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 which will include a video relay service for British Sign Language (BSL) users and Relay UK instructions if you cannot hear or speak on the phone. You must use this service within 28 days of receiving 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. You can find more about this by visiting our page on Coroner Involvement.
Your Tell Us Once reference number that you got from the Registrar and the following information about the deceased:
Name
Date of birth
Address
Date they died
Name, address and contact details of the person or company dealing with their estate, known as their ‘executor’ or ‘administrator’
If there’s a surviving spouse or civil partner, their name, address, telephone number and National Insurance number or date of birth
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
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
Please Note: Unless they were involved in a Local Government Pension Scheme, 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 will 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.
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) - to deal with personal tax and to cancel benefits and credits, for example Child Benefit and tax credits (you need to contact HMRC separately for business taxes, like VAT)
Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) - to cancel benefits and entitlements, for example Universal Credit or State Pension
Passport Office - to cancel a British passport
Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) - to cancel a licence, remove the person as the keeper of up to 5 vehicles and end the vehicle tax (you must contact DVLA separately if you either sell the vehicle or keep it and tax it in your own name)
The local council - to cancel Housing Benefit, Council Tax Reduction (sometimes called Council Tax Support), a Blue Badge, inform council housing services and remove the person from the electoral register
Veterans UK - to cancel or update Armed Forces Compensation Scheme payments
Social Security Scotland - to cancel benefits and entitlements from the Scottish Government, for example Scottish Child Payment
HMRC and DWP will contact you about the tax, benefits and entitlements of the person who died. Tell Us Once will also contact some public sector pension schemes so that they cancel future pension payments. They’ll notify:
My Civil Service Pension
NHS Pensions for NHS staff in England and Wales
Armed Forces Pension Scheme
Scottish Public Pension Agency schemes for NHS staff, teachers, police and firefighters in Scotland
Local Government Pension Schemes (LGPS) that participate in Tell Us Once
You choose not to use the Tell Us Once service
You cannot use Tell Us Once because the person was living abroad