Who to tell when someone dies: in what order, and what each one asks for
Every organisation that needs to know, grouped by when to do it, with what each one will ask you for and what happens once they've been told. Print it, tick it off, and keep it with the death certificates. Written for England and Wales.
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The short version
- Order 5–10 death certificates when you register. Almost everyone below wants to see one, and most won't accept a photocopy.
- Two free services do most of the heavy lifting. Tell Us Once covers government. The Death Notification Service covers most high street banks and building societies, in one form each.
- Insurers and the mortgage lender come next, especially if a home is now empty or a car is sitting on the drive.
- Then pensions, utilities, the post and everyone else. Register with the two free "stop the marketing mail" services early; it takes years otherwise.
- Keep a log. Who you told, when, how, and the reference number. You'll be asked for it more than once.
The organisations that need to know about a death don't talk to each other. Each one has to be told separately, each one wants slightly different paperwork, and each one will keep writing to the person who died until it's done. This page is the list: who to tell, in the order that causes the least trouble, and what each of them will ask you for.
It sits alongside our broader guide to what to do when someone dies. If you'd rather not do the notifying yourself, Solace writes to every institution for you and tracks the replies.
What to have ready before you start
Nearly every conversation below asks for the same handful of things. Gather them once and keep them together.
- Death certificates (5–10 originals, ordered at registration)
- Tell Us Once reference from the registrar (valid 28 days)
- Full name, any previous names, and date of birth
- Date and place of death
- Last address and previous addresses
- National Insurance number
- Passport and driving licence numbers
- The will, or confirmation there isn't one
- Your own photo ID and proof of address
- Your relationship to the person, and whether you're the executor
- Account, policy and customer reference numbers as you find them
- Marriage or civil partnership certificate, if there's a surviving partner
If you can't find account numbers, don't wait. Most organisations can trace an account from a name, date of birth and address. Recent post, bank statements and the online banking app are the fastest way to build the list.
First: the people who need to know within days
Days 0–5
| Who | How | What they'll ask for | What happens next |
|---|---|---|---|
| GP or hospital | Usually already aware. Ring the surgery to cancel appointments and repeat prescriptions. | Name, date of birth, date of death. | Records closed. Return unused medication to a pharmacy and any equipment (hospital bed, oxygen) to the loan service. |
| The registrar | Book an appointment at the register office in the district where the death happened. Within 5 days. | Medical certificate of cause of death (sent electronically by the doctor), the person's full details, and your ID. | You receive the death certificate, the green certificate for burial or cremation, and a Tell Us Once reference. |
| Funeral director | Phone. Most are available around the clock. | Where the person is, whether the death has been verified, and who the next of kin is. | They collect the person and hold them until the paperwork is complete. Ask for the itemised price list; they're required to give it. |
| Employer | Phone the line manager or HR. Do this early; it also unlocks pay, pension and death-in-service benefits. | Date of death, and later a death certificate for payroll and the pension scheme. | Final salary and any holiday pay are paid to the estate. HR will tell you whether there's a death-in-service benefit and who the scheme pays it to. |
| Landlord, housing association or care home | Phone, then confirm in writing. | A death certificate and who the executor is. | The tenancy doesn't end automatically. Rent may keep running until notice is served, so ask for the notice period and any refund of fees paid in advance. |
Government: Tell Us Once
Week 1 · Free · Do it within 28 days
The registrar gives you a reference for Tell Us Once. Use it online or by phone and it tells the government departments below in one go. The reference expires after 28 days, so do it in the first week while you have the details to hand.
