The Death Notification Service (DNS): what it is, who is signed up, and how to use it
This guide covers which institutions are signed up, which are not, how to complete a notification, and what happens next.
What is the Death Notification Service (DNS)?
The Death Notification Service (DNS) is a free online portal at deathnotificationservice.co.uk that lets you tell several UK banks, building societies and financial institutions about a death using one form. The Death Notification Service is operated by Equiniti in collaboration with UK Finance, the trade body for the UK banking and finance industry.
Anyone with the right to act for the deceased can register and submit a notification: the executor, the administrator, the next of kin, or someone they have authorised. Around 1 in 6 notifications come from solicitors and other professionals.
The Death Notification Service does not close accounts. The Death Notification Service is a notification gateway: it passes the death to each organisation you tick, and that organisation's bereavement team contacts you with its own process, document list and small estates threshold.
The service launched in 2018. The Death Notification Service handled over 100,000 notifications in its first 18 months and passed 600,000 by 2024. Around half of all UK deaths now generate a notification through it.
The Death Notification Service is the private sector counterpart to Tell Us Once, which handles HMRC, the DWP, the DVLA and your local council in one notification.
Which banks use the Death Notification Service?
Most of the major UK banking groups use the Death Notification Service, and membership stood at more than 40 firms as of April 2026. The members fall into these groups:
Major high-street banking groups: Barclays, Lloyds Banking Group, NatWest Group, HSBC UK, Santander UK and Nationwide, all signed up since launch in 2018.
Building societies: several are members, though some smaller societies are not.
Credit card providers: a number are members, but not every card issuer.
Motor finance lenders: a number are members.
Private banks: a number are members.
Equiniti shareholder services: included, covering the shareholdings Equiniti administers as registrar.
The membership covers most household-name banking brands, but not every brand under every group. App-based and digital banks are inconsistently represented. Some smaller building societies, credit unions and specialist lenders are not signed up at all.
Because the membership changes, the live list inside the portal is the only authoritative reference. The form shows the current selectable members when you reach that step, so we do not publish a separate list.
Tick the parent group as well as the brand. A Halifax account means also ticking Lloyds Banking Group, and a First Direct account means also ticking HSBC UK.
If the bank you need is not a member, contact its bereavement team directly. Every UK bank runs one, and our guide on how to notify a bank after someone dies sets out the documents and timescales.
Which providers are not signed up to the Death Notification Service?
No insurance company, pension provider, utility company or subscription service is signed up to the Death Notification Service, and around half of UK current account providers are not signed up either. These are the gaps that catch families out:
Insurers: no insurance company is a member, so life, home, car, travel, pet and health insurance all need direct contact. Life insurance is often the largest single payout the estate receives.
Pension providers: personal pensions, SIPPs, workplace pensions and annuities all sit outside the Death Notification Service.
Utilities: gas, electricity, water, broadband, mobile and TV providers each need a separate notification to their own bereavement team.
Subscriptions and digital accounts: streaming, software, app store, social media and online retail accounts are all outside the service, and Apple, Google, Microsoft and Meta each run their own process.
Some banks and most fintechs: around half of UK current account providers are not members, and several app-based and challenger banks handle bereavement through their own app or website.
Loyalty schemes, memberships and store cards: Tesco Clubcard, Nectar, Boots Advantage Card, store credit cards, gym memberships, professional bodies and trade associations.
NS&I: Premium Bonds and other National Savings and Investments products need a direct claim through the NS&I bereavement service.
Most investment firms: the majority are not members.
Which? found that only 12 of 34 UK current account providers were signed up to the Death Notification Service, as of June 2025. Its investigation found that most, though not all, app-based providers were missing from the list, without naming specific firms.
Plan for the Death Notification Service to handle perhaps 30 to 40 percent of the notifications you need to make. The rest need direct contact.
Tell Us Once covers several public sector pension schemes, including the NHS, civil service, armed forces, teachers, police, firefighters and the Local Government Pension Scheme. Private and workplace pensions sit outside both services, so our guide on what happens to a pension when someone dies covers each type. For savings held with National Savings and Investments, follow the process for NS&I bereavement claims, and for streaming and social media accounts, our guide on how to cancel a deceased person’s subscriptions sets out each platform's route.
