Tell Us Once
Service
The free government service that reports a death to most government departments in one go, so you do not have to ring each of them yourself. England, Wales and Scotland.
Written by Steve Scott, founder of AfterLoss. Last reviewed: 11 September 2026
Tell Us Once is a free government service that reports a death to most central and local government organisations in a single step. Instead of contacting the DWP, HMRC, DVLA, HM Passport Office and your local council separately, one online session or one phone call does it for you. It is one of the first things to do after registering a death, and the registrar will give you what you need to use it.
Despite the name, one session does not tell everyone. Tell Us Once covers the government side. Banks, building societies, private pensions, insurers, utility companies and the NHS still need to hear from you directly, and that is where most of the work sits.
The service is available in England, Wales and Scotland. Northern Ireland does not have Tell Us Once, so there you notify each organisation individually. For a full overview of everything you need to do, see our complete guide to what to do when someone dies.
Watch: how Tell Us Once works
A short explainer of what Tell Us Once is, who it notifies, and how to start.
How Tell Us Once works
Register the death
Register the death at the register office. The registrar will either complete Tell Us Once with you or give you a unique reference number to use it yourself. If an inquest is delaying registration, you can still ask the registrar for a reference number once you have an interim death certificate.
Complete Tell Us Once
Use the reference number online at GOV.UK or by phone on the number the registrar gives you, within 28 days of receiving it. Have the person's National Insurance number, date of birth, and details of any benefits, pensions and their next of kin to hand. It takes around 15 minutes.
Departments are notified
Tell Us Once passes the details to the DWP, HMRC, HM Passport Office, DVLA, your local council, Veterans UK and the public sector pension schemes. Each one then writes to you in its own time.
What you will need
Have these to hand before you start; the session takes around 15 minutes with everything in front of you. It does not have to be the person who registered the death: anyone with the reference number and the details can do it.
- Your Tell Us Once reference number from the registrar.
- The person's National Insurance number and date of birth.
- The date and place of death, and the name of the hospital or care home if they died there.
- Details of any benefits, State Pension or public sector pension they were receiving.
- Their passport number, driving licence number and vehicle registration, if you have them.
- The name and address of the next of kin, any surviving spouse or civil partner, and whoever is dealing with the estate.
What Tell Us Once notifies
Tell Us Once contacts the following government departments and services on your behalf:
Central government
- DWP (State Pension and benefits)
- HMRC (tax, including any refund due to the estate)
- HM Passport Office (cancels the passport)
- DVLA (cancels the driving licence, not the vehicle)
- Veterans UK (war pensions and Armed Forces compensation)
- Public sector pension schemes: NHS, Civil Service, Armed Forces, local government, Scottish Public Pensions Agency and the Pension Protection Fund
Local council
- Council Tax and Council Tax Reduction
- Housing Benefit
- Blue Badge
- Electoral register
- Council housing services
Note: In Scotland, Tell Us Once also tells Social Security Scotland about devolved benefits.
Tasks where Tell Us Once helps
The following tasks in your bereavement checklist are partly or fully handled by Tell Us Once:
- Notify pension providers: Report the death and find out about survivor benefits
- Notify the council about council tax: Report the death and claim any discounts
Tell Us Once by jurisdiction
England & Wales
Tell Us Once is available across England and Wales. The registrar will either go through it with you at the appointment or give you a reference number to use online or by phone. Relay UK and a British Sign Language video relay service are available for the phone route.
Use Tell Us Once (GOV.UK)Scotland
Tell Us Once works in Scotland in the same way. In some areas the registrar completes it with you during the registration appointment; in others you are given a reference number to use online or by phone. Scotland's version also tells Social Security Scotland about devolved benefits. If the death was reported to the procurator fiscal, you can still use the service once you have an interim death certificate.
Tell Us Once (mygov.scot)Northern Ireland
Tell Us Once is not available in Northern Ireland. You will need to notify government organisations individually. The Bereavement Service (0800 085 2463, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm) can tell the Department for Communities and the benefit offices for you, but you will also need to separately contact:
- HMRC (for tax matters)
- DVLA (to cancel the driving licence)
- HM Passport Office (to cancel the passport)
- Land & Property Services (for rates)
- Electoral Office for Northern Ireland
What happens after you use Tell Us Once
Each department acts on the notification in its own time, so the letters arrive over the following weeks rather than all at once.
- HMRC writes about the person's tax position, including any refund due to the estate or any tax still owed.
- DWP stops the State Pension and any benefits. Payments made after the date of death usually have to be returned, and DWP will write to explain how.
- The passport and driving licence are cancelled. You will not normally hear from HM Passport Office or DVLA unless something needs checking.
- Your council adjusts the Council Tax. An empty home that is part of the estate can be exempt for up to six months. See our council tax after a death guide.
If a letter does not arrive: after four weeks, contact that department directly and quote your Tell Us Once reference number. The service occasionally misses one, and a direct call sorts it out.
What Tell Us Once does not cover
Tell Us Once only covers government departments. You will still need to contact the following organisations directly:
Financial
- Banks and building societies
- Private pension providers
- Workplace pension schemes (unless public sector)
- Insurance companies
- Credit card companies
- Investment providers
Services
- Gas, electricity, and water companies
- TV Licensing and Royal Mail redirection
- Phone and broadband providers
- Employers
- Landlords or mortgage lenders
- GP surgery, dentist and hospital appointments
Note: Tell Us Once will notify your council about council tax after a bereavement, but you may still need to stop certain benefits separately and notify the DVLA about a vehicle (Tell Us Once only handles the driving licence, not the car registration).
This is the bit Tell Us Once leaves you to do alone. AfterLoss has pre-filled email and phone scripts for the banks, utilities, insurers, and pension providers that aren't on the Tell Us Once list, so you're not starting fresh on each call.
Tip: Free services like the Death Notification Service (for banks) and Life Ledger (for utilities and services) can help you notify multiple private organisations in one go.
Frequently asked questions
Related guides
What to Do When Someone Dies
The essential first steps: from the medical examiner's call to securing the home. A plain-English overview of everything in the right order.
Stopping Benefits After a Death
Which benefits stop, how DWP claws back overpayments, and the benefits you might now be entitled to yourself.
Council Tax After a Death
Class F exemption for empty properties, single person discount, and how to transfer or cancel council tax.
Tell Us Once covers government. AfterLoss helps with everyone else.
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