RTV subscription – what’s next? Here’s what you need to know in February 2026

The TV license fee is to disappear. The government has such plans. However, there are various, often contradictory reports about what will appear in its place. Therefore, we decided to check the draft act amending the Broadcasting Act and certain other acts. In addition, we also asked the source, i.e. the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage.

Radio and television subscriptions have their origins in the 1920s, when Polish Radio was established. However, the currently applicable regulations are based first on the Act of December 29, 1992, and then on the Act of April 21, 2005.

The rules are simple. Every household with a TV or radio should pay an RTV license fee (including a car with a radio). Moreover, the judgment of the Supreme Administrative Court shows that the fee is also payable for laptops, smartphones and tablets, because it is not the design of the device that counts, but only its ability to receive a signal.

A radio or television receiver, within the meaning of the License Fees Act, is a technical device adapted to the reception of radio and television programs, the design of which indicates its intended use primarily for the reception of radio or television programs. The characteristics of such devices may therefore indicate that their sole or main function is to receive radio or television programs.

In case this is missing, according to applicable regulations, we are obliged to register every new TV or radio we buy. We have 14 days from the date of purchase to do so. This can be done online or at a Poczta Polska branch. If we evade this obligation, we may be subject to a fine of PLN 261 (for a radio) or PLN 819 (for a TV).

The problem is that only a handful of obligated people pay the radio and television license fee. According to KRRiT data for 2024, only 38 percent households have a registered TV set. In turn, only 32.1% pay the fee. farms. This shows that the applicable regulations are not only outdated, but above all ineffective.

That is why the government has been talking about abolishing the radio and television license fee for a long time. There were two ideas for replacing it. A few months ago, Marta Cienkowska, head of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage, announced that public media will be entirely financed from the state budget. Thus, Poles, at least directly, will not contribute to the financing of Polish Television and Polish Radio.

The government was to initially allocate PLN 2.5 billion for this purpose. Over time, the amount was to be indexed, among other things, for inflation, so it should be assumed that it would be higher in the following years.

However, recently there have been reports that the government has changed its plans. The second idea was to create an audiovisual fee of PLN 9 per month. This would be paid together with personal income tax, so it would be impossible to avoid it. It would be paid by every adult (with a few exceptions, such as students and seniors).

So what will it be like in reality? We asked about it at the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage.

According to the draft act, the main source of financing for public media is the state budget.

We can read the same in the assumptions of the draft act amending the Broadcasting Act and certain other acts, which is available on the government website. We read in them that the current financing system for public broadcasters contains faulty solutions that are not adapted to the current state of technical developmentand it does not guarantee stable financing of public media.

The current system of financing public media does not meet the requirements set out in EMFA. It does not ensure stable financing of the media’s missionary activities in an amount that would guarantee the independent performance of statutory obligations. In order to ensure compliance of the Polish legal system with EMFA, it is necessary to thoroughly change the way public media are financed in Poland.

The Ministry of Culture also believes that the ineffectiveness of radio and television license fees is really since 2018, public media are actually financed from the state budget. Therefore, entering it formally into the act would only confirm the actual state of affairs. The Ministry proposes to enter a fixed amount of at least PLN 2.5 billion. Interestingly, the government admits that such a solution would not meet the requirements of EMFA (European Media Freedom Act) regarding the stability of the system.

The amount of PLN 2.5 billion would be transferred annually by the Ministry of Finance to an account managed by the National Broadcasting Council. The council would then divide them between the Polish Radio and Polish Television companies based on procedures that would be included in the act. Where does this amount come from? It is to be the equivalent of the current state support (PLN 2.01 billion in 2025) along with subscription revenues.

The government would like the new regulations, which will finally abolish the radio and television license fee, to enter into force in January 2027. However, this depends on the further course of legislative work in the government and parliament. A possible veto by President Karol Nawrocki may also be a problem. However, the ministry is optimistic.

President Karol Nawrocki has repeatedly emphasized that he wants to reform the public media. The role of the ministry is to propose the best possible amendment to the act.

However, the president’s veto may concern not so much the radio and television license fee itself and the methods of financing public media, but other changes that will be included in the act. This concerns primarily the manner of appointing the authorities of TVP and Polish Radio, changes in the National Broadcasting Service and the liquidation of the National Media Council. Karol Nawrocki does not like them and because of them he can exercise his right to veto the bill.

For now, we are still obliged to pay the radio and television license fee. In 2026, the amounts were increased and currently amount to:

• PLN 9.50 per month for the radio (PLN 114 per year)
• PLN 30.50 per month for TV and radio (PLN 366 per year)

The following are exempt from fees: