Tell Us Once, the complete UK guide

What is Tell Us Once?

Tell Us Once is run by the UK government and was set up to spare bereaved families the job of phoning, emailing or writing to every government department separately. Once you've registered the death, you get a unique reference and 28 days to enter the details at gov.uk/tell-us-once. The service then forwards the notification to every relevant department automatically.

It's free, it works in England, Wales and Scotland, and most register offices will offer to start it for you at the registration appointment.

Who Tell Us Once notifies

The service notifies:

• •HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), income tax, tax credits, child benefit
• •Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), State Pension, Pension Credit, ESA, Universal Credit, etc.
• •Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), driving licence cancellation
• •HM Passport Office, passport cancellation
• •Your local council, council tax, housing benefit, blue badge, electoral register, library, council housing
• •Veterans UK, armed forces compensation and pensions
• •Public sector pensions, NHS, Teachers', Civil Service, Local Government

What Tell Us Once doesn't cover

Tell Us Once is government-only. You'll still need to contact:

• •Banks and building societies
• •Mortgage lenders and landlords
• •Utility companies (gas, electricity, water, broadband, phone)
• •Insurance companies (life, home, car, pet)
• •Private and workplace pensions
• •Employers and HMRC PAYE separately if needed
• •Subscription services (streaming, gym, magazines)
• •Credit cards and loan companies

For everything else, our provider directory has the official bereavement contact for hundreds of UK companies, or Alenity can inform them all for you.

How to use Tell Us Once

1. Register the death at the local register office
2. Ask the registrar to give you a Tell Us Once reference (most do this automatically)
3. Within 28 days, go to gov.uk/tell-us-once or call 0800 085 7308
4. Enter the deceased's details: NI number, passport, driving licence, benefits, pensions
5. The service forwards the notification, you don't need to follow up

What happens after you submit

Each department processes the notification on its own timeline, so you won't get a single "all done" confirmation. In practice:

• •DWP usually stops State Pension and benefit payments within a few working days. Any overpayments made after the date of death are recovered from the estate, don't spend pension money that arrives after the death.
• •HMRC updates the tax record and writes to the executor about the final tax position. This letter often arrives weeks later, keep an eye out.
• •The council cancels council tax, electoral register, blue badge, library and any council housing tenancy. Single-person discount usually applies from the date of death if a surviving partner remains.
• •DVLA and Passport Office cancel the driving licence and passport, you can shred them once confirmed, but many families return them by post for peace of mind.

You don't get a master receipt, but if a department needs anything else (a death certificate copy, the executor's details) they'll write directly. If you're unsure whether something has gone through, call 0800 085 7308 and quote the Tell Us Once reference.

Scotland and Northern Ireland

Scotland uses the same Tell Us Once service as England and Wales, the registrar in any Scottish register office will issue the reference, and the same gov.uk portal applies. The only differences are upstream: you have 8 days from the death to register (England and Wales count 5 days from the medical examiner's call), and Confirmation replaces probate later in the process.

Northern Ireland doesn't use Tell Us Once. Instead, it has an equivalent service called the Bereavement Service, reached on 0800 085 2463. It covers similar departments but is a single phone call rather than an online form.

What to do after Tell Us Once

Tell Us Once only handles government. Once it's done, the next step is the private side: banks, utilities, pensions and insurance. Our guide to closing accounts after a death walks through the order, and our full what-to-do checklist covers everything else.