Tell Us Once Service Wales — What It Covers and What It Misses

Tell Us Once is one of the most genuinely useful things the UK government has built for bereaved families — and one of the most misunderstood. The name suggests it handles everything. It doesn't. Knowing exactly where it ends and where your manual work begins prevents months of missed notifications and unnoticed direct debits draining the estate.

What Is Tell Us Once?

Tell Us Once is a government service that allows you to report a death to multiple central and local government departments in a single session — online or by phone.

You access it using a unique reference number given to you by the registrar when you register the death. You have 28 days from receiving this number to complete the Tell Us Once session. If the deadline passes, the service locks you out and you must contact every government department manually — a significant administrative burden.

Use it within the first week if you can.

What Tell Us Once Notifies

When you complete a Tell Us Once session, the following organisations are automatically notified:

Central government:

• HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) — to cancel benefits, reconcile the deceased's personal tax, and stop self-assessment obligations
• Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) — to stop the State Pension, Universal Credit, Pension Credit, Employment and Support Allowance, and other state payments
• Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) — to cancel the driving licence and remove the deceased as the registered keeper of up to five vehicles
• HM Passport Office — to cancel the British passport

Local Welsh services (via your local council):

• Council Tax records — updated to reflect the change in household status
• Housing Benefit — cancelled if applicable
• Adult Social Services — notified to close any care package or records
• Blue Badge — cancelled if the deceased held one

In Wales, local councils are integrated into the Tell Us Once system, so council notifications are handled in the same session.

What Tell Us Once Does NOT Cover

This is the critical part. Despite the name, Tell Us Once leaves a substantial list of institutions entirely untouched. These require separate contact from you, the executor:

Financial institutions:

• Banks and building societies (Barclays, Nationwide, Principality, etc.)
• Building society savings accounts
• Investment platforms and ISAs held privately
• Credit card providers
• Loan providers and mortgage lenders

Private sector:

• Private pension providers and workplace pension schemes
• Life insurance and protection policy providers
• Utility companies (gas, electricity, water)
• Broadband and mobile phone providers
• Subscription services (streaming, magazines, memberships)
• PayPal, eBay seller accounts, and digital payment services
• Social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn)
• Online retail accounts (Amazon, eBay)
• Loyalty programmes (frequent flyer miles, supermarket points)

Other:

• Stockbrokers and share registrars
• Premium Bond holders (NS&I)
• Electoral roll administrators

Every item on that list needs to be contacted with a death certificate. For most estates, this amounts to 15 to 30 separate contacts over the weeks following the death.

How to Use the Tell Us Once Service in Wales

After the registrar gives you the reference number, go to gov.uk/tell-us-once or call the helpline. You can do this online or by telephone, and the session can be completed in either English or Welsh.

You will need:

• The Tell Us Once reference number
• The deceased's National Insurance number
• Their date of birth and date of death
• Details of the benefits or services they received (this helps, but the service can look up some records)

The session takes around 20 minutes and can be done on behalf of the deceased by the executor, next of kin, or a nominated person.

What Happens After You Complete Tell Us Once

Tell Us Once generates automatic notifications to the listed departments on the same day you complete the session. HMRC will send a confirmation letter. The DWP will typically stop payments within a few days (any overpayments made after the date of death must be returned to the DWP — keep track of this in the estate accounts).

HMRC may subsequently write to you with questions about the deceased's final tax year. This is normal. The executor is responsible for filing any outstanding tax returns.

Council Tax and the Tell Us Once Session in Wales

Local councils in Wales receive notification through the Tell Us Once system, which is useful for Council Tax. However, you should follow up with your specific Welsh council separately to:

• Confirm that a Class F exemption has been applied to any property (exempt from Council Tax until probate is granted and for six months after)
• Discuss any plans to sell or let the property before the exemption expires

Welsh local authorities have significant powers to charge premiums on empty properties — in some counties up to 300% — once the exemption period ends. Telling the council early and keeping them informed prevents unexpected bills arriving without warning.

Building Your Notification Tracker

Once Tell Us Once is done, the next job is working through the private institutions manually. A simple tracker with columns for Institution, Account/Policy Number, Date Contacted, Reference Number, and Outcome is essential — not just for staying organised, but for the estate accounts you will need if there are beneficiaries to report to.

The Wales Estate Settlement Guide includes a full notification tracker template that separates Tell Us Once-covered agencies from the manual contact list, with suggested letter templates for banks, pension providers, and utilities.

See more Wales guides →