| Who | How | What they'll ask for | What happens next |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tell Us OnceNotifies HMRC, DWP, DVLA, HM Passport Office, the local council, Veterans UK and most public sector pension schemes | Online at GOV.UK or by phone, using the reference from the registrar. | Date of birth, National Insurance number, driving licence and passport numbers, any benefits or services they received, and the names of a surviving spouse or civil partner, next of kin and the person dealing with the estate. | State Pension and benefits stop. Council tax, blue badge, housing benefit and electoral register are updated. The passport and driving licence are cancelled. HMRC starts the final tax position. |
| DWP (direct) | Ring the Bereavement Service if any pension or benefit is still being paid after two to three weeks. | The Tell Us Once reference, or the same details again. | Any State Pension paid after the death has to be repaid from the estate, so it's worth checking rather than assuming. |
| HMRC (direct) | Write, if the person filed self assessment or ran a business. | Unique Taxpayer Reference, date of death, executor's details. | A final return may be needed to the date of death. Tax owed is a debt of the estate; overpaid tax is an asset of it. |
| Local council (direct) | Covered by Tell Us Once, but ring the council tax team if a partner still lives in the home or the property is now empty. | The account number and who now lives there. | A surviving adult living alone gets the 25% single-person discount. An empty home owned by the person who died is exempt until probate is granted and for up to six months after. |
If you don't use Tell Us Once, you must tell each of these departments yourself. Post the passport back to HM Passport Office and the driving licence to the DVLA, each with a covering letter, rather than leaving them in a drawer.
Banks and building societies: the Death Notification Service
Week 1 · Free
The Death Notification Service is the banks' equivalent of Tell Us Once. It's free, run by the banking industry, and one online form notifies most of the big high street banks, building societies and card providers on the same day. You still deal with each institution individually afterwards, but it replaces the first round of phone calls and they all get the same details.
| Who | How | What they'll ask for | What happens next |
|---|---|---|---|
| Death Notification ServiceMost major banks, building societies, credit card and savings providers. Check the participating list on the site. | One online form. You don't need to know the account numbers; you tick the institutions you think they used. | The person's name, date of birth, date of death and last address; your details and relationship. A death certificate can be uploaded then or supplied later. | Each bank contacts you within about ten working days with its own bereavement form and a list of what it wants. Sole accounts are frozen; joint accounts usually carry on for the survivor. |
| Banks not on the serviceSmaller banks, app-only banks, credit unions | Each bank's bereavement team, by phone or through a bereavement form on its website. | Death certificate (original or certified copy), your ID, and later the will or grant of probate. | Same as above. Ask each bank what its release threshold is: the balance below which it will pay out on a death certificate alone, without probate. |
| Credit cards, store cards, loans | Included in the Death Notification Service where the lender takes part; otherwise ring the lender. | Death certificate and the executor's details. | The card is cancelled and interest is usually paused. The balance is a debt of the estate, not yours personally, unless the account was joint or you guaranteed it. |
Freezing an account stops everything leaving it, including the mortgage, the home insurance and the energy direct debit. Before you freeze, note what goes out of the account each month so nothing important lapses unnoticed. Banks will still pay the funeral bill, inheritance tax and the probate fee directly from a frozen account on request.
Insurers and the mortgage lender
Week 1–2 · Home and car first
| Who | How | What they'll ask for | What happens next |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home insurer | Phone, as soon as you know whether the home will be empty. Don't wait for the certificate. | Policy number, date of death, who now lives there or whether it's unoccupied. | Most policies restrict or withdraw cover once a home has been empty for 30 to 60 days. The insurer will either add unoccupied cover or tell you what conditions apply (heating on, weekly visits). An uninsured empty house is the most expensive avoidable risk on this list. |
| Car insurer | Phone before anyone drives the car. | Policy number and date of death. | The policy usually ends on death, so nobody else is covered to drive it, even a named driver. The insurer will refund any unused premium or transfer the policy. Tell the DVLA who the new keeper is, or declare it off the road. |
| Mortgage lender | Phone the bereavement team, then write. | Death certificate, the account number, and whether there's a surviving borrower. | The debt doesn't disappear. Ask whether payments can be paused while the estate is sorted, and whether any linked life or mortgage protection policy will clear the balance. |
| Life insurer | Phone to start a claim; they'll send a form. | Policy number, death certificate, claim form, and evidence of who is entitled: the will, the grant of probate, or the trust nomination if the policy was written in trust. | A policy written in trust pays the named beneficiaries directly, often within weeks and outside the estate. Otherwise the payout goes to the estate and usually waits for the grant. |
