used for checking the quality of our customer database or to contact individuals.

We use your personal data to make sure our database of licensed and unlicensed addresses is up to date and correct.

How do we collect this personal data?

We collect personal data that you and third parties share with us in the following ways:

  • When you use our services, websites, and apps, such as whether you have purchased a TV Licence and your internet protocol (IP) address
  • When you use BBC websites and products, such as BBC iPlayer
  • From reputable third-party data providers where you have given them data (such as an email address)
  • When you update us

Categories of third-party processors we use

We use third parties to help manage the TV Licence Database, such as to:

  • - Provide email addresses at addresses where no email address is known on our database
  • - Check the accuracy of the addresses held on our customer database against the data held by others

Which third parties do we share your personal data with?

In specific circumstances we share personal data with third parties which they use for their own purposes (as data controllers) such as Royal Mail.

How long do we keep your personal data for?

We will keep your personal data for as long as it is needed. Each purpose described in this Policy has an exact period that we keep personal data for. This is set out in our Retention Policy, which we keep under review.

Personal data provided to us by a third-party data provider is deleted once it has been used for checking the quality of our customer database or to contact individuals.

We will delete your personal data that we collect in relation to your use of BBC products as explained in the BBC Privacy Policy – How long will you keep my information?

Improving TV Licensing

We keep track of the responses we get from our campaigns, TV Licence sales, claims that a TV Licence is not needed, complaints and enquiries.

This helps us to:

  • Identify trends in our customers' needs
  • Measure how we are performing
  • Report to the bodies that govern and regulate us, such as the BBC Board and the government

How do we collect your personal data?

We collect personal data as follows:

  • From third-party data providers
  • From publicly available data sources
  • Data you give to the BBC through your BBC Account
  • Data collected by the BBC when you use BBC services including bbc.co.uk and BBC iPlayer.

How long do we keep your personal data for?

We will keep your personal data for as long as it is needed. Each purpose described in this Policy has an exact period that we keep personal data for. This is set out in our Retention Policy, which we keep under review.

We keep some statistical information indefinitely to help us understand our customers’ needs and continue to improve our performance over time.

Enforcing the Law

It is a criminal offence to use a TV receiver or watch BBC iPlayer (except S4 on demand) without a TV Licence. Under Part 4 of the Communications Act 2003, the BBC is the TV Licensing authority in the UK and has the legal function of enforcing the requirement to have a TV Licence.

As part of this role, we might use your personal data to:

  • Investigate if we think someone is using a TV receiver without having a TV Licence. This might include visiting a property
  • Apply for a search warrant or allow the use of detection equipment, where it is necessary and proportionate
  • Prosecute, when it is needed. This may include information about offences in the past, including alleged offences

Investigating TV Licence evasion

We use personal data, including any information in relation to your use of services that require a TV Licence, to detect TV Licence evasion. Suspected evasion may be investigated by a visit to a property.

If a visiting officer visits your address, they will identify themselves clearly to you, and will ask you to provide the following personal data if it is required:

  • Your name
  • Your postal address
  • Your telephone number
  • Other contact details, such as an email address
  • Date of birth and National Insurance number (if we do not already have it)
  • Information about your use of television services
  • Information in relation to personal circumstances including whether you may be considered ‘vulnerable’ and require extra support
  • Further information that may help explain your TV Licence status

Visiting officers' body worn cameras

The BBC’s data processor for the administration of TV Licensing, Capita Plc, may collect personal data through their visiting officers' body worn cameras for the purpose of protecting their visiting officers' health and safety.

Capita is the data controller of the personal data it collects and processes through the use of body worn cameras for the purpose of protecting their visiting officers' health and safety as governed by the Capita Body Worn Video Privacy Notice.

Prosecuting TV Licence evasion

We process personal data, including data relating to offences (including alleged offences), criminal proceedings, outcomes, and sentences for the purposes of conducting prosecutions where appropriate.

Evidence of the use of a TV receiver and any additional related information held will be used to:

  • Inform our decision on whether it is appropriate to prosecute (including considering whether prosecution is in the public interest)
  • Update our records, including our database of licensed and unlicensed properties
  • Help us decide whether a visiting officer will visit a property

We will write to you to inform you of any of the above decisions, where this is appropriate.

How a decision to prosecute is made

A decision on whether to prosecute is made as follows:

  • England, Wales or Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man - We will transfer your personal data to an appropriate court if a decision is made to prosecute.
  • Scotland, Jersey and Guernsey - a decision whether to prosecute is taken by a prosecuting authority. We will transfer your personal data to that authority. The relevant authority will become the controller of your data and will use the data to decide whether to prosecute you and (if so) to conduct the prosecution, or to dispose of the case in other ways (e.g. in Scotland, to impose a “fiscal fine”).

How do we collect your personal data?

We collect the data you give us as explained in Investigating TV Licence evasion and occasionally we may also obtain personal data from other sources such as law enforcement agencies, legal representatives, courts, local authorities, suppliers of goods and services and members of the public.

