UK bereavement contacts·Bank

Bank of Scotland bereavement: number and forms

Read from Bank of Scotland’s own page on 16 October 2026 · source: bankofscotland.co.uk

How do I tell Bank of Scotland that someone has died?

Call Bank of Scotland on 0800 015 0012 (8am to 6pm, 7 days a week), or tell them online or in person.

Phone: 0800 015 0012. 8am to 6pm, 7 days a week.
Online: “Tell us about a bereavement” online form.
Post: Bank of Scotland publishes no postal address in their bereavement pages and guides for telling them about a death on a personal account, other than one for Share Dealing accounts.
Email: Bank of Scotland publishes no email address for telling them about a death, other than one for Share Dealing accounts.
In person: A branch. Call 0800 015 0012 to book (their business page; their November 2023 guide prints 0800 056 0073). Their page says what ID to bring.
From outside the UK: +44(0)1733 261630. The same bereavement team, for calls from abroad.
Also tells: Lloyds, Halifax, Scottish Widows (not life insurance claims), Clerical Medical, MBNA and Birmingham Midshires, by their own page.
Does not tell: Black Horse, Lex Autolease, Lloyds Car Finance, Bank of Scotland Car Finance, Halifax Car Finance and Intelligent Finance. Tell each separately.

Open Bank of Scotland’s own bereavement page

Every route, with the day we read it

Bank of Scotland: the routes they publish, read from their own pages, with what each is for where they say.
Route	Detail	Read on
Phone	0800 015 00128am to 6pm, 7 days a week	16 Oct 2026
Online	“Tell us about a bereavement” online form	16 Oct 2026
In person	A branch. Call 0800 015 0012 to book (their business page; their November 2023 guide prints 0800 056 0073). Their page says what ID to bring.	16 Oct 2026
From outside the UK	+44(0)1733 261630The same bereavement team, for calls from abroad	16 Oct 2026
Executor line / Estate Administration Service from abroad	+44 (0) 1733 286 482The same team as 0800 056 0171, for calling from outside the UK. Their executor page prints it as +44 (0)1733 286 482.	16 Oct 2026
Relay UK	Add 18001 before the number you needTheir call-us page says they welcome calls through Relay UK. This is its general advice for their phone lines, not a line for bereavement only.	16 Oct 2026
SignVideo	SignVideo (British Sign Language)Their call-us page says SignVideo is also available if you are Deaf and use British Sign Language.	16 Oct 2026

Different product, different team

These products have their own teams and numbers. Where each number was read is in the Sources list at the foot of this page.

