UK bereavement contacts·Bank

NatWest bereavement: number and forms

Read from NatWest’s own page on 16 October 2026 · source: natwest.com

How do I tell NatWest that someone has died?

Call NatWest on 0800 161 5903 (Monday to Friday 9am–5pm, excluding bank holidays), or tell them online or in person.

Phone: 0800 161 5903. Monday to Friday 9am–5pm, excluding bank holidays. Their own pages give other hours for this line: see below.
Online: Online bereavement notification form (their quickest route); webchat also available.
Post: Bereavement Services, PO Box 5612, Manchester, M61 0WN. The PO Box is for posting documents from the UK, not for telling them about a death; their business bereavement page does offer a letter to the PO Box for telling them, if you are not the executor or next of kin. Other addresses are given for posting from outside the UK.
Email: berdocuments@natwest.com (for sending documents only).
In person: Any NatWest branch or community Banking Hub; in a branch they can accept documents you bring.
From outside the UK: +44 (0)1204 684 658. Given beside the bereavement advisers' number. Their bereavement pages give hours for the phone line and do not say whether they apply to this number.
Relay UK: 18001 0800 161 5903. The bereavement line through Relay UK.

Open NatWest’s own bereavement page

Every route, with the day we read it

NatWest: the routes they publish, read from their own pages, with what each is for where they say.
Route	Detail	Read on
Phone	0800 161 5903Monday to Friday 9am–5pm, excluding bank holidays	16 Oct 2026
Online	Online bereavement notification form (their quickest route); webchat also available	16 Oct 2026
Post	Bereavement Services, PO Box 5612, Manchester, M61 0WNThe PO Box is for posting documents from the UK, not for telling them about a death; their business bereavement page does offer a letter to the PO Box for telling them, if you are not the executor or next of kin. Other addresses are given for posting from outside the UK.	16 Oct 2026
Email	berdocuments@natwest.com (for sending documents only)	16 Oct 2026
In person	Any NatWest branch or community Banking Hub; in a branch they can accept documents you bring	16 Oct 2026
From outside the UK	+44 (0)1204 684 658Given beside the bereavement advisers' number. Their bereavement pages give hours for the phone line and do not say whether they apply to this number	16 Oct 2026
Webchat	Webchat (Chat to Cora button), Monday to FridayTheir bereavement team via webchat. Their bereavement page and get-in-touch page say 8am–5pm; their sending-us-documents page says 8am to 6pm. Outside webchat hours you can chat with Cora, their digital assistant, who can connect you with a colleague if needed.	16 Oct 2026
Relay UK	18001 0800 161 5903The bereavement line through Relay UK	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.

Business accounts: 0800 161 5903 (+44 1204 684 658 from outside the UK)Their business bereavement page gives this number for telling them about a business account bereavement if you are not the executor or next of kin. It gives no opening hours. Executors, next of kin and solicitors are pointed to the online form. A letter to Bereavement Services, PO Box 5612, Manchester, M61 0WN is also offered, giving the business name, sort code and account number, the deceased person’s name, and your name and contact number.
MyRewards: 03709 016 790 (Relay UK: 18001 03709 016 790)To find out whether the person had Rewards, after you have told them about the death. Say 'Rewards' when asked the reason for your call. Lines are open Monday to Sunday, 8am to 8pm. Rewards should be claimed within 90 days of the account closing.
Estate Administration Service (Hugh James Solicitors): 02920 391019 (Relay UK: 18001 02920 391019)Their bereavement page gives this number for people already registered for NatWest’s Estate Administration Service, which Hugh James Solicitors provide. Lines are open 8am to 6pm, Monday to Friday. Their estate administration page invites contact on 029 2039 1019, the same digits. It is not the bereavement notification line.
Life insurance claim (Aviva, formerly AIG Life): 0330 390 0511Listed on NatWest’s existing life insurance customers page under 'Aviva (formerly AIG Life)' to make a life insurance claim. Lines open Monday to Thursday 9am–6pm, Friday 9am–5.30pm, excluding bank holidays.
Life insurance claim (Aviva): 0800 141 3428Listed on the same page under 'Aviva' to make a life insurance claim. Lines open Monday to Friday 8.30am–5.30pm, and Saturday 8.30am–2pm. The page does not say which of the two Aviva numbers suits which policy. Their contact page gives a third number, 0330 390 0512, for help with life insurance (Monday to Friday 8am–7pm, Saturday 10am–3:30pm).

