The vans can detect a CRT TV on the ground floor; that's about it. The database of TV owners is the easier way to catch people. In the UK if you buy or rent a

The vans can detect a CRT TV on the ground floor; that's about it. The database of TV owners is the easier way to catch people. In the UK if you buy or rent a TV (or other bit of equipment that can be used to watch/record TV programmes[1]) from a shop (not private sale) then the seller has a duty to collect your name and address and report this to the TV Licensing authorities. Same (I think) for people who sign up to any other form of TV programme distribution: Sky, BT Vision, Virgin Media, etc. They then look for people who've got Sky or have just bought a TV and that don't have a license. That'll get the vast majority of people. Then there's the people that either don't have a TV (or anything else similar), or who have one but don't use it to watch broadcast TV. I had a period where I didn't have a TV and used to get hassled by letter once a month. Some people in a similar situation would refuse to let the inspectors into their house and endured endless letters, phone calls and visits. I just let the bloke in to look around, he saw there was no telly and left. The letters and hassle stopped after that. The rules about what you do and don't need a TV License for make it even more difficult:- " The law states that you need to be covered by a TV Licence if you watch or record television programmes, on any device, as they're being shown on TV. This includes TVs, computers, mobile phones, games consoles, digital boxes and Blu-ray/DVD/VHS recorders. You don't need a licence if you don't use any of these devices to watch or record television programmes as they're being shown on TV - for example, if you use your TV only to watch DVDs or play video games, or you only watch ‘catch up’ services like BBC iPlayer or 4oD. " It really hasn't caught up with the digital age. All they've done is add endless extra layers and clauses to the legislation to make it horribly complex. 1. A gross simplication. The actual definition is even more complex (as with most UK legal stuff) than this.