Bank named as executor / Estate Administration Service: 0800 056 0171For when Bank of Scotland is named as the executor in the will. Their page says lines are open Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm and you can still get in touch if there is no will. The same number is given for their Estate Administration Service. Their Private Banking page says the line excludes bank holidays and that call costs may vary depending on your service provider.
Estate Administration Service: eligibility: 0800 056 0171Their Private Banking page says the service can act where it is appointed as executor under a will, or where an existing executor does not feel able to act, or where there is no will (the last is not available if the deceased was domiciled in Scotland). It says the gross value of the estate must be over £80,000. Their personal bereavement page gives no minimum value. Their executor page says “Our Estate Administration Service is provided by Lloyds.” and their bereavement page says it is “delivered either through Bank of Scotland or as part of our wider group, Lloyds, for grant of probate in England and Wales.”
Mortgage Advisers: 0345 300 2297Their page names the Mortgage Advisers for a joint-name mortgage, where the person left on it needs to change or discuss the monthly payments, and gives this number for speaking to one of them. Lines are open Monday to Friday 8am to 8pm and Saturday 9am to 4pm.
Home insurance (policy numbers beginning HAP): 0345 300 5180Home Customer Services, for buildings and contents insurance after a death. Their page says lines are open Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm and Saturday 9am to 1pm.
Home insurance (other policies): 0345 604 6714Home Customer Services, for other buildings and contents policies after a death. Their guide (PDF, November 2023) prints 0345 604 6290 for these policies instead.
Bank of Scotland Car Finance: 0333 202 7943Car finance is not covered by the one notification. Their call-us page gives this number for existing car finance customers, Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm.
Share Dealing (as given on the main bereavement page): 0800 015 0091Their page says to call this number if you need help with a Share Dealing Account. Lines are open Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm.
Share Dealing Bereavement Team (as given on the Share Dealing bereavement page): 0345 606 1188 (+44 (0) 113 292 0805 from abroad)Their Share Dealing page calls this their dedicated Bereavement Team, between 8am-5pm, Monday to Friday. The page also gives separate forms by value of the Share Dealing account. Near the top it says: a Small Estates & Indemnity Instruction Form for valuations up to £36,000 (or £50,000 in England), and an Executor Authority Form, which also needs a Grant of Confirmation, for valuations of more than £36,000. Lower down it says the account is valued at less than £50,000 (or £36,000 in Scotland), or at over £50,000 (or £36,000 in Scotland). The top of the page names only England (£50,000) and the lower section names only Scotland (£36,000); neither names Wales or Northern Ireland, so the two phrasings do not agree for them. Those figures are for Share Dealing accounts only, not for current or savings accounts. The page says that if the value of the estate at the date of death is more than £5,000, the Small Estates Declaration would need to be countersigned by a solicitor.
Share Dealing: tell them by email: stockbrokingbereavement@lloydsbanking.comShare Dealing accounts only. Their page says to let them know who has died and send the original death certificate or a copy.
Share Dealing: tell them by post: Legal Department, Bank of Scotland Share Dealing, 12 Wellington Place, Leeds, LS1 4APShare Dealing accounts only. Their page says to let them know who has died and send the original death certificate or a copy.
Business accounts: 0345 366 0025 (+44 131 5498724 from abroad)Their business-banking bereavement page gives this for questions about business accounts, Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm. It also says it will usually only need to see the Grant of Probate or equivalent document if the value of the accounts is more than £50,000.
Business accounts: by post: Bank of Scotland, Business Banking, PO Box 1984, Andover, SP10 9GZBusiness accounts only. Their business-banking page says to post documents here if you cannot get to a branch: the original death certificate or a copy certified and stamped by a solicitor or notary public. Their business bereavement form (PDF) prints no postal address.
Black Horse (tell them yourself): 0344 824 8888A Lloyds Banking Group company Bank of Scotland does not tell for you. Their bereavement page lists it, with this number, among the companies you need to speak to yourself.
Lex Autolease (tell them yourself): 0800 389 3690A Lloyds Banking Group company Bank of Scotland does not tell for you. Their bereavement page lists it, with this number, among the companies you need to speak to yourself.
Lloyds Car Finance (tell them yourself): 0333 202 7946A Lloyds Banking Group company Bank of Scotland does not tell for you. Their bereavement page lists it, with this number, among the companies you need to speak to yourself.
Halifax Car Finance (tell them yourself): 0333 202 7940A Lloyds Banking Group company Bank of Scotland does not tell for you. Their bereavement page lists it, with this number, among the companies you need to speak to yourself.
Intelligent Finance (tell them yourself): 0345 609 4343A Lloyds Banking Group company Bank of Scotland does not tell for you. Their bereavement page lists it, with this number, among the companies you need to speak to yourself.
Written request for information about a deceased customer (address on their privacy page): Bank of Scotland, Bereavement Unit, The Green Building, Leeds, LS78 1LBTheir privacy page gives this for a written request to obtain information about a deceased customer. It does not describe it as an address for telling Bank of Scotland about a death or for sending a death certificate. Another Bank of Scotland document gives a different address for the same purpose; see the disagreements.
Written request for information about a deceased customer (address on their data request form): Bereavement Team, 5th Floor, Westminster House, 11 Portland Street, Manchester, M1 3HUBank of Scotland’s printable data request form says not to use that form for a deceased customer, and gives this address for a written request for information about a deceased customer. It does not describe it as an address for telling Bank of Scotland about a death. Their privacy page gives a different address for the same purpose; see the disagreements.

What Bank of Scotland will ask you for

Have these ready

The death certificate: an original copy from the registrar. An interim death certificate or a coroner’s certificate is also accepted.
Proof of identity for the person dealing with the estate. If you phone, they check who you are with security questions.
In a branch: if you bank with them, bring your debit card or one form of ID. If you do not have an account with them, bring two forms of ID, at least one showing your home address.
The ID their page lists as accepted: a valid, full and signed passport; a Northern Ireland Electoral Identity Card; a UK full or provisional photocard driving licence; an EEA photocard driving licence; a disabled driver pass; an HMRC assessment or statement; the most recent council tax bill; a local council rent card or tenancy agreement; the most recent utility bill.
For the funeral: the funeral director’s bill. Their page says that if there is money in the person’s account, they can pay the funeral director directly when you give them the bill.
Share Dealing accounts only: the original death certificate or a copy. A registered solicitor can send a copy, or someone in a branch can verify a copy with their ID and an official branch stamp. They also check identity, usually electronically. If that is not possible they ask for one document from a proof-of-identity list and one from a proof-of-address list.

