How to Notify Agencies After a Death in NWT: The Complete Checklist

The paperwork that follows a death involves two distinct categories: claiming what you're entitled to and stopping what was issued to the deceased. Both matter financially. Overpayments of CPP, OAS, or territorial benefits that continue after a death must be returned to the government — sometimes with interest — and recovery can create serious cash-flow problems for an estate that has already been partially distributed. Health cards and driver's licences that remain active in a deceased person's name can enable identity theft.

This post covers the notification and cancellation steps that NWT families need to complete, roughly in order of urgency.

Before You Start: Get Multiple Death Certificates

Every agency on this list will require either the original Death Certificate or a certified true copy. A photocopy is not accepted. Some agencies will keep the copy on file; others will return it.

Apply for the Death Certificate through the NWT Vital Statistics office in Inuvik as soon as possible after the death. Applications can be submitted via the territorial eServices portal, by email to the health care card administration team, by fax (if paying by credit card), or by mail to Bag #9, Inuvik. Expedited processing is available for an additional fee.

Order at minimum six certified copies. You will need them for: the federal agencies (Service Canada, CRA), the Land Titles Office if property transfer is required, financial institutions, the Sun Life health plan, and possibly the WSCC and other territorial agencies. Running out of certified copies partway through the process causes significant delays.

Federal Agencies: Contact Service Canada First

Canada Pension Plan (CPP) — Stop Payments and Apply for Death Benefit

If the deceased was receiving CPP retirement or disability payments, contact Service Canada at 1-800-277-9914 to report the death. CPP payments are issued at the end of each month for that month. Any payment received after the date of death must be returned.

At the same time, apply for the CPP Death Benefit ($2,500 one-time payment to the estate) and the CPP Survivor's Pension (ongoing monthly payment for the surviving spouse). You do both through Service Canada using form ISP1200 (Death Benefit) and ISP1000 (Survivor's Pension). These are separate applications, and you need to file both — they are not automatically triggered by notification of the death.

Old Age Security (OAS) — Stop Payments

OAS is also administered by Service Canada. If the deceased was receiving OAS, report the death through the same 1-800-277-9914 number. OAS payments received after the date of death must be returned to the government. Do not spend these funds — they are considered overpayments and will be recovered from the estate.

Guaranteed Income Supplement (GIS)

If the deceased was receiving GIS alongside OAS, it will stop automatically when OAS is cancelled. Confirm this with the Service Canada representative when you call.

Employment Insurance (EI)

If the deceased was receiving EI benefits, report the death to Service Canada. You may also apply for an EI death benefit if the deceased had insurable hours in their work history — this is a separate, less well-known benefit. The estate or a family member may be entitled to receive the remaining EI payment balance.

Territorial Health Coverage: Two Separate Steps

Cancel the NWT Health Care Card

The NWT Health Care Plan is administered by the Health Services Administration Office. To cancel the health card of a deceased person, contact the Health Services Administration Office. This office also handles the eServices portal and the Vital Statistics applications, so you may already be in contact with them regarding the Death Certificate.

Provide the deceased's health care card number, full name, date of birth, and date of death. Return the physical health card if you have it. The Health Services Administration Office can be reached through the main territorial health services contact line.

Update Your Own Health Coverage: Sun Life

This step is frequently missed and can cause significant problems. If your household was covered under the NWT Health Care Plan and your spouse was the primary policyholder or you had family coverage, you must update your status.

The NWT health plan supplementary coverage (prescription drugs, dental, extended benefits) for territorial employees and others covered through a plan administrator involves Sun Life as the plan administrator. Upon the death of a spouse or dependent, the surviving policyholder must:

• Log in to the Sun Life Plan Member website and update the coverage from family to single
• Or submit a Positive Enrolment Change form

Failure to update your coverage status can lead to administrative mismatches in the system. More importantly, if your reduced household income now qualifies you for Extended Health Benefits (EHB) — the territorial program for low-income residents covering prescription drugs and medical travel — you need to proactively apply for EHB through the Health Services Administration Office using your CRA Line 23600 income figure from your prior year Notice of Assessment.

Many surviving spouses who were previously above the EHB income threshold now fall below it. If you don't proactively apply, you won't receive the benefit.

Federal Agencies: CRA Notification

Canada Revenue Agency

The CRA must be notified of the death so the deceased's tax file can be closed and the final tax return filed. This is not the same as filing the final tax return — it's an administrative notification step.

