In most cases the registrar of death will offer you the Tell Us Once interview immediately after you have registered the death. The registrar will check with you which central and government services need to be notified. The notification is sent through immediately and you will be given a confirmation letter. In some cases, the registrar will offer a telephone and online Tell Us Once service instead of the full face to face service and you can also choose this if you find it too difficult to complete the process in the same interview.
In some cases, you may be offered a separate appointment at a later date if you want to complete the process in a face to face interview. You may also choose to complete the process later if you do not have enough information about the deceased at the time of registering. To complete the telephone or online Tell Us Once service the registrar will give you the necessary contact details and a unique reference number. If you already have these you can access the online service by clicking here.
Please Note: It is essential that you must have registered the death and been given the unique Tell Us Once reference number before you can use the telephone or online service.
The one exception is when a coroner has ordered an inquest into the death. Once you have the interim certificate of the fact of death from the coroner it may be possible for you to make an appointment with the local authority (usually the registrar) to carry out the Tell Us Once process. However not all authorities are able to do this so please call and check first.
It is important that you take all the relevant information to the Tell Us Once interview.
What you will need (if appropriate) are:
- National Insurance number and date of birth of the deceased
- Their passport or passport number and town/country of birth
- Driving licence or driving licence number
- Details of state pensions and benefits
- Blue Badge
- Death certificate (if not completing Tell Us Once at the time of registration)
You may also be asked for contact details for:
- The immediate next of kin
- A surviving husband, wife or civil partner
- The person dealing with the estate
Tell Us Once is completely voluntary but most people find it a very helpful service. If you use the Tell Us Once service, you do not normally need to complete the reverse side of the Certificate of registration of notification of death (BD8) that you will be given by the registrar. Keep it in your filing of papers about the death just in case it may be needed at a later date.
If you are the next of kin (i.e. the closest relative by blood or marriage to the deceased) your own entitlement to benefits may change so, please do have your own National Insurance number and date of birth available when using the service.
If you are not the next of kin nor the person dealing with the deceased’s estate, you may still use the Tell Us Once service providing you have permission from these people to act on their behalf and to provide information about them.
Once the various agencies informed by Tell Us Once have received notification of the death, they will make any further contact necessary with the bereaved family.
Please Note: The Tell Us Once service does not notify any commercial organisations of the death and cannot arrange for redirection of post or suppression of direct mail.