How to Cancel a South African TV Licence (Step-by-Step)

And what experience do I have advising you on how to cancel your TV licence, you might wonder? I am one of the few that actually accomplished this task successfully when we left South Africa for the Cayman Islands. I’m going to leave the chitter-chatter for another blog. I am sure you are frustrated and just want the information.

Here’s what I did & how I approached it.

👉 Need a simple printable version?
Download the TV Licence Cancellation Checklist (PDF) here

When it comes to cancelling your TV licence, more really is more.

Over-share and Over-document.

Don’t leave a single gap for them to question your reason.

Why you’re cancelling your TV Licence?

I can only speak from my perspective, but I am sure we can figure out the rest. The reason why you’re cancelling the licence will determine the documents required for the cancellation, so here’s some reasons you might want to cancel.

I can think of 4 reasons:     

• Immigration
• Theft
• Power surge (TV was damaged, I’m uncertain if cancellation is guaranteed, but it’s worth submitting the request?)
• Death

Step 1: Documents Needed to Cancel a South African TV Licence:

This is the most important step. Add what you can to prove that you no longer require the licence & submit it via e-mail to the SABC TV Licence website.

In the body of your email, you must clearly request cancellation of the TV licence and state your reason. I also added my account number and full name to both the subject line and the body of the e-mail for ease of reference.

Step 2: How to submit:

Send your documents via:

• Email: tvlic@sabc.co.za
• Further Details available on the SABC TV Licence website

• Immigration
• Affidavit: You have to download & complete the affidavit on the SABC TV-Licence website
• Up-to-date TV licence
• South African ID of the TV Licence holder
• Work permit for the new country (e.g. this was for Andrew, my husband, so I added the following supporting documents
• Supporting documents:
• Andrew’s South African ID
• Our marriage certificate
• I added supporting documents of the person I gifted our TV to:
• Their South African ID
• Their up-to-date TV licence

• Attest all the documents at your nearest police station
• Make final payment. You can request the outstanding balance via SMS by following the instructions provided on the SABC TV Licence website
• Submit all the documentation in one e-mail
• Theft or Power surge
• Affidavit: You have to download & complete the affidavit on the SABC TV-Licence website
• Up-to-date TV licence
• South African ID of the TV Licence holder
• Police CAS number (Crime Administration System number) This number is your official reference for the case and is needed for things like insurance claims or license cancellations
• Stamped police affidavit confirming theft or power surge
• Insurance report (If available)
• Attest all the documents at your nearest police station
• Make final payment. You can request the outstanding balance via SMS by following the instructions provided on the SABC TV Licence website
• Submit all the documentation in one e-mail

• Death
• Affidavit: You have to download & complete the affidavit on the SABC TV-Licence website
• Up-to-date TV licence
• South African ID of licence holder
• Certified copy of the death certificate
• Proof of relationship or executor status. This could be a letter of authority from the Master of the High Court or a copy of the will naming the executor
• Attest all the documents at your nearest police station
• Make final payment. You can request the outstanding balance via SMS by following the instructions provided on the SABC TV Licence website
• Submit all the documentation in one e-mail

Final Advice: Follow Up!

👉 Need a simple printable version? Download the TV Licence Cancellation Checklist (PDF) here

I’ll leave you with this final advice: follow-up is key.

I phoned twice a week and sent twice-weekly follow-up emails, always from the same email thread, until my licence was cancelled.

✨ It was my biggest victory of our entire immigration process.

If this helped you, please share this post with someone else struggling to cancel theirs, and let me know in the comments how it went for you.

I’m cheering you on, this admin task can be conquered. ✅

Chandrew