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Broadcast fee · Germany

Festsetzungsbescheid — when the Rundfunkbeitrag letters turn serious

A Festsetzungsbescheid formally fixes your unpaid broadcasting-fee arrears. Unlike the ordinary payment requests before it, this Bescheid is the legal basis for enforcement.

How serious: needs actionAlso called: Beitragsbescheid, letter from 'ARD ZDF Deutschlandradio Beitragsservice', GEZ-Bescheid (colloquial, outdated)

The Rundfunkbeitrag is owed for every dwelling. When amounts due were not paid, a Festsetzungsbescheid is sent — an administrative decision that formally fixes the arrears ('Wird der rückständige Betrag nicht beglichen, wird ein Festsetzungsbescheid verschickt', rundfunkbeitrag.de).

With every Festsetzungsbescheid, a late surcharge of 1% of the arrears — at least €8 — becomes due.

This letter is different from the payment requests before it: it is the legal basis for enforcement. The official glossary states that the Festsetzungsbescheid corresponds to an enforceable title (Vollstreckungstitel) — the precondition for a Zwangsvollstreckung.

Who sends it

Formally, your Landesrundfunkanstalt — the regional public broadcaster, such as WDR or BR. The letters are administered, printed, and sent centrally by the 'ARD ZDF Deutschlandradio Beitragsservice' in Köln.

Letterhead 'ARD ZDF Deutschlandradio Beitragsservice' (or a Landesrundfunkanstalt), the word 'Festsetzungsbescheid', your nine-digit Beitragsnummer, a period and amount of arrears plus 'Säumniszuschlag', and a Rechtsbehelfsbelehrung about the Widerspruch.

The deadline

Widerspruch within 1 month of notification; under the applicable Land law a mailed Bescheid counts as notified on the 4th day after posting (rundfunkbeitrag.de/widerspruch).

A Widerspruch can be filed within 1 month of notification. Under the applicable Land law, a mailed Bescheid counts as notified on the 4th day after posting — the month runs from that deemed date.

If you do nothing

The Bescheid becomes unanfechtbar — incontestable. The official pages state that the Festsetzungsbescheid corresponds to an enforceable title, the precondition for a Zwangsvollstreckung; enforcement is then carried out by the competent enforcement authority or the Gerichtsvollzieher — meaning account seizure and wage garnishment.

Compute your date

The rule above is what the law sets. Put in the dates on your own letter and it becomes a date.

How it escalates

  1. 01Each further Festsetzungsbescheid adds a Säumniszuschlag of 1% of the arrears, minimum €8.
  2. 02An enforcement request goes to the local enforcement authority or a Gerichtsvollzieher.
  3. 03Kontopfändung: the account is seized until the seizure amount is paid — transfers and withdrawals are not possible. Alternatively, Lohnpfändung via the employer.
  4. 04A seizure ends only with full payment of the seized amount — an installment agreement does not lift it.

Your options, procedurally

  • A Widerspruch can be filed within one month — in writing, declared on record, or via De-Mail with qualified electronic signature. Plain e-mail and phone are not accepted. It goes to the Landesrundfunkanstalt or Beitragsservice named on the Bescheid.
  • After an unsuccessful Widerspruch: a Klage at the Verwaltungsgericht.
  • The fixed amount can be paid — the Rundfunkbeitrag itself is due within four weeks of Fälligkeit.
  • Before enforcement reaches seizure, the Beitragsservice can be contacted about payment arrangements; once a seizure is in place, only full payment ends it.
  • For those who may be exempt — for example recipients of social benefits — a Befreiung can be applied for; the mechanism exists on rundfunkbeitrag.de.

How to respond

Response types

  • File the objectionWiderspruch gegen den Festsetzungsbescheid
  • Ask for instalmentsAntrag auf Ratenzahlung / Zahlungsvereinbarung beim Beitragsservice
  • Confirm paymentNachweis bereits geleisteter Zahlungen (Zahlungsnachweis)
  • Ask for clarificationAntrag auf Befreiung oder Ermäßigung vom Rundfunkbeitrag

Where and how

  • Brief an die Behörde, die den Bescheid erlassen hat
  • Einschreiben (Übergabe-Einschreiben / Einschreiben mit Rückschein)
  • Telefax
  • Erklärung zur Niederschrift bei der Behörde
  • Elektronische Form nach §3a Abs. 2 VwVfG / Nutzerkonto nach §9a Abs. 5 OZG — bei einem Finanzamt auch Mein ELSTER
  • Einfache E-Mail
  • Telefon

What makes it count

A response is in time only when it has reached the authority that issued the Bescheid. Where a Widerspruchsverfahren applies, §70(1) VwGO gives one month from Bekanntgabe and admits the Widerspruch in writing, in the electronic form of §3a(2) VwVfG, in the form-replacing routes of §3a(3) VwVfG and §9a(5) OZG, or zur Niederschrift at the authority; the period is preserved as well by filing with the authority that would decide the Widerspruch. Several Länder have abolished the Widerspruchsverfahren for some matters, so the Rechtsbehelfsbelehrung on the letter — not the general rule — says whether the next step is a Widerspruch or a Klage. The date of posting preserves nothing. A missed period can be cured under §32 VwVfG: two weeks from the day the obstacle falls away, the missed act performed inside them, and no application at all more than a year after the period ended save for force majeure.

Common questions

How is this different from the usual Beitragsservice letters?

The ordinary letters are payment requests. The Festsetzungsbescheid is an administrative decision that corresponds to an enforceable title — the precondition for enforcement.

Can I object by e-mail?

No. A Widerspruch must be in writing, declared on record, or sent via De-Mail with qualified electronic signature. Plain e-mail and phone are not accepted.

What surcharge is added?

With every Festsetzungsbescheid, a Säumniszuschlag of 1% of the arrears — at least €8 — becomes due.

Does an installment agreement unfreeze a seized account?

No. A seizure ends only with full payment of the seized amount — an installment agreement does not lift it.

Sources

Facts verified against the sources below on 28 August 2026.