What to write down when you ring

Keep one line per call. If anything goes wrong later, this is what you will be asked for.

The date and time you called
The name of the person you spoke to
Any reference or case number they give you
What they said happens next, and by when

Take this with you

Free: notification letters to send

Letters to tell a bank, building society, insurer or pension provider about a death, ready to fill in. No account, no email needed.

Download the PDF Word versions, and how to fill them in

A blank to fill in yourself. Not legal advice. Written for England and Wales.

Rather have it by email?

Take it with you

Take the notification letters with you.

We'll email you the notification letters as a PDF — for when you're at a printer, or to pass to the person who'll need it. The download above stays free either way.

Where are you in this?

I’ve only been asked to ring them. Then the route in §1 is all you need. Nothing else is asked of you here.
I’m the executor. The Family Handover File (£49, one-off) prepares a ready-to-sign notification letter for each bank, building society, insurer and pension you name, each with an acknowledgement card, and a six-month calendar worked out from your own dates. See The Family Handover File
It’s complicated. The guided walkthrough asks one question at a time and tells you what comes next. Start the walkthrough

What happens after you tell Bank of Scotland

Anyone can tell Bank of Scotland about a death. To deal with the accounts, their page says you need to be a next of kin, an executor of the will or a personal representative.

Their page says the online form is the quickest way to tell them, because it lets them protect any accounts as soon as possible. The introduction to their online form (we read its text from its code, as it runs by script) says it will ask for the details of the person who has died, the details of the accounts they have with the bank (if you have them) and your personal details, and that after you give these they will let you know if you need to do anything else. The form’s code also includes the question “What proof of death do you want to use?” with a list of choices; we could not run the form, so we cannot say when it asks this or whether it must be answered. Their page says that if you are unsure about anything, their specialist bereavement team is there to help.

Their page says sole accounts will be frozen and cards and cheque books cancelled. Money that arrives after the freeze is sent back to the sender. Standing orders and Direct Debits are stopped, and they can give you a list of the payments. They cannot stop subscription payments, so you have to contact those companies yourself. Their online bereavement service (we read its text from its code, as it runs by script) says that once you submit, the information is checked and verified, and when they are happy they freeze all of the person’s accounts, though joint accounts stay active for the remaining holder.

Joint accounts are transferred to the remaining account holder and stay open. The remaining account holder can use the account as normal.

Statements and most letters stop once they have been told. Some letters are made up to 6 weeks in advance and cannot be stopped. Bereavement letters go to the personal representative.

In Scotland the legal document is called confirmation, and the sheriff court issues it. Their page says they may not need to see it, and that this depends on the products and services held with them. Their glossary says that in England and Wales the confirmation is called probate.

Their page says getting the document back from the sheriff court usually takes 8 to 16 weeks, and administering the estate 9 to 12 months, sometimes longer. If you are not sure whether you need confirmation, you can ring the bereavement number.

Funeral bills: if there is money in the person’s account, they can pay the funeral director directly when you give them the bill. The same support applies to Inheritance Tax and confirmation fees, paid from the account.

Sole-name mortgage: payments stay due, but they do not expect you to make them for up to 18 months from the date of death, to give you time to get confirmation. The amount owed goes up. They cancel any Direct Debits for the mortgage, so it falls into arrears and the Financial Conduct Authority requires them to write to you. Their page says you do not need to act on those letters. A joint-name mortgage keeps its monthly payments and usually transfers to the remaining owner.

Debts: their page says personal debt in sole accounts can be paid from the estate and representatives are not personally liable. For a sole-name overdraft, speak to the bereavement team to find out whether there is money in the estate to pay it. For a sole-name loan or credit card covered by Payment Protection Insurance, the page says they will tell you how to make a claim; if there is no cover, speak to the bereavement team to find out whether there are funds in the estate to pay it back. Responsibility for a joint overdraft or loan passes to the remaining account holder.

Life insurance claims: their life insurance claims page says to start a claim with the online claim form on the Scottish Widows website.

If Bank of Scotland is named as the executor in the will, ring the executor line below. Their page says you can still get in touch if there is no will. Their Estate Administration Service uses the same number: the page says its initial support and guidance is fee-free and without obligation. For the Estate Administration Service, their Private Banking page says the no-will case is not available if the deceased was domiciled in Scotland.

An Executor Account can hold the estate’s money before confirmation. It is made by converting a newly opened Classic account, Access Saver or Advantage Saver with the online “Executor Account request” form. Their executor page says you will not be able to access funds in an Executor Account until the 'Grant of Confirmation' has been received, but you may be able to access some funds before this, to pay funeral and related expenses, Inheritance Tax and the Confirmation fee.

