Informing a government or local authority department when someone has died.
How the Tell Us Once service works
When someone dies you may have to inform several different government and local authority departments of the death so that they can update their records. The Tell Us Once service will notify those departments on your behalf, and you will receive written confirmation of which departments have been informed.
How to use the service
After you have registered the death, the Registrar will email you a unique Tell Us Once reference number, which will enable you to access the service Online via GOV.UK.
It will help you to have all the relevant information listed below about the person before using Tell Us Once:
- date of birth;
- address of the deceased;
- national Insurance number;
- driving licence number;
- vehicle registration number;
- passport number.
You will also need:
- details of any benefits or entitlements they were receiving, for example state pension, universal credit;
- details of any local council services they were receiving, for example adult social services, blue badge, travel pass;
- the name and address of their next of kin;
- the name and address of any surviving spouse or civil partner;
- the name, address and contact details of the person or company dealing with their estate (property, belongings and money), known as their ‘executor’ or ‘administrator’;
- details of any public sector or armed forces pension schemes they were getting or paying into.
Please note
- Permission is required from the next of kin, the executor, the administrator and anyone who was claiming benefits or entitlements jointly with the person who died, before you give their details.
- There is no need to follow-up contact after you have used Tell Us Once unless you don’t receive a confirmation from the relevant department after a reasonable period of time, in most cases a calendar month.
- Once the various agencies informed by Tell Us Once have received notification of the death, they will make any further contact if necessary with the bereaved family.
- Tell Us Once is not a claim to benefit, therefore please contact GOV.UK or the relevant department for advice.
- Tell Us Once does not notify any commercial organisations of the death and cannot arrange for redirection of post.
The Death Notification Service
The Death Notification Service is an additional free, online service that allows you to notify participating banks and building societies of a death. Please visit: www.deathnotificationservice.co.uk for more information and to complete a notification.