Tell Us Once: How to Notify Government After a Death

Tell Us Once is a free government service that allows you to report a death to multiple government departments and agencies in a single step, rather than contacting each one individually. It does not cover every organisation you need to notify after a death, but it removes a significant amount of administrative work for the government-side notifications.

Where Tell Us Once is available

Tell Us Once is available in England, Wales, and Scotland. It is not available in Northern Ireland, which has a separate process for notifying government departments. If the deceased was resident in Northern Ireland, you will need to contact relevant departments individually.

Even within England, Wales, and Scotland, not every local authority participates in all aspects of the service. The registrar will tell you at the time of registration which elements of Tell Us Once are available in your area.

How to use it

Tell Us Once is offered at the point of death registration. When you register the death at the local register office, the registrar will ask whether you want to use the service. If you say yes, they will either complete the notification with you at the appointment or give you a unique reference number to use the service online within 28 days.

To use the service, you will need the following information about the deceased:

• National Insurance number
• Date of birth and date of death
• Passport number (if known)
• Driving licence number (if known)
• Details of any benefits, pensions, or tax credits being received

The online service is available at gov.uk and takes around 15 minutes to complete.

What Tell Us Once notifies

When you use Tell Us Once, the relevant departments are notified automatically. These include:

• HMRC: to update tax records and cancel tax credits if applicable
• Department for Work and Pensions (DWP): to cancel state pension, pension credit, universal credit, and other DWP benefits
• HM Passport Office: to cancel the deceased's passport
• DVLA: to cancel the driving licence and update vehicle records
• Local council: to update council tax, housing benefit, and blue badge records
• Electoral Registration Office: to remove the deceased from the electoral roll
• Public sector pension schemes: if the deceased was in receipt of a public sector pension (armed forces, NHS, teachers, civil service)

What Tell Us Once does NOT cover

Tell Us Once handles government departments only. A significant number of organisations are not included and must be contacted separately:

• Banks and building societies (each one must be notified individually)
• Private pension providers (workplace pensions, personal pensions, SIPPs)
• Insurance companies (life insurance, home insurance, car insurance, health insurance)
• National Savings & Investments (NS&I) (Premium Bonds and savings accounts)
• Utility providers (gas, electricity, water, broadband)
• Subscription services (streaming, gym memberships, magazine subscriptions)
• Mortgage lender
• Landlord (if the deceased was renting)
• Royal Mail (to set up mail redirection if needed)

Overpayments

If benefits or state pension payments continue after death because DWP has not yet been notified, overpayments will need to be repaid by the estate. Tell Us Once speeds up notification and reduces the risk of overpayments accumulating, but it does not guarantee immediate cessation of payments. Keep an eye on the deceased's accounts in the weeks following registration and set aside any overpaid amounts rather than treating them as part of the distributable estate.

What to do after Tell Us Once

Once you have used Tell Us Once for government notifications, you will still have a substantial list of private organisations to work through. Our guide to who to contact after a death covers the full list, including banks, insurers, pension providers, utilities, and subscriptions, with guidance on what to say and what documents each institution will typically require.

Related guides

• Who to contact after a death
• Executor duties explained
• Probate checklist
• What to do when someone dies with a will