What NatWest will ask you for

Have these ready

A death certificate. Their sending-documents page says they need to see it before they can write to you about the estate. If you do not yet have the Registrar’s certificate, they say you can send a Coroner’s death certificate, an interim death certificate, a solicitor death verification form or a foreign death certificate.
The will and any codicil. They say they need to see either the original or a copy of the signed, dated and witnessed will before they can release the person’s account information.
A Grant of Representation (England and Wales) or a Certificate of Confirmation (Scotland), only if they ask for one. Their bereavement page says they will tell you in their condolence letter.
Proof of identity and proof of address for the executor named in the will, or for the closest next of kin if there is no will or probate. They ask for one item from their list of ID documents, showing your full name, such as a current signed passport or a UK photocard driving licence, and one proof of address showing your name and full address. If you are not a NatWest customer they ask for your photo ID and proof of address.
To check your identity online, you get an email or text from their partner Mitek and are asked for a selfie, photo ID and, if needed, proof of address. Solicitors cannot use Mitek and can email, post or go into a branch instead.
How to send documents: show originals in a UK branch, email them to the documents address, or post them to the PO Box (from the UK). For email they ask for colour, readable photos with the whole document visible, and if you cannot photograph the originals they can check copies certified by a solicitor; their list of ID documents accepted by email, however, asks for a certified copy of the original for items such as a passport or a photocard driving licence. For post they recommend certified copies and do not accept original photo ID by post.
A certified translation is needed if a death certificate or will is not in English. Their bereavement page and sending-documents page also ask for one when the document comes from outside the UK, but their documents-issued-outside-the-UK page asks for one only when the document is in a language other than English. For a death certificate issued outside the UK they say they need to see the original supplied by the local authorities, or they can accept a Consular Death Registration Certificate, or a foreign death certificate with a UK solicitor’s death verification form.
To fill in the online form, their bereavement guide page says to have ready your own name, address and phone number, the person’s full name and address, the sort code and account number of one of their accounts (one is enough, even if there are several) and the death certificate number if you know it.
If the person held only a credit card with NatWest, you need the 16-digit credit card number to complete the form.

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 NatWest

Their page says webchat, phone and branch are open to next of kin, executors and solicitors. The online form first asks whether you are the closest next of kin, executor or solicitor. If you are not, it still takes you to the form, then asks you to speak to the closest next of kin or executor and ask them to contact NatWest. NatWest says it can only close the estate after speaking with them.

If you have already used the Death Notification Service to tell NatWest, their page says you do not need to do anything right now and that they will be in touch with the next steps. They describe that service as notification only and an extra to each bank’s own service.

You do not need the death certificate or the will to make the first contact. Their page says that if you do not have them yet, that is fine, and they will say at step four if they need anything else.

The documents email, berdocuments@natwest.com, is for sending documents only. Nobody replies from it, and they ask you to put your BER reference in the subject line.

Within 10 working days of your telling them, they contact you to explain what happens next. They email you if they have your email address and write to you if not. Their page also says they send a letter acknowledging your notification, with a reference starting 'BER': keep it and quote it on documents, emails and cover letters.

Once you have told them, they protect the person’s sole accounts, so no money goes in or out. They change joint accounts to the survivor’s sole name and cancel direct debits and standing orders. A joint account carries on in the survivor’s name, and they check any lending linked to it still works for you. They may still send some letters addressed to the person who has died.