Categories of third-party processors we use

We use third parties to help us to enforce the law, such as to:

  • - Provide solutions to manage actions to prosecution

Some personal data will be processed outside of the UK in Guernsey, Jersey, and the Isle of Man

The international transfer of personal data is covered by UK adequacy decisions.

Which third parties do we share your personal data with?

In specific circumstances we share personal data with third parties which they use for their own purposes (as data controllers) such as:

  • Courts of law and national authorities in the UK entities outside of the UK in Guernsey, Jersey, and the Isle of Man for prosecuting TV Licence evasion, such as:
    • His Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service
    • The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service
    • The Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service
    • Isle of Man Courts of Justice
  • Local Authorities
  • The Police and Law Officer both in the UK and outside in Guernsey, Jersey, and the Isle of Man
  • Law enforcement agencies, legal representatives, courts, local authorities to help us with prosecuting TV Licence evasion
  • Legal agents and representatives, such as solicitors and barristers
  • Media and entertainment companies, such as Sky, BT, and Virgin

We may also share your personal data where we are required or permitted to do so by law. This includes where we need to protect or enforce our rights or to enforce our official authority.

Other public authorities such as the police may also ask for personal data. These requests are considered case-by-case, and we will balance your privacy against the importance of the reasons why the request has been made (e.g. to investigate serious crimes).

How long do we keep your personal data for?

We will keep your personal data for as long as is necessary for the purposes described in this Policy and our Retention Policy, which we keep under review.

We will keep your personal data for as long as it is necessary to decide whether to send a visiting officer to your property and in the case of a reoffence or an appeal this personal data will impact any decision and may be disclosed to the court.

Your rights

You have rights in relation to the personal data that we process about you for law enforcement purposes under Part 3 of the Data Protection Act 2018. For more information in relation to the rights that apply where your personal data is processed for law enforcement purposes, please see Your Rights.

2. Improving BBC Services

To improve BBC services, we sometimes use personal data as described within the policy. We set out how in the BBC Privacy Policy as well as this policy.

The BBC uses information about its audience to help make decisions about what content to make. We want to be sure that we’re making something for everyone – especially groups that have been underserved by the BBC in the past.

How long do we keep your personal data for?

The BBC will delete your personal data to improve BBC services as explained in the BBC Privacy Policy – How long will you keep my information?


How do we protect your personal data?

We are strongly committed to keeping your personal data safe.

To do this, we only collect the data that we need. We have dedicated teams to make sure your data is kept as secure as possible.

If you are worried that your TV Licence account, BBC account or other personal data held by the BBC has been put at risk, get in touch with us straight away.

Where we store your personal data

We store your personal data on our servers in the UK.

We sometimes securely send your personal data outside of the UK when data is processed on our behalf. For example, we do this for some of our communications, changes of address, and refund requests. We only do this if we are satisfied with the security levels and safeguards in place to protect your personal data.

Please see the relevant sections of this Policy for the location of any data that we process outside of the UK and the relevant safeguards which protect your personal data.

Your rights

You have rights about the personal data we hold about you. While some of these rights apply generally, some rights apply only in certain limited circumstances. Some do not apply (or apply differently) in relation to personal data held for law enforcement purposes. We may need some identification to check you are who you say you are before we can action your request to exercise your rights.

For more details about your rights, you can contact our Data Protection Officer.

Please see a full explanation of how to exercise your rights below.

  • Your right of access

You have the right to know what personal data we hold about you. If you ask us, we’ll confirm whether we’re processing your personal data and, if so, provide you with a copy of that personal data.

There is normally no charge for a request, but we may charge a reasonable fee if the request is repetitive or unreasonable. We are generally required to respond to a request within one month.

  • Your right to make corrections (“rectification”)

If the personal data that we hold about you is inaccurate or incomplete, you have the right to ask us to correct any inaccurate or incomplete personal data that we hold about you.

  • Your right to delete information (the “right to be forgotten”)

You can ask us to delete your personal data in certain circumstances such as where we no longer need it. We will be entitled to retain a basic level of information about you to perform our TV Licensing functions properly.

  • Your right to restrict processing of personal data

You have the right to ask us to restrict or suppress the processing of your personal data in certain circumstances. This includes where you disagree with the accuracy of the personal data we hold, or you object to us processing it.

There may be reasons why we need to continue processing your personal data in which case we can refuse your request.

We will tell you before we lift any restriction.

  • Your right to data portability

You have the right, if we are processing based on your consent which is not usually the case, to obtain personal data you have provided us so that you can reuse it elsewhere or to ask us to transfer this to a third party of your choice.

  • Your right to object

You can ask us to stop processing your personal data in certain circumstances. We will cease processing your personal data if we are relying on our own or someone else’s legitimate interests to process your personal data unless we have compelling legitimate grounds to continue processing or where it is needed for legal reasons.

  • Your rights in relation to automated decision making and profiling

You have the right not to be subject to an automated decision that is based solely on automatic processing, which produces a legal effect or a similarly significant effect. You can ask that a person reviews it.

  • Your right to lodge a complaint with the supervisory authority

We would like to help resolve any concerns or complaints that you may have. If you would like to make a complaint or discuss how we process your personal data, you can contact our Data Protection Officer by sending an email to dataprotection.officer@bbc.co.uk.

