Tell Us Once Service: How It Works and How to Register (2026)

Tell Us Once is a service run by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) that allows you to report a death to most central government departments and your local council in a single step. Without it, you would need to contact each department individually: DWP to stop benefits, HMRC to update tax records, the Passport Office to cancel the passport, DVLA to update driving records, and the council for council tax and electoral register changes.

The service was introduced in 2012 and has since become available in most areas of England and Wales. It is one of the most genuinely helpful government services for bereaved people, though its name is slightly misleading because it does not cover everything. You will still need to contact many organisations yourself. More on that below.

Tell Us Once will notify the following on your behalf:

• + Department for Work and Pensions (DWP): Stops benefits and pensions (State Pension, Pension Credit, Universal Credit, ESA, JSA, Attendance Allowance, DLA, PIP, Carer's Allowance)
• + HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC): Updates tax records, stops tax credits, deals with the deceased's Self Assessment if applicable
• + HM Passport Office: Cancels the passport
• + Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA): Cancels the driving licence
• + Identity and Passport Service: Cancels identity documents
• + Local council: Updates council tax records, removes from the electoral register, cancels any blue badge, notifies housing benefit and council tax reduction teams
• + Veterans UK: If the person received an Armed Forces pension or compensation
• + National Savings and Investments (NS&I): If the person held Premium Bonds or other NS&I products

Each department will act on the notification independently. DWP will stop benefits (usually within a few days), HMRC will update tax records, and the council will adjust council tax. You do not need to follow up with each department unless there is a specific issue.

Have the following ready before you start:

• + The Tell Us Once reference number (from the registrar)
• + The deceased's National Insurance number
• + Their date of birth and date of death
• + Their full address
• + Driving licence number (if they had one)
• + Passport number (if they had one)
• + Details of any benefits or pensions they were receiving
• + Details of any council tax account
• + The name and address of the next of kin or person dealing with the estate
• + Details of any NS&I accounts (Premium Bonds, savings certificates)

Do not worry if you do not have all of these details. You can still complete the service and provide missing information later if needed. The system will not reject your report if some fields are left blank.

This is the part that catches most people out. Tell Us Once only covers government departments and local council services. You still need to contact the following yourself:

• + Banks and building societies
• + Credit card companies
• + Mortgage lenders
• + Insurance companies (home, car, life, health, pet, travel)
• + Utility companies (gas, electricity, water)
• + Phone, broadband, and TV providers
• + Subscription services (streaming, gym, magazines)
• + Social media companies
• + The person's employer
• + Private pension providers
• + Landlords or letting agents
• + Solicitors and accountants
• + Royal Mail (to redirect post)

Once you have completed Tell Us Once, the government side is largely handled. Your next priorities are:

• + Contact the bank to notify them and ask about releasing funds (see bank probate thresholds)
• + Contact home and car insurance companies (car insurance is void immediately upon death)
• + Arrange the funeral
• + Begin gathering documents for probate
• + Notify utility companies and update names on accounts

Our complete step-by-step checklist covers every task in order.

Scotland has its own version of Tell Us Once, which works in a very similar way. The registrar will provide you with the reference number when you register the death. You can complete it online or by phone. The service notifies the same government departments. For more details on the Scottish process, see our Scotland guide.

Tell Us Once is not available in Northern Ireland. You will need to contact each government department separately. This includes notifying the NI Social Security Agency, HMRC, the Passport Office, and the DVA (the Northern Ireland equivalent of DVLA). For more details, see our Northern Ireland guide.