| Other policiesTravel, health, pet, gadget, breakdown, funeral plan | Phone or email each provider. | Policy number and death certificate. | Cancelled, with a refund of any unused premium where the policy allows. A pre-paid funeral plan is claimed by the funeral director, so tell them it exists. |
Pensions, employer and benefits
Week 1–3
| Who | How | What they'll ask for | What happens next |
|---|---|---|---|
| State Pension | Stopped by Tell Us Once. Ring the DWP directly if payments continue. | National Insurance number. | Any overpayment is reclaimed from the estate. A surviving spouse or civil partner may be able to inherit part of it; the DWP will write to them. |
| Workplace and private pensionsEvery scheme they ever paid into, including old employers | Phone each scheme's bereavement team. Use the free Pension Tracing Service for schemes you can't find. | Death certificate, scheme or member number, National Insurance number; for a survivor's pension, the marriage or civil partnership certificate and the survivor's date of birth. | Payments stop. The scheme decides who receives any lump sum or survivor's pension, guided by the "expression of wish" form on file, so ask whether one exists. Most pension lump sums sit outside the estate. |
| Employer's pension and death-in-service | Through HR, who will pass you to the scheme. | Death certificate and the nominated beneficiaries' details. | Death-in-service is typically two to four times salary, paid at the trustees' discretion to the people nominated. It can arrive well before probate. |
| Benefits for youBereavement Support Payment, Funeral Expenses Payment | Claim through GOV.UK or the DWP. | Your National Insurance number, the death certificate, and for the funeral payment the funeral director's invoice. | Bereavement Support Payment for a spouse or civil partner under State Pension age is worth claiming within three months to get the full amount. The funeral payment must be claimed within six months of the funeral. |
Utilities, household and the post
Week 2–4
| Who | How | What they'll ask for | What happens next |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gas and electricity | Phone the supplier's bereavement line. Take a meter reading on the day you call. | Account number, the meter readings, and who the account should move to or when the property will be empty. | The account is closed or put into the survivor's or executor's name. Don't cancel supply to an empty house in winter; keep the heating ticking over for the insurer. |
| Water | Phone or online form. | Account number and the new account holder. | Same as above. Some companies offer a bereavement discount or payment pause. |
| Broadband, landline, mobile | Phone. Most have a dedicated bereavement team that waives the exit fee. | Account number and a death certificate if they ask. | Contract ended without penalty, or transferred. Keep the mobile number live for a few weeks; it's often the second factor for online banking and the way to reach contacts you don't know. |
| TV Licence | Online at TV Licensing, or phone. | Licence number and the new occupier's name. | Transferred to whoever lives there, or cancelled with a refund for any full months left. |
| Royal Mail redirection | Apply by post using the "special circumstances" redirection for someone who has died. | The completed form, a death certificate and proof you're entitled to act: the will, the grant of probate, or a solicitor's letter. There's a fee, by 3, 6 or 12 months. | All their post comes to you. This is the single best tool you have for finding accounts and policies nobody knew about, so set it up for at least six months. |
| Stop the marketing mailThe Bereavement Register and the Deceased Preference Service | Register with both, online. Both are free and take a few minutes. | The person's name, address and date of death, and your details. | The name is removed from the mailing lists that marketers buy. Without this, catalogues and offers addressed to the person keep arriving for years. They cover different lists, so do both. |
| Subscriptions and direct debits | Work down the last three months of bank statements and cancel each one. | Account or membership number; occasionally a death certificate. | Streaming, gym, magazines, charities, lottery, software. Most cancel on the spot; a few refund the unused period if asked. |
Everyone else
Week 2–6 · As you find them
| Who | How | What they'll ask for | What happens next |
|---|---|---|---|
| NS&IPremium Bonds, savings certificates, ISAs | Online claim form or by post. | Death certificate, holder's number if known, and the grant of probate if the total holding is above NS&I's threshold. | Premium Bonds stay in the draw for 12 months after death and can then be cashed in or, in some cases, kept by the estate for that period. |
| Shares and investmentsShare registrars (Equiniti, Computershare, Link), platforms, ISAs | Write to each registrar or platform. | Death certificate, share certificates or account numbers, and the grant of probate before anything is sold or transferred. | Holdings are frozen and valued at the date of death. Dividends keep accruing to the estate. |
| Student Loans Company | Post a death certificate with a covering letter. | Death certificate (original or certified copy) and the customer reference number. | The loan is cancelled. It's never recovered from the estate. |
| Solicitor and accountant | Phone. | Your ID and proof you're the executor. | The solicitor may hold the original will or deeds. The accountant can confirm the tax position and any business interests. |
