Fill out the GEZ form online

Register / Cancel your German broadcasting license (Rundfunkbeitrag)

THE PROBLEM(S)

  • Everyone who lives in Germany must register at GEZ for a broadcasting license.
  • Everyone who leaves Germany must cancel the GEZ broadcasting license.
  • The GEZ forms are only available in German.

THE SOLUTION

  1. Fill out the form below and pay 9,90€ for it.
  2. Receive an email with the filled-out GEZ form.
  3. Print the form and send it to the central GEZ office in Cologne.

FAQ GEZ (Rundfunkbeitrag)

Everyone who is registered in Germany must pay public broadcasting fees to the GEZ.

What is the GEZ?

GEZ is a German public agency, which collects fees for German public broadcasting. In other words, the GEZ is a state organisation that takes money from the people.

This money is used to produce public TV and radio programmes. Examples of such programmes are ARD, ZDF, InfoRadio etc.

Public broadcasting programmes are meant to ensure the production of unbiased news content for the citizens! To what extent this is true is another matter!

So who must register at GEZ?

Everyone who lives in Germany. Every German resident must pay a monthly fee for this public broadcast. You must pay it, even if you do not have a TV, Internet access or a radio.

If you are unhappy about having to pay it, then I suggest the following. Simply see it as a contribution to the production of objective news within Germany. So in a way, you are contributing towards the democratic system!

What are Rundfunkgebühren

Rundfunkgebühren literally means “broadcasting fees”. It is the same as GEZ.

What does GEZ stand for?

GEZ
is short for Gebühreneinzugszentrale, which means “fee collecting agency”. It all refers to the same thing basically ;)

Every person who is registered in Germany must also register at GEZ.

The GEZ fee is charged per registered household, not per person.

You have recently registered in Germany and filled out the registration form (Anmeldung)?

Great! Now you must now register at GEZ.

Everyone who lives in Germany is obliged to register at GEZ and pay a monthly license fee – even if you do not have Internet, TV or a radio. Everyone has to pay it. See it as part of your duties of living in Germany.

To register at GEZ, you can simply fill out the form online – on our website.

  1. Fill out your personal details and your payment details.
  2. Our system will automatically transfer your data onto the German original GEZ form.
  3. Print the form.
  4. Sign the form and send it to the GEZ agency in Cologne (the exact address is printed on the letter that we send you).
  5. Done!

If you move to another address in Germany, you must update your address details at the GEZ agency in Germany.

You must also update your details, if you move together with another person. Why? Because in 2013 they changed the law and now every household must pay the GEZ fee – not every person. So if you live in a household with different people who are all registered at the same address, you do not pay the GEZ fee separately.

If each of you pays the GEZ fee separately, make sure to update your details at GEZ and let them know of the situation, so they only charge one of you.

How to contact GEZ and update my details?

Easy. Just use the registration form on this website. Enter your new address. Print the form. And send it to the GEZ agency.

You can also add a handwritten note on a separate sheet, if you want to leave the GEZ a message.

If you deregister in Germany you must also cancel your registration at the GEZ agency in Cologne.

If you don’t cancel your GEZ license, you will continue to get monthly invoices (Rundfunkgebühren).

What happens if you do not pay the GEZ invoices? You may have to be liable to pay additional fines.

So you must make sure you cancel your GEZ license (Rundfunkbeitragsservice)

Once you leave Germany you have to fill out a form to cancel your GEZ registration. It is very easy to do so:
1. You can fill out the form on our website in English.
2. We will then send you the German original form with your personal details on it.
3. Print the form.
4. Sign the form and send it to the GEZ agency (the address is printed on the instruction letter that we send you).

You are wondering what happens if you do not pay the GEZ invoices? More letters will arrive at your doorstep. You will be charged an additional fine.

Just make sure to get in touch with GEZ. If you get the GEZ letters in error, send them a note. You can also call them! Just fill out the form on our website and notify them of your situation!

Many people think that the monthly fee is very high and do not want to pay it.

The GEZ agency makes sure that everyone pays their contribution and charges you with fines if you do not pay the bills.

If you have not registered at GEZ, better do it now than later. If you live in a shared flat or with your family, one monthly GEZ payment covers the entire household.

It is not paid by person but by registered apartment / house.

So if you move into an already-existing household, you do not have to pay the fee again! So make sure you write that on your GEZ registration in order to avoid double-payment.

Easy, peasy, just fill out the registration form on our website and make a note on it. You can also write on the form by hand.

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