Rundfunkbeitrag letter: is it real and what do you have to do?

What the letter looks like

There are three typical letters:

• Question about your home (Klärung der Beitragspflicht): the Beitragsservice finds no fee account for your address and asks you to answer. The letter shows an Aktenzeichen (reference number) and includes a reply form.
• Zahlungsaufforderung (payment request): it names the amount, the payment dates and your 9-digit Beitragsnummer (fee account number).
• Festsetzungsbescheid (formal assessment notice): it comes when overdue fees were not paid. It fixes the open amount and a Säumniszuschlag (late payment surcharge). It is the basis for later enforcement.

What to do now

1. Open the letter and find out which type it is. Look for the Aktenzeichen or Beitragsnummer, the amount and the date.
2. Answer the question about your home. Use the reply form or the online form. You need the Aktenzeichen and your postcode.
3. Does someone already pay for the home? Then give the Beitragsnummer of that person, for example your flatmate or partner. If nobody pays, register the home.
4. Check exemption or reduction. People who receive, for example, Grundsicherungsgeld (formerly Bürgergeld), Sozialhilfe, benefits under the Asylbewerberleistungsgesetz or BAföG (if they do not live with their parents) can apply for an exemption (§ 4 RBStV). It is not automatic: you need an application and a copy of the benefit decision.
5. For a Festsetzungsbescheid: pay the amount, or file a Widerspruch (formal objection) within the deadline if the notice is wrong (for example: already paid, exemption granted). If you cannot pay everything at once, ask the Beitragsservice about payment in instalments.

Which deadlines apply

• Payment: within four weeks after the due date (information from the Beitragsservice). The Beitragsservice does not have to send an extra reminder.
• Widerspruch against a Festsetzungsbescheid: within one month after the Bekanntgabe (official notification) (§ 70 Abs. 1 VwGO). The Widerspruch must arrive at the Beitragsservice or the Landesrundfunkanstalt (regional public broadcaster) within this time.
• Exemption for the past: at most three years back from the date of the application (information from the Beitragsservice).

The date in your own letter and the Rechtsbehelfsbelehrung (the paragraph in the notice that explains how to object) always decide. This page only explains the general rule.

Common mistakes

• Sending the letter back unopened or throwing it away. This settles nothing. The right way to “send it back” is to return the completed reply form or to answer online.
• Not answering because a flatmate already pays. The Beitragsservice only knows this when you give the Beitragsnummer.
• Thinking that the exemption comes automatically. It always needs an application with proof.
• Ignoring a Festsetzungsbescheid. After the deadline you can no longer challenge it. Then a Mahnung (reminder) with a reminder fee follows, and later enforcement, for example a Pfändung (seizure).
• Transferring money to an account named in an email.

Is the Rundfunkbeitrag letter real or fake?

There are fake payment requests that look very similar to real letters. How to check:

• Beitragsnummer: does it match your own 9-digit number? You find it on your registration confirmation and on your bank statement.
• Bank details: compare the IBAN with the list on rundfunkbeitrag.de/bankverbindung. The payee there is called “Rundfunk ARD, ZDF, DRadio”.
• Email: the Beitragsservice does not send payment requests by email and gives no discount for paying in advance.
• Forms: do not use a link from a message. Type the address rundfunkbeitrag.de yourself.

Current warnings are on rundfunkbeitrag.de under “Sicherheitswarnungen”. If in doubt, do not transfer anything and ask the Beitragsservice through its contact form. More help with reading such letters: German official letters explained.

More letters explained

• I received a letter from the Finanzamt: what is it?
• German official letter explained: how to understand it in five steps