How do you use the Death Notification Service?
You use the Death Notification Service by registering at deathnotificationservice.co.uk with a valid email address and completing one form. The form has four steps:
Register an account. You need a working email address.
Provide your own details. You are asked your relationship to the deceased and to confirm your authority to act.
Provide the deceased's details. Full name, date of birth, date of death and last address are required. Account numbers are useful but not essential.
Select the organisations to notify. Choose from the live list of members shown in the form, and select as many as apply.
Once you submit the form, the Death Notification Service runs identity and fraud checks against the General Register Office's death records, so only genuine registered deaths pass through. The data is then routed to each institution you selected.
Gather what you can before you start: bank statements, debit and credit cards, building society passbooks and investment statements all help you tick the right organisations.
There is no time limit on using the service, so a delayed estate or an account you have only just found can still be notified.
The Death Notification Service helpline is 0333 207 6574, open Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 5.30pm, for help with registration or with the form.
What happens after you submit a Death Notification Service form?
Every institution you selected contacts you separately within 10 working days, and most reply within 5 working days. The format varies between a letter, an email and a link to the bank's own bereavement portal. Each institution tells you four things:
Whether an account exists: confirmation of whether it has located an account in the deceased's name.
Documents required: what it needs to close or transfer the account.
Its small estates threshold: the amount it will release without a grant of probate.
Its timescales: the estimate for completing its own bereavement process.
Thresholds vary, so our guide to what is probate explains when a grant is needed.
If an institution finds an account, its bereavement process begins. If it does not, it confirms that no further action is needed. That reply has value on its own, because the Death Notification Service confirms or rules out an old account you were unsure about.
If you have not heard from a selected institution within 2 weeks, contact it directly. Notifications are occasionally missed or misrouted. The helpline can confirm whether your notification was passed through, but cannot resolve a problem inside an individual bank.
Is the Death Notification Service legitimate?
Yes, the Death Notification Service is legitimate. The Death Notification Service is operated by Equiniti, a regulated financial services company that has acted as registrar for many UK listed companies for decades, and it was set up in collaboration with UK Finance. It is a free notification gateway funded by its member institutions, not a commercial service selling estate administration.
A small number of confusingly named third parties describe themselves as death notification providers but are paid administration services. Go directly to deathnotificationservice.co.uk rather than clicking a search result or sponsored link, and check the web address before entering details.
Using the service is itself a fraud precaution. Once a member institution knows the person has died, it can flag the accounts as deceased, which shortens the window for a fraudulent application.
What is the difference between the Death Notification Service, Tell Us Once and the Bereavement Register?
These three services reach different organisations, and none of them replaces the others:
Tell Us Once: central and local government, including HMRC, the DWP, the DVLA, the Passport Office, your local council and several public sector pension schemes.
The Death Notification Service: its member banks, building societies and financial institutions, more than 40 firms as of April 2026.
The Bereavement Register and the Deceased Preference Service: direct marketing mail addressed to the person who died.
Our guide to the Bereavement Register explains how each mail service works and when to use it.
Most families use all of them. Together they cover government, the member banks and direct marketing, roughly half of the typical bereavement admin workload. The other half, meaning insurers, pensions, utilities, broadband, subscriptions and digital accounts, needs direct contact.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, the Death Notification Service is completely free to use. The participating banks, building societies and financial institutions cover the running cost between them, so there is no charge to the family, the executor or the administrator. The helpline on 0333 207 6574 is open Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 5.30pm.
No, you do not need a death certificate to submit a notification. The Death Notification Service verifies the death against the General Register Office's records instead of asking you to upload a certificate. Individual banks may still ask for a certified copy later, as part of their own bereavement process.
Yes, you can use the Death Notification Service if you have the authority to act. The form asks you to confirm your relationship to the deceased and that you are acting as the executor, the administrator, the next of kin, or with the permission of the person holding that role.
Contact that bank's bereavement team directly, because every UK bank runs one whether or not the bank is a member. Around half of UK current account providers are not signed up, so this is common. The bank's website or main customer service number will route you to the bereavement team.
No, using the Death Notification Service does not trigger probate and does not replace it, because probate is a separate application made through the Probate Service on GOV.UK. Some banks release funds below their small estates threshold without a grant, whichever way the death was notified to them.
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.