How to Find a Dead Person's Bank Accounts, Including Dormant Ones

Start with the person's own papers. The searches below are for what those papers miss: an account at a bank nobody in the family knew about, or savings opened decades ago and forgotten. Work through them before you value the estate, because every account found changes the figures on the probate application and, sometimes, whether you need a grant at all.

Start with what the person left

Before any formal search, go through:

• Paper statements and passbooks, including old ones in drawers and files: a passbook for an account that closed long ago can still lead to one that did not.
• Bank cards in their purse or wallet, and cheque books.
• Post that arrives after the death. Annual statements, interest certificates and marketing letters all name the bank.
• Email and banking apps, if you can access them lawfully, for statements and alerts.
• HMRC letters and tax papers, which may mention savings interest and the provider that paid it.

Keep a list as you go: the provider, the type of account and any account number. You will need the same list for the estate accounts later.

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The executor toolkit includes a bank notification and balance-request letter you can adapt for any bank, plus a contact tracker for who you told, when, and what you are waiting for, and checklists for the rest of the estate.

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Accounts still in use: tell the banks

For each bank you know about, contact its bereavement team; our bank guides give each one's current process. GOV.UK says to contact the organisations the person used to find out whether you will need probate, because every organisation has its own rules.⁴

The Death Notification Service lets you tell any of its member banks through one free online form.¹ On 7 November 2026 its member list included Barclays, HSBC, first direct, Lloyds, Halifax, NatWest, Santander, Nationwide and Leeds Building Society. It only tells the members you select about accounts they hold; it is not a search of every bank.

My Lost Account's own guidance is that executors and next of kin should go first to the person's bank or building society, and that the Death Notification Service only applies to active accounts.³

Dormant accounts: My Lost Account

My Lost Account is a free service that traces lost bank and building society accounts and lost NS&I products.² Its guidance says a dormant account is generally one that has not been used for 15 years, and that those are the accounts that may need a search.³

• How to search: set up an online profile and complete the search form. Your application is sent to the providers you choose.²
• If you don't know the provider: My Lost Account suggests searching the five largest firms, and using its regional search for building societies.³
• How long it takes: you will receive a response within three months, by email alert as each bank or building society finishes its search, or by letter for paper applications.²³
• Before anything is released: you must prove you have the right authority and pass the provider's identity checks. No details of an account it finds are given until then.³

NS&I products can be traced through My Lost Account, but for a person's Premium Bonds and NS&I savings it is usually simpler to go to NS&I directly; our NS&I and Premium Bonds guide explains its claim process.

Pensions are a separate search

Bank searches do not cover pensions. GOV.UK's Pension Tracing Service gives contact details for pension schemes, by phone or by post, but it cannot tell you whether the person had a pension or what it is worth.⁵ You then ask each scheme. See pension death benefits for what happens next.

What to do with what you find

Ask each provider for the balance at the date of death, including any interest owed to that date. Add every account to the estate's list of assets: the total decides the probate fee, whether Inheritance Tax is due and, with each bank's own limit, whether you need a grant to collect the money. Our bank probate thresholds guide lists the limits banks publish.

When the money comes in, record it against the date-of-death value in the estate accounts. The free estate accounts template shows the layout most executors use.

If an account turns up after the grant, send that bank a copy of the grant and collect it in like the others. If the estate was reported to HMRC on form IHT400 and the new account changes the value, tell HMRC with corrective account form C4.⁶ After probate is granted covers the rest.

Frequently asked questions

Is there a free way to find a dead person's bank accounts?

Yes. My Lost Account is free and traces lost bank and building society accounts and NS&I products. For accounts still in use, tell the banks you know about, or use the free Death Notification Service for its member banks.

How long does a My Lost Account search take?

My Lost Account says you will receive a response to your search within three months.

Will the Death Notification Service find dormant accounts?

No. My Lost Account notes that the Death Notification Service only applies to active accounts. Old accounts that have not been used for years need a My Lost Account search.

Can the Pension Tracing Service tell me if the person had a pension?

No. It gives contact details for pension schemes, but GOV.UK says it cannot tell you whether someone has a pension or what it is worth. You then ask the scheme.