Tell Us Once Death Abroad: Can You Use the DWP Service After a Foreign Death?

The Service That Only Works for Some Foreign Deaths

The DWP Tell Us Once service lets families report a death to multiple UK government departments — HMRC, DVLA, Passport Office, council tax, the pension service — in a single transaction. It saves hours of individual phone calls. But after a death abroad, eligibility depends on one specific condition that catches many families.

The Residency Requirement

Tell Us Once is available only if the deceased normally resided in England, Scotland, or Wales and was visiting the foreign country temporarily — on a holiday, business trip, or short-term stay.

If the deceased had permanently relocated abroad — a British retiree living in Greece year-round, an expat settled on Crete — Tell Us Once is unavailable. The executor must contact each UK government agency individually.

This distinction matters because Greece is one of the most popular retirement destinations for British nationals. A retiree who dies in their Greek home is not a temporary traveller, and their family cannot use the streamlined service.

How Tell Us Once Works for Eligible Deaths

For a UK resident who died while visiting Greece:

1. Register the death with a UK register office. The registrar may require the family to have the Greek death certificate verified by the Greek Embassy or Consulate in the UK before they can process it. This adds an extra step — contact the registrar first to confirm what they need.

2. Receive the Tell Us Once reference code. The registrar issues this code during or after the registration appointment.

3. Complete the Tell Us Once service online (gov.uk/after-a-death/organisations-you-need-to-contact) or by phone, using the reference code. The service notifies HMRC, DWP, the Passport Office, DVLA, and the local council in one go.

The Certificate of No Liability to Register

When the repatriated body arrives in the UK and the family arranges a funeral, the registrar in the sub-district where the funeral takes place issues a Certificate of No Liability to Register. This document confirms that the death occurred outside England and Wales and does not need to be re-registered domestically. The UK funeral director requires this certificate before a burial or cremation can legally proceed.

If a UK coroner intervenes and orders a post-mortem inquest — common in accidental or suspicious deaths abroad — the coroner's own burial order or cremation certificate replaces this requirement.

If Tell Us Once Is Not Available

For permanent expats, each agency must be contacted separately:

• HMRC — report the death to settle any outstanding income tax, capital gains, or inheritance tax. Call the bereavement helpline or write to the relevant tax office.
• DWP — notify the Pension Service if the deceased was receiving a UK state pension paid abroad. Overpayments after the date of death must be repaid.
• Passport Office — return the deceased's British passport for cancellation (though the Greek funeral director may have needed it for death registration; in that case, cancel it after the Greek process is complete).
• DVLA — cancel the driving licence.
• Council tax — if the deceased maintained a UK property while living abroad, notify the local council for a single-person discount or exemption.
• UK bank and building societies — each institution must be contacted individually with the apostilled, translated Greek death certificate or a UK consular death certificate.

The Pension Stop

For deaths abroad, the UK state pension does not stop automatically. The Pension Service must be notified directly. If pension payments continue after the date of death, the estate is liable for repaying every overpayment. The DWP Pension Service handles overseas deaths; use its current contact details.

The British Person Dies in Greece guide includes a UK-side notification checklist covering every agency and institution, with the specific documents and contact details for each.