Who to notify when someone dies: a complete UK list

This guide is a complete list of who needs to be told when someone dies in the UK, split into the government bodies you can notify in one go and the private-sector accounts you have to contact one by one. It is written for the person taking on the practical tasks and trying to make sure nothing is missed.

There is no single switch that turns everything off. Notifying organisations is dozens of separate tasks, owned by different companies, each with its own process and its own form. Some matter urgently, such as stopping a recurring payment. Others can wait. The difficulty is rarely any single notification; it is the number of them and the work of finding which ones apply.

Start with Tell Us Once: the government side

Tell Us Once is the free government service that reports a death to most public-sector organisations from a single submission. You are given a reference number when you register the death, and you have 28 days to use it. It takes around twenty minutes online, by phone, or at the register office.

Tell Us Once covers the parts of government that would otherwise each need a separate letter:

• HM Revenue and Customs (income tax and any tax credits)

• The Department for Work and Pensions (State Pension and benefits)

• The Passport Office

• The DVLA (driving licence and vehicle records)

• The local council (Council Tax, electoral register, Blue Badge, housing)

• Some public-sector and armed-forces pension schemes

If Tell Us Once is not available in your area, these bodies can be told individually instead. You can start the service on gov.uk.

The gap most people do not expect

Tell Us Once does not cover a single private-sector organisation. Not the bank. Not the energy supplier. Not the mobile provider, the insurer, the pension company, or the streaming subscription. Every one of those needs to be notified separately, by you, with the death certificate to hand.

This is where the real volume sits, and where accounts are most often missed. The list below covers the categories to work through.

The private-sector list

Banks and building societies

Current accounts, savings, ISAs, and credit cards all need notifying. Accounts are frozen on notification, and whether funds are released depends on the balance and the provider's threshold. Our guides on do you need probate? and how to notify a bank after someone dies cover the thresholds and the process. The free Death Notification Service lets you notify several major banks and building societies through one form, which saves repeating the same call.

Pensions and investments

Workplace and private pension providers, the State Pension (covered by Tell Us Once), share registrars, investment platforms, and NS&I products including Premium Bonds. Pensions with a nominated beneficiary are paid directly to that person. Old or forgotten pensions are among the most commonly missed assets; our guides on the Pension Tracing Service and My Lost Account explain how to trace what you cannot find.

Insurance

Life insurance, home and contents, motor, travel, and private health policies. Motor cover lapses from the date of death, so a vehicle still in use needs attention quickly. Life policies may pay out to a named beneficiary or into the estate.

Utilities

Gas, electricity, and water. The account needs to be updated whether the property is being kept, sold, or handed back. What happens next depends on whether the person owned or rented the home.

Telecoms and broadband

Mobile, landline, and broadband contracts. These often run on direct debit and continue charging until cancelled, so they are worth handling early.

Mortgage, loans, and credit

Mortgage lender, personal loans, car finance, store cards, and buy-now-pay-later accounts. Debts are settled from the estate, not inherited by relatives, but the lenders still need to be told.

Subscriptions and memberships

Streaming services, software, gym and club memberships, magazine and box subscriptions, charity direct debits, and professional bodies. Individually small, collectively easy to overlook, and many keep charging until stopped.

Digital and social accounts

Email, social media, cloud storage, and any account holding photos or documents. Most major platforms have a process to close or memorialise an account on request.

Protecting against mail and identity fraud

A deceased person's identity can be a target for fraud, and unwanted post can keep arriving for months. Three free services and one paid Royal Mail option reduce both. Our guide on how to stop mail and reduce identity fraud after a death explains how the Bereavement Register, the Death Notification Service, and the Deceased Preference Service work together.

What you need to notify each organisation

Most providers ask for the same things: the person's name and account or policy details, a certified copy of the death certificate, and confirmation that you are authorised to act. Order enough death certificates at registration so you are not waiting on copies; our guide on death certificates explains how many to get.

A sensible order to work through it

1. Register the death and order certificates.

2. Use Tell Us Once for the government side.

3. Stop anything that keeps charging: subscriptions, memberships, and non-essential direct debits.

4. Notify banks, pensions, and insurers.

5. Handle utilities and telecoms.

6. Close or memorialise digital accounts.

Finding the accounts in the first place

The list above tells you what to look for. The harder question is what the person actually held, because much of it leaves no obvious trace: a dormant savings account, a pension from a job decades ago, a policy paid annually, a subscription buried in a statement.

Legacy Trail finds the private-sector accounts and services the person held, then notifies each provider on your behalf. You avoid working from memory, repeating the same conversation with provider after provider, and the worry that something has been missed. It is one less thing to deal with while you handle everything else. You can see how it works or arrange a no-obligation consultation when you are ready.

Frequently asked questions

Does Tell Us Once cover banks? No. Tell Us Once covers government bodies only. Every bank, insurer, utility, and other private company has to be notified separately.

How long do I have to notify everyone? There is no single deadline, but accounts that keep charging, motor insurance, and anything time-sensitive should be handled quickly. Tell Us Once has its own 28-day window from the reference number.

Do I need a death certificate for every organisation? Most require a certified copy, and many keep it. Order several at registration so you can notify organisations in parallel rather than waiting on copies.

What happens to debts? Debts are paid from the estate, not passed to relatives. The lenders still need to be notified so the balance can be settled correctly.

Official sources

• What to do after a death (gov.uk): gov.uk/after-a-death

• Tell Us Once (gov.uk): gov.uk/tell-us-once

• Death Notification Service: deathnotificationservice.co.uk

• The Bereavement Register: thebereavementregister.org.uk