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BriefDiener
DE

Beitragsservice (licence fee service)

Befreiung vom Rundfunkbeitrag (licence fee exemption): decision, refusal, renewal

What this letter means

If you receive certain social benefits, you can be exempted from the Rundfunkbeitrag. These include, among others, Grundsicherungsgeld (formerly Bürgergeld), Hilfe zum Lebensunterhalt (subsistence assistance), Grundsicherung im Alter und bei Erwerbsminderung (basic income in old age and for reduced earning capacity), benefits under the Asylbewerberleistungsgesetz (Asylum Seekers Benefits Act), and BAföG, Berufsausbildungsbeihilfe or Ausbildungsgeld if you do not live with your parents. Arbeitslosengeld I (unemployment benefit) and Wohngeld (housing benefit) are not enough.

After your application you receive a decision (Bescheid). If you are exempted, it states the period for which the exemption applies. It lasts as long as your benefit decision; if that has no end date, the exemption is limited to three years. There is no automatic renewal.

The exemption also covers your spouse or registered civil partner and children up to the age of 25 living in the home. People with the Merkzeichen RF (a mark in the severely disabled person's pass) can get a reduction (Ermäßigung).

If the application is refused, this is a decision against which you can file a Widerspruch (objection).

What to do now

  1. 1Check in the decision from when and until when the exemption applies.
  2. 2Put the end date of the exemption in your calendar and file a follow-up application (Folgeantrag) in time, with your new benefit decision.
  3. 3If you are refused, read the reasons: often only a proof is missing that shows your name, the benefit and the period.
  4. 4Send copies of missing proof or file a Widerspruch within one month. Write in German; the templates (Vorlagen) on this site are in German.

How you can reply

Widerspruch (objection) against the refusal

This makes sense if you meet the requirements and the proof was submitted. Enclose a copy of the benefit decision or a certificate from the benefits authority.

Template: Widerspruch gegen einen Bescheid (Jobcenter, Krankenkasse)

File a follow-up application

When the exemption runs out, apply again as soon as you have the new benefit decision. Because an exemption is possible up to three years backdated, you lose nothing by waiting for the proof.

Apply as a hardship case (Härtefall)

If your income is only slightly above your needs, by less than the monthly fee, or if you are a student excluded from BAföG, an exemption as a hardship case may be possible.

Common questions

Do I have to send originals?

No. The Beitragsservice explicitly asks you not to send originals. A clearly readable copy of the benefit decision or a certificate from the benefits authority is enough, if it shows your name, the benefit and the benefit period.

Can I get the exemption backdated?

Yes, from the start of the benefit period, but at most three years before the month of your application. For earlier periods the entitlement is lost.

My flatmate receives social benefits. Does his exemption cover me?

Only if your income and assets were taken into account when his benefit was granted, for example in a Bedarfsgemeinschaft (household that receives benefits together). Otherwise another adult in the home must pay the fee.

Sources (German law and official pages)

  1. Rundfunkbeitrag: Empfänger von Sozialleistungen
  2. Rundfunkbeitrag: Häufige Fragen zu Befreiung und Ermäßigung
  3. § 70 Form und Frist des Widerspruchs (VwGO)

Research as of: 10 November 2026