Business guidance

Creative Industries

Apply for broadcasting licence (TV and radio)

How to obtain Ofcom broadcasting licences for television and radio services in the UK - including TLCS for TV channels, community radio, and commercial radio licensing.

Creative Industries

Choose a funder for your creative project

Public funding for creative work comes from different bodies for different projects. Arts Council England funds projects in England, the BFI funds feature films, Innovate UK funds innovation by UK businesses, and the screen agencies in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland fund film and television made there. Check each funder's rules first.

Creative Industries

Claim film and high-end TV tax relief

Production companies can claim Audio-Visual Expenditure Credit on film and TV costs incurred from 1 January 2024. The production must be certified as British by the British Film Institute, through the cultural test or a co-production treaty, and at least 10% of its core costs must relate to activities in the UK.

Creative Industries

Claim theatre, orchestra or museums and galleries tax relief

If your company produces a play, opera, ballet, orchestral concert or museum exhibition, you can claim an extra Corporation Tax deduction on its production costs. If the production makes a loss, you can surrender it for a cash payment, at a higher rate for touring productions and concerts.

Creative Industries

Claim the audio-visual or video games expenditure credit

If your company makes a British-certified film, TV programme or video game, you can claim an expenditure credit on its Company Tax Return. The credit is a percentage of qualifying costs that first pays off your Corporation Tax and other tax debts, and any balance is paid to you in cash.

Creative Industries

Clear music and image rights for a film, video or advert

Before you put a track in a film, video or advert, you need a licence from the owner of the song and, separately, from the owner of the recording. Photos and footage need the copyright owner's permission too. Get every clearance in writing before release, or you risk an injunction and damages.

Creative Industries

Film and TV production permissions and insurance

Film and TV production needs no single national licence, but you need written permission for every location, proof of public and employer's liability insurance, and CAA registration if you fly a drone. Council filming fees vary widely and are usually higher in London.

Creative Industries

Get a child performance licence

If a child under school leaving age takes part in a paid, broadcast or filmed performance, you usually need a licence from the local authority where the child lives. Apply at least 21 days before the first performance, and use an approved chaperone unless a parent or teacher cares for the child.

Creative Industries

Get your broadcasting licences and meet Ofcom duties

Every television and radio service you provide to the public needs an Ofcom licence, and broadcasting without one is a criminal offence. On-demand services must notify Ofcom before they start, transmitters need a Wireless Telegraphy Act licence, and every licensed broadcaster must follow the Broadcasting Code.

Retail & Consumer Goods

Martyn's Law for pubs, shops and venues

Martyn's Law applies to your pub, shop or venue only if you can reasonably expect 200 or more people there at the same time, staff included. The duties have not started and no start date has been set; the Security Industry Authority will enforce them.

Creative Industries

Meet your film, TV and music production regulatory duties

A production that pays a child of compulsory school age to perform generally needs a child performance licence from the child's home local authority. Video on DVD or Blu-ray must usually be classified by the BBFC before supply, and showing films to the public needs a premises licence.

Professional & Financial Services

Tax, advertising and gifted products for content creators

Usually yes to both. If you are trading, free products you receive for posting count as income, and you must label any post about a gifted product as an ad.

Tax & Finance

Check if you need to register for VAT

You must register for VAT when your taxable turnover passes the registration threshold in any rolling 12 months, or when you expect it to pass the threshold within the next 30 days alone. Under the first test, register within 30 days of the end of the month. Late registration brings penalties and backdated VAT.

Compliance & Legal

File your confirmation statement

File a confirmation statement every 12 months, within 14 days after your review period ends. Filing late is a criminal offence for the company and its officers.

Premises & Operations

Meet your business waste duty of care

Every business that produces, stores or disposes of waste has a duty of care under section 34 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, and stays responsible after it hands the waste on. Use only registered waste carriers, complete waste transfer notes correctly, and follow the stricter rules for hazardous waste.

Compliance & Legal

Verify your identity for Companies House as a director or PSC

Yes, if you are an individual director or PSC of a UK company, or an individual director of an overseas company registered in the UK. Corporate directors and officers of corporate PSCs are not yet required to verify. The transition for existing directors and PSCs ends on 17 November 2026.