A spouse or civil partner can claim an Additional Permitted Subscription (APS) allowance on the person’s ISA. Their page says they discuss this when you register the bereavement.

Branch visits: their bereavement page says what ID to bring if you visit a branch, but does not say you need to book. Their business-banking bereavement page, in a section for personal accounts only, says that if you would like to make an appointment at your local branch you can call 0800 015 0012. Their November 2023 guide says: if you need to come in and see them, you just need to call to book a time, and prints that beside 0800 056 0073, not the 0800 015 0012 on their current page.

Their online form has a screen for a person it does not recognise as a regulated solicitor or third party. It says: “To continue to use our registration service you need to write to us at the address shown below.” It asks for a Letter of Authority signed by the deceased’s executor or legal next of kin, a certified copy of the ID and a copy of the death certificate, and prints Lloyds Banking Group, Bereaved Service Centre, The Green Building, Kirkstall Road, Leeds, LS78 1LB and, if overseas, Bereavement Unit, Lloyds Banking Group, 5th Floor, 11 Portland Street, Manchester, M1 3HU. We read this text from the form’s code, as it runs by script, and could not see when it is shown.

An older bereavement guide, correct as of September 2019, is still downloadable from their business site and is not linked from the pages we read. It says: “We won’t usually need to see Confirmation if the value of the Estate is less than £50,000 as long as there are no other products for example, a mortgage.” The current page says only: “We may not need to see this, it will depend on the products and services held with us.” Their July 2022 and November 2023 guides print no such figure.

To find out if a grant is required, their page gives: Confirmation Scotland, call 0131 444 3300 or visit mygov.scot/confirmation; Probate England and Wales, call 0300 303 0648 or visit gov.uk/applying-for-probate; Probate Northern Ireland, visit probate | nidirect.

The Death Notification Service’s own list of members also names Black Horse Finance and Lex Autolease, two of the companies this page says Bank of Scotland does not tell for you.

What Bank of Scotland does not publish, and where its own pages disagree

Not published

Bank of Scotland publishes no email address for telling them about a death, other than one for Share Dealing accounts. We checked their bereavement page, the executor account page, the call-us page, the estate administration page, the privacy pages and the November 2023 bereavement guide on 16 October 2026.
Bank of Scotland publishes no postal address in their bereavement pages and guides for telling them about a death on a personal account, other than one for Share Dealing accounts. We checked their bereavement page, the executor account page, the call-us page, the estate administration page, the privacy pages and the November 2023 bereavement guide on 16 October 2026.
Bank of Scotland publishes no amount on any live page below which they release money from personal bank accounts without confirmation; their only figure for personal accounts is for Share Dealing accounts (£36,000 in Scotland, £50,000 in England; the page's two phrasings do not agree for Wales and Northern Ireland). We checked their bereavement page, the executor account page, the call-us page, the estate administration page and the November 2023 bereavement guide, and the Share Dealing bereavement page on 16 October 2026.
Bank of Scotland publishes no statement that the bereavement number is free to call. We checked their bereavement page, the call-us page and the November 2023 bereavement guide on 16 October 2026.
Bank of Scotland publishes no statement on whether the bereavement line opens on bank holidays. We checked their bereavement page, the call-us page and the November 2023 bereavement guide on 16 October 2026.
Bank of Scotland publishes no time for replying or acting after you tell them about a death (the exception: their online form says its estate administration team will call in the next few days if you say the bank is named as executor). We checked their bereavement page, the executor account page and the November 2023 bereavement guide, and the text of their online bereavement form (read from its script, as the form runs by script) on 16 October 2026.
Bank of Scotland publishes no statement on their web pages on whether you need the death certificate before you first tell them. We checked their bereavement page, the executor account page and the November 2023 bereavement guide, and the text of their online bereavement form (read from its script, as the form runs by script) on 16 October 2026.

The bereavement line's number and hours

Bank of Scotland’s live bereavement page and its call-us page, which agree with each other: 0800 015 0012 (+44(0)1733 261630 from abroad), open 8am to 6pm, 7 days a week.

Bank of Scotland’s bereavement guide, which says it is correct as of November 2023 and is linked from its Share Dealing bereavement page. Its July 2022 guide, linked from its business bereavement page, gives the same number and hours, and so does its September 2019 guide, which none of the pages we read links to: 0800 056 0073 (+44 (0) 131 278 3705 from abroad), open 8am to 8pm, seven days a week.