Tell Us Once

Tell Us Once is a service that lets you report a death to most government organisations in one go.

This guide is also available in Easy Read format.

The Tell Us Once service is not available in Northern Ireland. Find out who to tell about a death in Northern Ireland.

How to use Tell Us Once

A registrar will explain the Tell Us Once service when you register the death. They will either:

• complete the Tell Us Once service with you
• give you a unique reference number so you can use the service yourself online or by phone

The registrar will give you a number to call. This includes Relay UK if you cannot hear or speak on the phone. If you’re a British Sign Language (BSL) user, there’s a video relay service if you’re on a computer - find out how to use the service on mobile or tablet.

You must use the service within 28 days of getting your unique reference number.

If you cannot register the death because an inquest is underway, you can still ask a registrar for a unique reference number. You’ll need to get an interim death certificate from the coroner holding the inquest first.

Before you use Tell Us Once

You’ll need the Tell Us Once reference number that you got from the registrar.

You’ll also need the following details of the person who died:

• surname
• date they died
• name, address and contact details of the person or company dealing with their estate (property, belongings and money), known as their ‘executor’ or ‘administrator’
• if there’s a surviving spouse or civil partner, the name, address, telephone number and the National Insurance number or date of birth of the spouse or civil partner
• if there’s no surviving spouse or civil partner or their spouse or civil partner is not able to deal with their affairs, the name and address of their next of kin
• if they died in a hospital, nursing home, care home or hospice, the name and address of that institution - you’ll also be asked if the stay was for 28 days or more

You may also need:

• if they had a passport, their passport number and town of birth
• if they had a driving licence, their driving licence number
• if they owned any vehicles, the vehicle registration numbers
• if they were paying Council Tax or getting services from their local council, such as Housing Benefit payments, the name of their local council and which services they were getting
• if they had a Blue Badge, their Blue Badge number if you know it
• if they were getting any benefits, tax credits or State Pension, information about which ones they were getting
• if they were getting money from an Armed Forces Pension or Compensation Scheme, details of that scheme
• if they were getting money or paying into public sector pension schemes, details of those schemes

You’ll also need their National Insurance number if they were getting money or paying into any of the following pension schemes:

• NHS Pensions for NHS staff in England and Wales
• Scottish Public Pension Agency schemes for NHS staff, teachers, police and firefighters in Scotland
• Pension Protection Fund and Financial Assistance Scheme
• Local Government Pension Schemes (LGPS)

Otherwise, you do not need their National Insurance number. If you can still provide it though, it will help some organisations match their records faster.

You need permission from any surviving spouse or civil partner, the next of kin, executor, administrator or anyone who was claiming joint benefits or entitlements with the person who died, before you give their details.

Use Tell Us Once online

Organisations Tell Us Once will contact

Tell Us Once will notify:

• HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) - to deal with personal tax and to cancel benefits and credits, for example Child Benefit and tax credits
• Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) - to cancel benefits and entitlements, for example Universal Credit or State Pension
• Passport Office - to cancel a British passport
• Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) - to cancel a licence, remove the person as the keeper of up to 5 vehicles and end the vehicle tax
• the local council - to cancel Housing Benefit, Council Tax Reduction (sometimes called Council Tax Support), a Blue Badge, inform council housing services and remove the person from the electoral register
• Veterans UK - to cancel or update Armed Forces Compensation Scheme payments
• Social Security Scotland - to cancel benefits and entitlements from the Scottish Government, for example Scottish Child Payment

HMRC and DWP will contact you about the tax, benefits and entitlements of the person who died.

Tell Us Once will also contact some public sector pension schemes so that they cancel future pension payments. They’ll notify:

• Armed Forces Pension Scheme
• NHS Pensions for NHS staff in England and Wales
• Scottish Public Pension Agency schemes for NHS staff, teachers, police and firefighters in Scotland
• Pension Protection Fund and Financial Assistance Scheme
• Local Government Pension Schemes (LGPS)

After you use Tell Us Once

To close or change the details of the person’s financial accounts, you’ll need to contact organisations like:

• banks
• mortgage providers
• insurance providers
• companies that the person had contracts with, like utility companies, landlords or housing associations
• personal or workplace pension schemes, unless they’re one of the public sector pension schemes that Tell Us Once contacts

If you need help finding contact details for the person’s pension schemes, you can search for pension contact details.

You may also need to:

• update the property records, if the person owned land or property
• contact DVLA, if the person owned a vehicle and you sell it or keep it and tax it in your own name
• contact HMRC, if the person owed business taxes like VAT

If you do not use Tell Us Once

You must let the relevant organisations know about the death yourself if either:

• you choose not to use the Tell Us Once service
• you cannot use Tell Us Once because the person died when they were living abroad

Tell organisations about the death yourself.