Tell Us Once

Tell Us Once is a free government service that reports a death to most government departments at once, including HMRC, the DWP, the DVLA, the Passport Office and the local council. The registrar gives you a reference number, which you use online or by phone within 28 days. It covers people who lived in England, Scotland or Wales; it cannot be used if the person lived in Northern Ireland.

Who it tells

At the council it covers council tax, housing benefit and the electoral register. Beyond the departments above, it reaches Veterans UK, Social Security Scotland, and public sector pension schemes such as the NHS or teachers’ pensions. Each one updates its own records and writes to confirm. It also stops payments that should stop, which matters: a state pension paid after a death has to be repaid from the estate.

It reaches government only. Banks, insurers, private pension providers, employers, landlords, utility companies and TV Licensing each need telling separately, by you or the executor.

How to use it

The registrar explains the service at the registration, and some can complete it with you there and then. Otherwise you report online or by phone with the reference number, which takes about half an hour. Have to hand your loved one’s date of birth, National Insurance number, passport and driving licence numbers, and details of any benefits. You also need the names and addresses of the next of kin and the executor, with their permission to share them. If an inquest has been opened, the interim death certificate from the coroner is enough to use the service. Using it is optional, but nearly everyone does.

In Northern Ireland, or if they lived abroad

The service cannot be used for someone who lived in Northern Ireland, or who lived abroad permanently. In Northern Ireland the Bereavement Service tells the benefit and pension offices in one call, and HMRC, the DVLA, the Passport Office and the council are told separately.