There are 3 things you must do in the first few days after someone dies.
- Confirm the medical certificate of cause of death has been issued by the GP or hospital doctor and sent to the registrars. If the coroner has been informed these details will be sent to the registrar.
- You must register the death within 5 days. You'll then get the documents you need for the funeral.
- Arrange the 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.