| Companies HouseIf they were a company director or owner | The remaining directors file the change online. | Date of death. | The directorship is ended. Shares in a private company pass through the estate, and the articles may restrict who can hold them. |
| Council servicesBlue badge, bus pass or Freedom Pass, library, parking permit | Return the badge or pass to the issuing council. | The badge or pass itself. | Cancelled. Using a dead person's blue badge is an offence, so don't leave it in the car. |
| Clubs, memberships and charities | Email or phone. | Membership number. | Cancelled; regular gifts to charities stop. Tell the charity if the family would like donations in memory directed to it. |
| Online accounts and social mediaEmail, Facebook, Apple, Google, Amazon, PayPal, crypto | Each platform has a "deceased account" process, usually a form. | Death certificate, proof of relationship, and sometimes the grant of probate for anything holding money. | Facebook and Instagram can be memorialised or deleted. Apple and Google release data only through their legacy contact schemes or a court order. PayPal and other balances are estate assets. |
| Dentist, optician, hospital consultants | Phone. | Name and date of birth. | Appointments and reminders stop. |
After the grant of probate
If the estate needs probate (see our guide to whether it does), most of the organisations above will hold what they have until they see the grant. When it arrives, this is the second round:
- Send a sealed copy of the grant to every bank, building society, NS&I, share registrar, life insurer and pension scheme that asked for one. Order enough copies with the application; they cost £2 each and every institution wants its own.
- Include the closure form each one sent you in the first round, with the executor's account details for where the money should go.
- Land Registry, if there's a property to sell or transfer, needs the grant and the relevant transfer form.
- HMRC needs a final income tax return to the date of death and, if the estate earns income while it's being administered, a return for that too.
Keeping the log
Every organisation on this page will, at some point, ask what you've already sent them. Keep one sheet or spreadsheet with a row per organisation: date told, how, who you spoke to, the reference number, what you sent, and what they're waiting for. It's the difference between a phone call that takes two minutes and one that takes twenty. It's also the record that shows, if anyone ever asks, that you did the job properly.
Solace keeps this log automatically. It writes to each institution, files the reply, and shows you what's outstanding. If you'd like it to do the notifying, get in touch.
Common questions
Who do you have to notify when someone dies in the UK?
Government departments (via Tell Us Once), banks and building societies, pension providers, insurers, the mortgage lender or landlord, utilities, and any employer. Beyond that, anyone who was sending the person bills, statements or post. There's no single master list; this page is the closest thing to one.
What is the Death Notification Service?
A free online service run by the UK banking industry. One form notifies most of the major banks, building societies and card providers that a customer has died. Each institution then contacts you with its own requirements. It's the banks' equivalent of the government's Tell Us Once.
How many death certificates do I need?
Most people need somewhere between five and ten. Banks, pension schemes, insurers and share registrars each want an original or certified copy, and they don't all return them quickly. They're much cheaper to order at registration than afterwards.
How do I stop junk mail addressed to someone who has died?
Register the person, free of charge, with both the Bereavement Register and the Deceased Preference Service. They remove the name from the mailing lists that marketers use. Do both, because they cover different lists, and set up a Royal Mail redirection so anything that still arrives comes to you.
Can I keep driving their car?
Not until the insurer confirms cover. Most policies end when the policyholder dies, which means named drivers are no longer insured either. Ring the insurer first, then tell the DVLA who the new keeper is.
What happens if I don't tell an organisation?
Payments keep going out, benefits keep being paid and have to be repaid, and the estate can't be closed. For an empty home, unreported to the insurer, a claim can be refused. It's rarely a legal offence in itself, but it makes everything slower and costs the estate money.
Related guides
Important
Solace is not a firm of solicitors and does not provide legal, tax or financial advice. We are an estate administration service and we are not regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, the Financial Conduct Authority or any equivalent body. Nothing in this guide constitutes legal, tax or financial advice, and no solicitor–client relationship is created by reading it.
This article is general information only. It reflects the position in England and Wales at the date shown above; the law and the figures change, and Scotland and Northern Ireland differ in important respects. It may not apply to your circumstances. Administering an estate carries personal legal responsibility, and you should obtain advice from a qualified solicitor, accountant or other regulated professional where appropriate. Always check current rates, fees and deadlines against GOV.UK before acting. Third-party services named here are independent of Solace.