What should I do when someone dies?

England and Wales

A death in England and Wales must be registered with the Registrar of Births and Deaths. You can go to any register office in the country, but if you use the one in the area where the person died then you will be given the documents that you need on that day.

The registration must take place within 5 days. A death that takes place in England can only be registered in English but deaths in Wales may be registered bilingually in English and Welsh.

The government's website has a page on how to register a death.

Tell Us Once is a service that informs other government departments about a death on your behalf. Speak to the Registrar when you register the death and see if this service is available in your area.

Northern Ireland

You must register a death within 5 days with any District Registration Office in Northern Ireland.

Address details for District Registrars can be found online or in the telephone directory under ‘Registration of births, deaths and marriages’.

Scotland

You must register a death in Scotland within 8 days by the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages. The law allows a death to be registered in any registration district in Scotland.

The Registrar will need a death certificate, which will be given to you by the doctor. You will need 2 doctor’s certificates for a cremation, or one for a burial.

You will also need an extract of the death certificate to show to banks, and so on. This is supplied by the Registrar for a small charge.

You can find the address of your local Registrar via the undertaker, hospital, doctor, or the Directory of Registrars in Scotland.

There are several people and organisations to inform when someone dies, including:

• banks and building societies
• creditors (a person or company that money is owed to)
• GP
• solicitor
• employer
• house, car and contents insurers

Tell Us Once service

Tell Us Once is a service that lets you report a death to most government organisations in one go. It is not available in Northern Ireland. 

Tell Us Once will notify:

• HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) - to deal with personal tax and to cancel benefits and credits
• Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) - to cancel benefits and entitlements, for example Universal Credit or State Pension
• Passport Office - to cancel a British passport
• Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) 
• the local council - to cancel Housing Benefit, Council Tax Reduction (sometimes called Council Tax Support), a Blue Badge, inform council housing services and remove the person from the electoral register
• Veterans UK - to cancel Armed Forces Compensation Scheme payments

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will contact you about the tax, benefits and entitlements of the person who died.

Tell Us Once will also contact some public sector pension schemes so that they cancel future pension payments. They’ll notify:

• My Civil Service Pension
• NHS Pension Scheme
• Armed Forces Pension Scheme
• pension schemes for NHS staff, teachers, police and firefighters in Scotland
• local authority pension schemes that participate in Tell Us Once

There’s a different process to update property records if the person who died owns land or property.

If you do not use Tell Us Once

You must let the relevant organisations know about the death yourself if either:

• you choose not to use the Tell Us Once service
• the person died abroad and the death has not been registered with the UK authorities

Tell organisations about the death yourself.

Settld service

Settld is a free service that can help you close a number of accounts after someone has died, from utilities and banking to broadband and insurance.

You may have already discussed the type of funeral arrangements wanted. There may also be instructions in the person’s Will, so it is important to check this.

Your funeral director will support and guide you through this process. The person who has died may have taken out a pre-paid funeral plan.

If so, check what services it covers. If there is no plan, check with the undertaker about arrangements for payment of the funeral account.

You may also be entitled to help with funeral payments from the Department for Work and Pensions, depending on the financial status of the person arranging the funeral (not of the person who’s died).

Contact your local Social Security Office for questions about financial help. Your undertaker may also be able to help with social security forms.

Age UK

Age UK can provide lots of support. Their information sheets When someone dies and Dealing with an estate are aimed at next-of-kin and executors.

The Bereavement Register

The Bereavement Register is a free service which can help reduce unwanted mail after someone has died.

National Association of Funeral Directors

National Association of Funeral Directors Can provide advice on organising funerals and monitors the standards of funeral directors.

Natural Death Centre

Natural Death Centre Provides information on 'alternative' funerals, including family-organised, environmentally friendly funerals.