Tell Us Once Service

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 a video relay service for British Sign Language (BSL) users and Relay UK if you cannot hear or speak on the phone.

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:

• name
• date of birth
• address
• 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 getting services from their local council, such as Housing Benefit payments or Council Tax reductions, the name of their local council and which services they were getting
• 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
• if they were getting money or paying into Local Government Pension Schemes (LGPS), details of those schemes and their National Insurance number

Unless they were involved in a LGPS, 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.