Tell Us Once: what it covers and what families still need to do
This guide explains what the Tell Us Once service covers, how to use it, and the long list of private organisations it does not reach, which is where most of the notification work actually sits.
What is the Tell Us Once service?
Tell Us Once is a free government service that lets you report a death to multiple public sector organisations at the same time. Instead of contacting each department individually, you provide the information once and the Tell Us Once service distributes it on your behalf. You access it through your local register office when you register the death, as set out in our guide on how to register a death, or online through the Tell Us Once service on GOV.UK.
What is covered by the Tell Us Once service?
Tell Us Once notifies five main areas of government: HM Revenue and Customs, the Department for Work and Pensions, the DVLA, the Passport Office and your local council. One session updates all of them.
Department for Work and Pensions (DWP): benefits and government services the person received
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC): tax records and tax credits
Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA): the deceased's driver and vehicle records
Passport Office: the deceased's passport
Local council: council tax, housing benefit and library services
The council notification then flows through to local services, so council tax, housing benefit and libraries are updated without separate calls. What changes on the bill itself is covered in what happens to council tax when someone dies.
Telling HMRC through Tell Us Once starts the tax side, but the executor may still need direct contact with HMRC later. Our guide on how to notify HMRC after a death explains when separate contact is needed.
How do you use Tell Us Once?
You use Tell Us Once through the register office when you register the death, or online at GOV.UK within 28 days of receiving the reference number from the registrar. Many register offices will run the Tell Us Once session with you there and then; otherwise the registrar gives you a unique reference number to use online or by phone.
To complete the session you will need:
the deceased's National Insurance number and date of birth
details of any benefits, tax credits, or government services they used
your own ID and contact details
The Tell Us Once service is available across most of England, Scotland, and Wales. Northern Ireland operates a similar but separate process.
What does Tell Us Once not cover?
Tell Us Once does not cover banks, insurers, pension providers, utility companies or any other private organisation. The service only reaches the public sector, regardless of how many details you provide.
The following sit entirely outside its scope:
banks and building societies
insurers and pension providers
utility companies and telecoms providers
mortgage lenders
subscription services and streaming platforms
digital accounts such as PayPal, Apple ID, and email
This is where most of the administrative work actually sits. The average person holds accounts with a significant number of private organisations by the time they die: current accounts, savings, ISAs, credit cards, store cards, insurance policies, energy suppliers, mobile contracts, and others. Each requires a separate notification, through each organisation's own process, with its own documentation requirements. Our complete UK list of who to notify when someone dies shows the full picture.
What do families still need to do after Tell Us Once?
After Tell Us Once, families still need to notify every private organisation the person held an account with, one by one. Families often leave the register office with the impression that the main administrative burden has been handled. For government services, it has been. The problem surfaces weeks or months later.
Direct debits continue drawing from accounts. Subscriptions renew. Letters addressed to the person who died keep arriving. Refunds go unclaimed because accounts were never formally notified. In some cases, missed cancellations become arrears, or active accounts create exposure to mail theft and identity fraud.
None of this is the family's fault. The information gap is structural. There is no equivalent of Tell Us Once for the private sector, and there is no central register that automatically flags all accounts associated with a deceased person. The Death Notification Service covers a group of banks and building societies in one submission, but nothing covers the private sector as a whole. For everything with a login rather than a branch, see how to cancel a deceased person's subscriptions and digital accounts.
Each private organisation has its own bereavement process. Most require a death certificate (an original or a certified copy), the account details where known, and, for higher-value accounts, a grant of probate or letters of administration before funds can be released. Most banks have a dedicated bereavement team, and contacting that team directly, rather than a general customer service line, usually results in a more straightforward process. For someone with a modest number of accounts, it is still commonly a dozen or more separate processes, each with its own timeline.
There is no fixed legal deadline for notifying private organisations after a death, but delays create practical problems: ongoing payments continue, interest may accrue on credit agreements, and fraud risk increases the longer accounts remain active and unmonitored. Many organisations can flag an account as a bereavement case before formal legal authority is in place, so it is worth starting as soon as circumstances allow.
How do you find the accounts Tell Us Once misses?
You find the deceased's private accounts by reviewing their bank statements, post, email and direct debit records, supported by a small set of free tracing tools. People do not maintain a comprehensive list of their financial and digital accounts, and no organisation is obliged to come forward after a death unless it is contacted.
Three partial tools help:
My Lost Account (mylostaccount.org.uk) searches for dormant bank accounts, savings accounts, and NS&I products including Premium Bonds.
The Pension Tracing Service (gov.uk/find-pension-contact-details) traces workplace and personal pensions where the provider details are unknown.
The Bereavement Register can reduce the volume of marketing mail arriving in the deceased's name.
None of these tools provides a complete picture. A review of the deceased's bank statements over the preceding 12 months will typically reveal most active financial relationships.
What do executors need to keep in mind?
If you are acting as executor under a will, or as administrator where there is no will, you have a legal responsibility to identify and notify all relevant organisations, settle outstanding debts, and distribute the estate correctly. Missing an account can affect the accuracy of the estate accounts and, in some cases, create personal liability.
Probate or letters of administration will be required to access most sole accounts above a certain value. The threshold varies by institution but is commonly around £5,000 to £25,000. Some organisations will release funds without probate where a small estates declaration is accepted instead.
Frequently asked questions
Tell Us Once notifies HM Revenue and Customs, the Department for Work and Pensions, the DVLA, the Passport Office and the local council. The council notification covers council tax, housing benefit and library services. Tell Us Once does not notify any private organisation, so banks, insurers, utilities and subscription services all need separate contact.
The registrar gives you a Tell Us Once reference number when you register the death at your local register office. You then use that unique reference number to complete the Tell Us Once service online at GOV.UK, or the register office may run the session with you at the appointment itself.
You have 28 days to use Tell Us Once, counted from the day you receive the reference number from the registrar. Using the service inside that window means HMRC, the DWP, the DVLA, the Passport Office and the council are all told of the death in one session.
No, Tell Us Once does not notify banks. The service reaches public sector organisations only, so banks, building societies, insurers, pension providers, utility companies and subscription services must each be contacted separately, through each organisation's own bereavement process, usually with a copy of the death certificate.
Yes, Tell Us Once is a free government service. There is no charge to use it at the register office, online or by phone. You need the deceased's National Insurance number and date of birth, details of any benefits or services they used, and your own ID and contact details.
This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Individual circumstances vary. If you are dealing with an estate, consider taking advice from a solicitor who specialises in probate. For other guidance specific to your circumstances, speak to a funeral director, Citizens Advice, or a regulated financial adviser.