Tell Us Once
Tell Us Once is a free service that lets you report a death to most government organisations in one go.
It enables you to report a death only once, telling central and local government services securely and confidentially without you having to inform them individually. We will provide you with a unique reference number so that you can use the Tell Us Once service.
Tell Us Once will notify:
- HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to deal with tax and cancel benefits
- the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to cancel benefits, like Income Support
- the Passport Office to cancel a British passport
- the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) to cancel a driving licence and to remove registered keeper details
- the local council to cancel Housing Benefit, Council Tax Benefit, or a Blue badge, and to inform council housing services and remove the person from the electoral register
- the public sector or armed forces pension schemes to update pension records.
How to use Tell Us Once
After you have registered the death with the Registrar, they will provide you with a unique Tell Us Once reference number, which will enable you to access the service online.
Tell Us Once for inquests, investigations and deaths abroad
You can use the Tell Us Once service if the deceased is currently the subject of a Coroner’s inquest or investigation, or if the death took place abroad.
To get a unique Tell Us Once reference number, please complete the below form.
A reference number will be emailed to you within 10 working days.
Get a Tell Us Once reference number
Before using Tell Us Once, it will help to have the deceased's:
- date of birth
- address
- National Insurance number
- driving licence number
- vehicle registration number
- passport number.
You will also need:
- details of any benefits or entitlements that they were receiving, like State Pension or Universal Credit
- details of any local council services that they were receiving, like Adult Social Services, a Blue Badge, or a travel pass
- 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 that they were getting or paying into
- permission from the next of kin, the executor, the administrator and anyone who was claiming benefits or entitlements jointly with the person who died, before you give their details.
There is no need for follow-up contact after you have used Tell Us Once, unless you have not received a confirmation from the relevant department after a month.
Once the various agencies informed by Tell Us Once have received notification of the death, they will make any necessary further contact with the bereaved family.
Tell Us Once is not a claim to benefit, so please contact the relevant department for advice.
Tell Us Once does not notify any commercial organisations of the death and cannot arrange for redirection of post.