Families dealing with the death of a loved one are being reminded about a UK Government-backed service that can help reduce paperwork and avoid the need to contact multiple departments separately.
What is Tell Us Once?
The Tell Us Once service allows people to report a death to several government organisations in a single process, helping relatives manage practical arrangements during what can be a difficult and emotional time. Available across most of the UK, the service can be used to notify departments including the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), Social Security Scotland, the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), Passport Office and local council services.
How it helps
The service is designed to help ensure government records are updated promptly following a death and can prevent families from having to repeat the same information to multiple organisations. According to guidance on GOV.UK, people using Tell Us Once can report the death to departments responsible for State Pension, Universal Credit, Attendance Allowance, Pension Credit and other benefits administered by the DWP or Social Security Scotland. It can also be used to notify HMRC about tax matters and inform the DVLA regarding driving licences, while local councils may use the service to update records relating to Council Tax, Blue Badges, housing benefit and electoral registration.
Organisations Tell Us Once will contact
- HMRC - to deal with personal tax and to cancel benefits and credits, for example Child Benefit
- DWP - to cancel benefits and entitlements, for example Universal Credit or State Pension
- Social Security Scotland - to cancel benefits and entitlements from the Scottish Government, for example Scottish Child Payment
- Passport Office - to cancel a British passport
- Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) - to cancel a licence, remove the person as the keeper of up to 5 vehicles and end the vehicle tax
- the local council - to cancel Housing Benefit, Council Tax Reduction, a Blue Badge, inform council housing services and remove the person from the electoral register
- Veterans UK - to cancel or update Armed Forces Compensation Scheme payments
The guidance also says that Tell Us Once will contact some public sector pension schemes so that they cancel future pension payments. They will notify: Armed Forces Pension Scheme, NHS Pensions for NHS staff in England and Wales, Scottish Public Pension Agency schemes for NHS staff, teachers, police and firefighters in Scotland, Pension Protection Fund and Financial Assistance Scheme, and Local Government Pension Schemes (LGPS).
How to use the service
To use the service, a death must first be registered and families will normally receive a unique reference number from the registrar. People using Tell Us Once may be asked to provide information about the person who has died, including their National Insurance number, driving licence number, passport details and information about any benefits they were receiving. The service can be accessed online or by telephone, depending on the area where the death was registered.
GOV.UK guidance explains that not all organisations are covered by Tell Us Once, meaning families may still need to contact banks, utility providers, insurers, landlords, pension providers and other private organisations separately. The UK Government said Tell Us Once is intended to make the process of notifying public bodies simpler and less time-consuming for bereaved families.
People can check whether Tell Us Once is available in their area and find more information through the GOV.UK website. While dealing with paperwork is often the last thing people want to think about during a bereavement, the Tell Us Once service is designed to make the process easier by allowing multiple notifications to be made at the same time rather than contacting each organisation individually.