Send a letter or call the CRA Individual Enquiries line (1-800-959-8281) to notify them of the death, providing the deceased's Social Insurance Number and date of death. The estate will need to file a final T1 return for the year of death (due by April 30 of the following year if the deceased had no self-employment income, or June 15 if they did). A CRA clearance certificate may also be required before distributing estate assets.

If the deceased was registered for My Account with CRA, request a transitional access arrangement with the estate representative if needed to manage ongoing estate filings.

Territorial and Municipal Agencies

Department of Education, Culture and Employment (ECE)

If the deceased was receiving Income Assistance, contact ECE to report the death and stop payments. The Income Assistance program operates on a month-to-month basis — any payment received after the date of death is an overpayment.

Driver's Licence — NWT Motor Vehicles

Cancel the deceased's driver's licence through the NWT Department of Infrastructure's Motor Vehicles division. This prevents the licence from being used for identity theft purposes. Return the physical licence if possible, or report it as cancelled.

NWT Vehicle Registration

If the deceased owned a vehicle registered in the NWT, the registration must be transferred as part of estate administration. This is not the same as cancellation — the vehicle transfers to the estate and then to the beneficiary. Contact Motor Vehicles for the transfer process, which requires the Death Certificate and the vehicle's registration documents.

NWT Senior Citizens Property Tax Relief

If the deceased was receiving the Senior Citizens Property Tax Relief — either a 100% rebate in the General Taxation Area or up to $2,000 annually in Yellowknife — notify the relevant authority (MACA for General Taxation Areas, the municipal office for Yellowknife and other municipalities). This relief was issued to the deceased as an individual and does not automatically transfer to the surviving spouse.

If you are the surviving spouse and you are 65 or older, apply for the Property Tax Relief in your own name. This requires a new application — the previous application in your spouse's name does not carry over. Missing this means paying full property taxes for the year.

Workers' Safety and Compensation Commission (WSCC)

If the death was work-related, this is not just a notification — it's a full claim filing (covered separately). If the death was not work-related, no WSCC notification is required.

Financial Institutions

Banks and Credit Unions

Contact each financial institution where the deceased held accounts. They will require the Death Certificate and, in most cases, proof of your authority to deal with the account (Letters of Administration or Grant of Probate from the Supreme Court, or confirmation that the account is a joint account with the right of survivorship).

Do not attempt to access sole accounts in the deceased's name without proper legal authority. Banks are required to freeze these accounts pending legal clearance.

Life Insurance

Contact each life insurance company directly to file a death claim. You will need the Death Certificate and the policy number. Life insurance with a named beneficiary does not go through the estate and is typically paid directly to the beneficiary within a few weeks of filing the claim.

Subscriptions and Services

While not legally urgent, cancelling the deceased's subscriptions, memberships, and digital accounts reduces ongoing charges to the estate and prevents identity complications:

• Internet and telephone services
• Streaming subscriptions
• Loyalty program accounts (Air Miles, PC Optimum, etc.)
• Magazine or newspaper subscriptions
• Professional memberships

The Overpayment Risk

The most financially consequential notification failure is allowing federal or territorial benefit payments to continue after the date of death without reporting. Government agencies have the right to recover these overpayments from the estate, sometimes years after the fact. In cases where the estate has already been distributed, this can mean recovery from beneficiaries personally.

Report the death to Service Canada and the CRA as early as possible — within the first week if you can. The other notifications can follow in the days and weeks after, but the federal pension and benefit agencies should be your first calls after you have the Death Certificate in hand.

The Northwest Territories Survivor Benefits Navigator includes a complete agency notification directory with specific NWT contact numbers, the order in which notifications should happen, and the documents each agency requires — so you're not calling each one from scratch or making multiple calls because you forgot a piece of documentation the first time.

Protecting the Deceased's Identity

Once you've cancelled the health card and driver's licence, take a few additional steps to protect against identity theft:

• Notify Canada Post to redirect mail from the deceased's address to an estate address if you're not at the same location
• Notify Equifax and TransUnion of the death to flag the deceased's credit file
• Change or cancel shared passwords and digital accounts

The death of a person creates a window of vulnerability for identity theft because the deceased's information is temporarily in circulation through multiple administrative processes. These steps close that window quickly.

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