What to do after someone dies

There are 3 things you must do in the first few days after someone dies:

1. confirm the medical certificate of cause of death (MCCD) has been signed off by the medical examiner and sent to the registrars. If the coroner has been informed these details will be sent to the registrar
2. register a death within 5 days of the paperwork being sent to the registrar
3. arrange a funeral - you can use a funeral director or arrange it yourself

See the GOV.UK website for more information on what to do when someone dies.

Tell Us Once service

Tell Us Once is a service that lets you report a death to multiple government departments and local council services. We will give you a unique reference number which will let you notify the relevant organisations in one go online or by telephone.

Organisations Tell Us Once can contact

Local councils for:

• Housing Benefit Office
• Council Tax Benefit Office
• council tax
• collection of payment for council services
• libraries
• electoral services
• blue badges
• Adult Services
• Children's Services
• council housing

Department for Work and Pensions for:

• Pension, Disability and Carers Service
• Jobcentre Plus
• Overseas Health Team

HM Revenue and Customs for:

• Child Benefit
• Child Tax Credit and Working Tax Credit
• Personal Taxation

Other organisations for:

• Identity and Passport Service
• Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency
• Ministry of Defence, Service Personnel and Veterans Agency
• War Pensions scheme

Before you use Tell Us Once

You'll need the following details of the person who died:

• date of birth
• National Insurance number
• driving licence number
• vehicle registration number
• passport number
• death certificate

You may also need to know about:

• any benefits or entitlements they were getting, for example State Pension
• their next of kin
• any surviving husband, wife or civil partner
• the person or company dealing with their estate (property, belongings and money), known as their 'executor' or 'administrator'
• any public sector or armed forces pension schemes they were getting or paying in to

You need permission from the next of kin, the executor, the administrator or anyone who was claiming joint benefits or entitlements with the person who died, before you give their details.

How to use the service

At your appointment to register a death, you will be given a unique reference number. You can then access the Tell Us Once service either online or by telephone and notify all the relevant services in one go.

Contact us for more information:

Find out more information about the Tell Us Once service on GOV.UK.