Tell us once - bereavement

Our Registrars team have teamed up with the Department for Work & Pensions (DWP) to deliver ‘Tell Us Once’. This service automatically notifies relevant central and local government departments of a family’s change of circumstances.

Please call the register office for an appointment to register a death. The registration officer will discuss ‘Tell Us Once’ with you and discuss what documents and information you will need to bring with you.

Bereavement

When someone has died, there are lots of people to notify. At a stage in your life when you are busy dealing with the emotional difficulties that come with bereavement, we are pleased to be able to offer you the innovative ‘Tell Us Once’ service.

The service informs certain local and central government departments on your behalf. We will issue you with a unique reference number to use with the Tell Us Once service after the death has been registered. This service is optional and the ‘Tell Us Once’ service is available to the next of kin or the person dealing with the estate of the deceased.

‘Tell us Once’ can notify the following departments after you have registered a death:

• Adult Services
• Children Services
• Council Housing
• Council Tax Benefit
• Council Tax
• Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA)
• Electoral Services
• Housing Benefits
• Housing Services
• Home Emergency and Response Team (HEART)
• Identity and Passport Service
• Job Centre Plus
• Library Services
• Money owed to the Council
• Pensions, Disability and Carers Service
• Personal Taxation
• War Pensions Scheme

‘Tell Us Once’ will pass details onto these departments on your behalf with your permission. The departments you have identified will contact you directly if they need any more information to process your change in circumstances. In order to take part in the programme the informant will be asked at the time of booking the appointment to register the death if they would like to use this service.

The informant would need to bring along to the appointment the cause of death certificate, deceased’s birth certificate, medical card if available and the following if using the Tell Us Once Service:

national insurance number and date of birth for the deceased
national insurance number of the informant or next of kin if the person attending the appointment is not the next of kin
deceased’s blue badge if they have one
details of the deceased’s benefits, if they were in receipt of any