  • How to exercise any of these rights

To exercise any of Your Rights, please email tvl.policy@capita.co.uk or write to the Data Protection Manager, TV Licensing, Darlington, DL98 1TL.

If you make a request, we may tell you that we need to verify your identity where we have reasonable doubts who you are. We are entitled to request reasonable and proportionate information to confirm your identify and we may delay dealing with any request until this is received.

  • Ask a question or make a complaint about how we process your personal data

We would like to help resolve any concerns or complaints that you may have. If you would like to ask a question or make a complaint about how we process your personal data, please contact the BBC Data Protection Officer by sending an email to dataprotection.officer@bbc.co.uk.

If you continue to have a concern about the way we have handled your personal data, you can raise your concern with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) https://ico.org.uk/. However, the ICO recommends that you attempt to resolve your query or complaint with us before contacting the ICO if possible.


How we use Cookies and similar technologies

To collect information about how you use our products and services, our websites and apps, such as tvlicensing.co.uk and the TVL Pay App, collect and store information using cookies and similar technologies.

We cannot use cookies without your permission unless they are “strictly necessary”.

What are cookies and similar technologies?

How do we classify them?

View or manage TV Licensing cookies

For information in relation to the use of cookies and similar technologies that apply to BBC products and services (other than the BBC’s TV Licensing products and services), see the BBC Privacy Policy - Cookies.

What are cookies and similar technologies?

Cookies

Cookies are small pieces of text that are stored on your laptop, tablet, or phone when you visit a website or use an app. They keep bits of information (like whether you have just signed in or what pages you have just looked at) to make your browsing experience smoother. They also send information back to the owners of the website and or app.

We use cookies to:

  • Identify you, using data that identifies computers or other devices that you use to connect to the internet, such as your Internet Protocol (IP) address. This helps us to remember you each time you visit or browse our websites
  • log you into an online account
  • help you make a payment
  • help you make changes to your bank and contact details
  • understand what type of device you are using to help us ensure that our website displays effectively
  • analyse how our websites perform, count how many visitors we receive to help us improve the user experience of our online services

We also use:

  • Device storage, as an alternative to cookies for accessing services through apps (rather than a browser) to provide the same functionality as cookies on some devices and services.
  • Technology in our emails, to understand whether you opened the email, how many times you and the device you used.

In this Policy we will refer to all these technologies collectively as “Cookies”.

How do we classify them?

“First-party cookies” are directly deployed by the BBC in our websites and apps. Only we can collect and use information from these cookies.

“Third-party cookies” are deployed by other organisations such as third-party platforms, media agencies and providers.

For example, posts and banners on third-party websites, social media networks and search engines. This helps us to ensure TV Licence messaging is relevant and effective.

“Session cookies” only last for the time you use a website or app. They stop collecting or storing data after you stop using a website or app or close your browser.

“Persistent cookies” remain in place for a period even after you close your website session or your use of an app. They have a fixed date when they stop collecting or storing data.

“Strictly necessary cookies”

We deploy first-party strictly-necessary cookies that provide essential features of the TV Licence website that will not work without cookies. For example, cookies that are needed to pay for your TV Licence or update the personal data we store under this Policy.

Strictly-necessary cookies are also used by the BBC to comply with the BBC’s legal obligations under its Royal Charter, its agreement with the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (“DCMS”) and its regulator, Ofcom.

"Performance cookies"

We deploy first-party performance cookies to help us:

  • Test, measure and improve the performance of our websites
  • Check the effectiveness of our websites, online messages and emails.

"Third-party communications cookies"

We deploy third-party cookies to make our TV Licensing messages more relevant by:

  • Not showing messages on devices that were used to buy a TV Licence from tvlicensing.co.uk
  • Showing messages on third-party websites, such as where a device is used to start buying a TV Licence at tvlicensing.co.uk but did not finish. If another device is used, the same user may not receive this message
  • Limiting the number of times a device shows messaging about TV Licensing
  • Checking the effectiveness of TV Licence messaging. For example, by storing information on whether a click on a message led to the customer buying a TV Licence.

View or manage cookie preferences

You can manage your cookie preferences for our website at any time.
 

Alternatively, you can set your browser or device to block cookies. Please check your browser or the privacy area in your device settings for instructions on how to do this. You can also visit www.aboutcookies.org which has instructions for a wide variety of browsers.

Please note, if you set your browser to reject all cookies, you can still browse our websites and apps but certain important features will be unavailable to you. For example, you won’t be able to pay for your TV Licence or update the personal data we store. You will still see messaging on third-party websites and social media networks, but it may not be relevant to you.


Changes to this Policy

We will update this Policy from time to time to reflect any changes to our use of your personal data.

We may also make changes as required to comply with changes in applicable law or regulatory requirements.

If we make any significant changes we will provide you with notice of such changes, this may be via communications such as on our website, email, press or post.

We encourage you to review this Policy periodically to be informed of how we use your personal data.

Published: 10/03/2025

Version: 03

 

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