Tell Us Once
Reporting a death using the Tell Us Once service
This is a service that allows you to report a death to most government services in one go.
When you’re registering a death, the registrar will either fill in the form for the Tell Us Once service or give you a unique reference number to access it online or by phone. When you contact them, you will need to give this information about the deceased:
- date of birth
- National Insurance number
- driving licence number (if applicable)
- passport number (if applicable).
You’ll also need to know:
- any benefits or entitlements they were receiving, such as the state pension
- any public sector or armed forces pensions they were getting
- any local council services they had access to, for example a Blue Badge or free public transport
- name and address of their next of kin
- name, address and contact details of the person or company dealing with their estate (property, belongings and money), known as the ‘executor’ or ‘administrator’.
Before you give the details of the next of kin, executor, administrator and anyone who was claiming joint benefits or entitlements with the person who died to Tell Us Once, you must have their permission.
Tell Us Once phone number
There isn't a published phone number for the Tell Us Once service. Instead, you will be given a unique reference number by the registrar when you register a death.
Tell Us Once notifications
After you’ve sent in the details, Tell Us Once will notify:
- HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC)
- Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)
- Passport Office
- the local council: to cancel housing benefit, council tax benefit, Blue Badge, inform council housing services and remove the person from the electoral register
- public sector and armed formed pension schemes
- Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA): to cancel the person’s driving licence, but you’ll still need to send DVLA any registration certificates (V5C).
If you don’t use the Tell Us Once service, you’ll have to let the relevant organisations know about the death yourself. The registrar will give you a letter and reference number to help with this.
Sign up for Tell Us Once on gov.uk.
Further reading
Read about the first steps that need to be taken after someone has died, whether at home, in hospital or in a care home.
After the medical certificate has been issued, the next stage is to register the death. Here, we explain the next steps.
You may be coping with your own grief as well as that of a parent or other close relative or friend. Here, we explain ...