A cheque the person wrote and that is presented after you have told NatWest is returned unpaid. If the person was the main cardholder on a credit card, other cardholders cannot use their cards any more.

Closing the accounts and releasing the money takes up to 10 working days once they have all the documents. You may need to complete their Account Closure Form (NWB201430), signed by the executor or next of kin. You need a BER reference first. You can submit it online or download the PDF and return it by email or at a branch. Section 3 of both versions of the form (29/08/2025 and 13/07/2026) says who signs. If the total in all the person’s sole accounts is under £50,000, an executor named in the will signs, or the immediate next of kin if there is no will. If it is £50,000 or over, all the executors named on the Grant of Representation need to sign.

If there is enough money in the person’s account, NatWest pays the funeral company direct, within five working days of having everything it needs (their funeral-costs section says about 3 to 5 working days). The invoice must be on the funeral company’s headed paper, itemised and give BACS details. They cannot reimburse a funeral bill you have already paid.

At the next step they can also pay other bills from the account, such as household bills, council tax, one utility bill per company, care fees, tax and professional fees. These are typically processed within three to five working days. To pay inheritance tax from the account they need a completed and signed IHT423 form.

An executor account opened without a grant can only be used to pay the final funeral invoice and receive payments. If you hold Power of Attorney for the next of kin, their answer says they need to see a Grant of Probate document before they can discuss the estate with you, and names no Scottish equivalent there.

If the person held something in NatWest safe custody, such as a will or title deeds, their page asks you to fill in an online form to arrange collection from a local branch.

For a business account, their business page invites a letter to the same address if you are not the executor or next of kin. If you have already told them about the person’s personal accounts, or used the Death Notification Service, their business page says you do not need to tell them again.

Their bereavement page says their Estate Administration Service is provided by Hugh James Solicitors, and gives its phone number for people who are already registered for it. Their bereavement support guide and Estate Administration help pages say a fee applies. One page on their Premier site names a different firm (see the disagreements below).

By signing the closure form you agree NatWest can use money left in the person’s sole accounts to repay what they owed NatWest. If you do not give a grant, you also agree to pay NatWest back if someone with a Grant of Representation makes a claim.

What NatWest does not publish, and where its own pages disagree

Not published

NatWest publishes no email address for telling them about a death; the only bereavement email is for sending documents. We checked their bereavement page, the get-in-touch page, the bereavement support guide page, the sending-us-documents page, the documents-issued-outside-the-UK page, the 2026 printable bereavement guide, both versions of the account closure form, the business bereavement page and the contact-us page on 16 October 2026.
NatWest publishes no postal address for telling them about a death on a personal account; the PO Box is for sending documents. We checked their bereavement page, the sending-us-documents page, the documents-issued-outside-the-UK page, the 2026 printable bereavement guide and the contact-us page on 16 October 2026.
NatWest publishes no statement of what a call to the bereavement number costs. We checked their bereavement page, the get-in-touch page, the 2026 printable bereavement guide, the contact-us page and their call charge page on 16 October 2026.
NatWest publishes no statement that telling NatWest also tells Royal Bank of Scotland, Ulster Bank, Coutts or any other bank brand. We checked their bereavement page, the get-in-touch page, the bereavement support guide page, the sending-us-documents page, the documents-issued-outside-the-UK page, the 2026 printable bereavement guide, the business bereavement page and the credit card bereavement page on 16 October 2026.

The amount below which no grant is needed

Both versions of NatWest’s account closure form (NWB201430, 29/08/2025 and 13/07/2026), which its bereavement page links to: Under £50,000 left in accounts in the person’s name only: no Grant of Representation needed. £50,000 or over: a grant is needed. Separately, the glossary on NatWest’s business bereavement page gives the grant test as total balances 'over £50K' (or safe custody held, or a grant already being applied for).

The 'Indemnifying Letter' entry in the glossary on NatWest’s personal bereavement page: An indemnifying letter can release funds when the total balances held are under £50 (printed as £50, with no K or 000) and a grant is not being applied for.