One of the difficult realities of bereavement is bureaucracy. However, when someone dies there is important and often urgent paperwork that needs to be completed.
One of the hardest parts of what is sometimes called ‘sadmin’ is the need to fill in multiple forms or make multiple phone calls to different organisations to register the same information. Recognising this, the government introduced the Tell Us Once service to save people the time and upset of contacting multiple government agencies.
What is the Tell Us Once?
Tell Us Once is a UK government service that lets people report a death to most government departments in one go. The service can be used if the person who has died was living in England, Scotland or Wales, but only after a death has been registered.
The service is provided by local authorities on behalf of the Department for Work and Pensions.
A registrar will explain the Tell Us Once service when you register the death. They may complete the Tell Us Once process with you at that time or arrange an appointment for you to do it at a later date. If you do not complete the Tell Us Once process with the registrar, they will provide you with a unique reference number so you can use the service online or over the phone.
The nidirect website has separate advice on who to tell about a death in Northern Ireland.
What does Tell Us Once cover?
The Tell Us Once service covers the following departments:
- HM Revenue and Customs: tax and benefits
- Department for Work and Pensions: benefits such as income support
- Public sector / armed forces pension schemes: pension payments
- Passport Office: British passports
- Local council: Housing benefit, council tax benefit, blue badge, removal from electoral register and informing council housing services
- Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency: driving license
It does not cover ownership of land or property. You can get the forms needed to update property records when someone dies directly from the government website.
How does Tell Us Once work?
You'll need to register the death at your local register office in England and Wales or at the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages if you live in Scotland.
To use Tell Us Once, you will need the details of the person that has died including their date of birth, National Insurance number, driving license number and passport number. You will also need specific information on benefits/pensions, or local authority services like blue badges that you wish to cancel.
You will also need contact details for next of kin and the name and address of any surviving spouse or civil partner and, if it is not you, the person dealing with their estate (the executor or administrator). If you do not use Tell Us Once, you still need to inform government departments separately. The UK government website lists contact details for reporting a death without a Tell Us Once reference number.
Tell Us Once does not cover commercial organisations. You will need to contact banks, mortgage, insurance and pension providers directly. You will also need to inform any companies that the deceased held contracts with, including phone and utility companies as well as landlords or housing associations.
