Who to Notify When Someone Dies in England — Tell Us Once vs Death Notification Service

After a death in England, families often assume a single phone call or form will take care of all notifications. It won't. The UK's notification landscape is split across at least three separate systems, each covering different types of organisations. Understanding this split from the start will prevent months of continued billing on deceased accounts and missed benefit cancellations.

The Three Notification Channels

1. Tell Us Once — Government Departments Only

Tell Us Once (TUO) is a free government service initiated at the Register Office when you register the death. The registrar provides a unique 12-digit reference number. Using this number on the GOV.UK portal (or through the registrar directly), you can notify all of the following in a single step:

This covers the entire central and local government footprint. It does not require you to send death certificates to each department individually.

How to access it: During the registration appointment, tell the registrar you want to use Tell Us Once. They will either complete it with you on the spot or give you the reference number to complete it online within 28 days. The service is also available by telephone.

Important: Tell Us Once notifications do not automatically stop payment. DWP will review the deceased's account and arrange recovery of any overpayments separately. You may receive letters about overpayments in the weeks that follow — this is normal.

2. Death Notification Service — Banks and Insurers

The Death Notification Service (DNS) is a free, private-sector initiative allowing families to notify participating UK banks, building societies, and insurance companies simultaneously through a single online portal at the-dns.co.uk.

Participating institutions include most major high-street banks and building societies. Once you submit the notification with a certified death certificate upload, each institution receives the information and initiates their internal bereavement process. Each will then contact you separately with their specific requirements for releasing assets or closing accounts.

What the DNS does not do:

• Release funds automatically (each bank must verify your authority first)
• Notify utility companies or private pension providers
• Replace the need for a Grant of Probate for accounts above threshold amounts

The DNS and Tell Us Once operate entirely independently. You need both.

3. Direct Contact — Utilities, Pensions, and Subscriptions

Everything else requires direct contact. There is no single portal covering:

• Gas, electricity, and water suppliers
• Internet and phone providers
• Car, home, and life insurance companies not on the DNS
• Private pension schemes and workplace pensions
• Investment platforms and stockbrokers
• Mortgage lenders
• Subscription services (streaming, memberships, software)
• Mobile phone contracts
• DVLA for vehicle tax and registration (separate from the driving licence cancellation handled by TUO)

For each of these, you will need to provide a certified copy of the death certificate. Build a tracker listing every organisation the deceased had a financial relationship with. Your bank statements and email inbox are the fastest way to identify recurring payments.

Lasting Power of Attorney: A Separate Step

If the deceased had a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) or Enduring Power of Attorney (EPA) in place during their lifetime — whether as a donor or as an attorney — this requires separate action.

The legal authority granted under an LPA or EPA terminates the exact moment the donor dies. The Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) must be notified, and the original LPA or EPA documents must be returned to them by post for formal cancellation. The OPG verifies the death using the government's Life Event Verification (LEV) system internally and does not need you to send a death certificate unless specifically requested.

Vehicles: Act Immediately to Avoid Prosecution

If the deceased owned a vehicle, the DVLA must be notified separately even though Tell Us Once cancels the driving licence. You face two choices:

Keep the vehicle: You must re-register it in your name using the V5C logbook (green slip), update insurance, and pay vehicle tax immediately. Driving or keeping an untaxed vehicle on a public road is a prosecutable offence regardless of the owner having died.

Take it off the road: Submit a Statutory Off Road Notification (SORN) using Form V890, which is free to submit online. This exempts the vehicle from tax and removes the legal obligation for insurance while it is not on public roads.

Digital Accounts and Subscriptions

Executors accessing the deceased's online accounts using their passwords without specific platform authorisation may commit an offence under the Computer Misuse Act 1990. Most major platforms have bereavement or memorialisation processes:

• Facebook/Meta: Legacy Contact system or memorialisation request
• Apple: Digital Legacy contact process
• Google: Inactive Account Manager
• PayPal: Written request to close and transfer balance through bereavement team

Document every platform the deceased used and contact each through their official bereavement channels rather than logging in with the deceased's credentials.

The England Estate Settlement Guide includes a complete Agency Notification Tracker listing every type of organisation to contact, what documentation each typically requires, and template letters for common notification scenarios. Get the guide

See more England guides →