Death Notification Service and Tell Us Once: How to Notify Everyone After a Death

After registering a death, you're handed a Tell Us Once reference number and told it will "notify everyone." It won't. Tell Us Once covers government departments only. Banks, insurers, utilities, and pension providers hear nothing — and the longer their accounts stay open, the higher the risk of continued direct debits, unauthorised access, or identity fraud.

What Tell Us Once Actually Does

Tell Us Once is a free government service that notifies public sector organisations in a single action. When you register the death at your local Register Office, the registrar will give you a unique reference number valid for 28 days.

Using that reference number online at GOV.UK (or by phone), Tell Us Once notifies:

• DWP — to stop State Pension and benefit payments
• HMRC — for personal tax, Child Benefit, and tax credits
• DVLA — to cancel the driving licence and vehicle tax
• Passport Office — to cancel the passport
• Local council — for Council Tax, electoral register, and housing
• Armed forces pension scheme (if applicable)

This saves you from contacting each department individually. But here's the critical gap: Tell Us Once has zero reach into the private sector.

What Tell Us Once Does NOT Cover

Tell Us Once will not notify:

• Banks and building societies
• Private pension providers
• Life insurance companies
• Mortgage lenders
• Utility companies (gas, electric, water)
• Broadband and mobile phone providers
• Subscription services (streaming, gym memberships)
• Private health insurance
• Credit card companies
• Investment platforms

These all require separate notification. If you don't act, direct debits continue draining the deceased's accounts, insurance policies may lapse without paying out, and pension overpayments create debts that must be repaid from the estate.

The Death Notification Service (DNS)

The Death Notification Service is the private-sector equivalent of Tell Us Once. It's a free, industry-led portal that notifies over 1,000 participating financial institutions — including Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, NatWest, Nationwide, and Santander — in a single submission.

To use it:

1. Visit the Death Notification Service website
2. Enter the deceased's details and your own contact information
3. Select which institutions to notify from the participating list
4. Submit — each institution typically responds within 10 working days

The DNS freezes accounts, stops card transactions, and alerts each institution that a death has occurred. They'll then contact you (as executor or next of kin) with specific instructions for releasing funds or closing accounts.

What DNS doesn't cover: Utilities, telecoms, subscriptions, and smaller financial providers. These still need individual calls or letters.

Your Reference Number: Don't Lose It

The Tell Us Once reference number expires after 28 days. If you miss this window, you'll need to contact every government department individually — by phone, post, or online form. There's no way to get a replacement reference or extend the deadline.

Write the reference number down in at least two places. Use it as soon as possible — ideally the same day you receive it.

A Practical Notification Sequence

In the first week after a death, work through notifications in this order:

Day 1-2:

• Complete Tell Us Once using your reference number
• Submit the Death Notification Service for all listed banks and financial institutions

Day 3-7:

• Call each utility company (gas, electric, water) to transfer or close accounts
• Contact the mortgage lender and any landlord
• Notify private pension providers — ask about survivor benefits and death-in-service payments
• Contact life insurance companies to start claims

Week 2-4:

• Cancel or transfer mobile phone, broadband, and subscription services
• Notify the deceased's employer (if working) about death-in-service benefits
• Contact any investment platforms or ISA providers
• Notify professional memberships, loyalty programmes, and charity direct debits

Keeping a log of every notification — who you contacted, the date, the reference number, and what they need from you — prevents the chaos of chasing the same organisations weeks later.

Protecting Against Identity Fraud

A death creates an identity fraud window. The deceased's personal details — name, address, date of birth, National Insurance number — are potentially accessible through public records, and credit applications can be made in their name.

To reduce this risk:

• Register the death with CIFAS (the UK's fraud prevention service) to flag the deceased's identity. This is free through the CIFAS Protective Registration service.
• Contact the three credit reference agencies (Experian, Equifax, TransUnion) to mark the deceased's file
• Cancel or redirect mail to prevent sensitive documents sitting in an empty property's letterbox
• Secure all physical documents — passports, driving licences, bank statements — that could be used for identity theft

If Tell Us Once is completed promptly, it automatically cancels the passport and driving licence — both commonly used for fraudulent identity verification. But the private sector gap means bank accounts and credit files remain vulnerable until you notify them separately.

Common Mistakes

Assuming Tell Us Once covers everything. The most dangerous assumption. Weeks later, you'll discover active bank accounts, insurance policies still deducting premiums, and subscription services auto-renewing.

Not using the Death Notification Service. Many families don't know DNS exists and instead call each bank individually — a process that takes hours and requires repeating the same information.

Letting the 28-day Tell Us Once window expire. Once it's gone, you're stuck with manual notifications to every government department. Set a reminder on your phone the day you receive the reference number.

Forgetting digital accounts. Email accounts, social media, cloud storage, and cryptocurrency wallets all need attention. Some platforms have legacy contact or memorialisation options — but they won't act unless you notify them.

The England Survivor Benefits Navigator includes a complete notification checklist covering both public and private sectors, with template letters and a tracking worksheet to log every contact.

See more England guides →