Tell Us Once Service

Tell Us Once is a service that lets you report a death to most government organisations in one go.

When you register the death the registrar will:

• let you know if the service is available in your area
• give you the phone number
• give you a unique reference number to use the Tell Us Once service online or by phone

What you need to use Tell Us Once

You’ll need the following details of the person who died:

• date of birth
• National Insurance number
• driving licence number
• passport number

You’ll also need:

• details of any benefits or entitlements they were getting, for example State Pension
• details of any local council services they were getting, for example Blue Badge
• the name and address of their next of kin
• the name and address of any surviving spouse or civil partner
• the name, address and contact details of the person or company dealing with their estate (property, belongings and money), known as their ‘executor’ or ‘administrator’
• details of any public sector or armed forces pension schemes they were getting or paying in to

You need permission from the next of kin, the executor, the administrator or anyone who was claiming joint benefits or entitlements with the person who died, before you give their details.

Organisations Tell Us Once will contact

Tell Us Once will notify:

• HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) - to deal with tax and cancel benefits
• Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) - to cancel benefits, for example Income Support
• Passport Office - to cancel a British passport
• Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) - to cancel a driving licence
• the local council - to cancel Housing Benefit, Council Tax Benefit, a Blue Badge, inform council housing services and remove the person from the electoral register
• public sector or armed forces pension schemes - to stop pension payments

There’s a different process to update property records if the person who died owns land or property.

If Tell Us Once isn’t available

You’ll have to let the relevant organisations know about the death yourself if:

• your local register office doesn’t offer the Tell Us Once service
• you choose not to use it
• the person died abroad in a country where Tell Us Once isn’t available