Which organisations does Tell Us Once tell in Scotland?

Tell Us Once will notify Social Security Scotland, HM Revenue and Customs, the Department for Work and Pensions, the Passport Office, the DVLA, the local council, Veterans UK and some public sector pension schemes. Through the council it covers Housing Benefit, Council Tax Reduction, a Blue Badge, council housing and the electoral register. HMRC and DWP will contact you about the person's tax, benefits and entitlements.

Home › What to do when someone dies › Tell Us Once · Scotland

Tell Us Once · Scotland

Tell Us Once in Scotland: report a death to government in one go

Tell Us Once is a service that lets you report a death to most government organisations in one go, including Social Security Scotland. A registrar will explain it when you register the death. It does not reach banks, employers or utility companies; you tell those yourself.

§1

Take it one step at a time.

01

Let the registrar explain it when you register the death

A registrar will explain the Tell Us Once service when you register a death. They will either complete the service with you, or give you a unique reference number so you can use it yourself online or by phone. The registrar will give you the number to call, and this includes Relay UK if you cannot hear or speak on the phone.

02

Check you can use it

You can use Tell Us Once if the person who died was living in Scotland, England or Wales. The death must have been either registered, or reported to the procurator fiscal or a coroner and you have a final or interim death certificate. You cannot use it if the person was living in Northern Ireland when they died, or living abroad permanently when they died.

03

Use a reference number within 28 days

If the registrar gives you a reference number rather than completing the service with you, you must use the service within 28 days of getting your unique reference number. If the death has been reported to the procurator fiscal, you can still use the service once you have a final or interim death certificate. If you do not use Tell Us Once, you need to tell the relevant organisations about the death yourself.

04

Have the details ready

Have the reference number from the registrar, the person's surname and the date they died. You will be asked for the name, address and contact details of the person dealing with their estate, and for any surviving spouse or civil partner, or their next of kin. You may also need their passport number, driving licence number and vehicle registration numbers; their National Insurance number helps some organisations match records faster. You need permission from the spouse or civil partner, next of kin or executor before you give their details.

05

What one report reaches

Tell Us Once will notify Social Security Scotland, HM Revenue and Customs, the Department for Work and Pensions, the Passport Office, the DVLA, the local council, Veterans UK and some public sector pension schemes, including the Scottish schemes for NHS staff, teachers, police and firefighters. HMRC and DWP will contact you about the tax, benefits and entitlements of the person who died.

06

Tell everyone else yourself

Tell Us Once reaches government organisations. You will also need to tell other services and organisations the person was involved with. This may include their GP and other health professionals, any hospital or care home they attended, carers or care services, their employer, their landlord if they rented, their bank or building society, other financial organisations such as private pension providers or insurance companies, utility companies, and mobile phone and internet providers. Some may ask for a copy of the death certificate.

Sources · read on 18 October 2026

mygov.scot: Tell Us Once
GOV.UK: Tell Us Once
mygov.scot: What else needs to be done after someone dies

§2

A short checklist for this step.

Free to use — nothing to sign up for. Work down it at your own pace.

Checklist · 8 steps

Ask the registrar to explain Tell Us Once when you register the death
Check the person was living in Scotland, England or Wales
If you are given a reference number, use the service within 28 days
Have the reference number, their surname and the date they died ready
Get permission from the spouse, civil partner, next of kin or executor before giving their details
List the GP, employer, landlord, bank and utility companies you will tell yourself
Tell the DVLA yourself if you are keeping or selling their vehicle, even after Tell Us Once
Check whether their Blue Badge needs returning to the council that issued it

An older woman's hands writing a list on a lined notepad at a kitchen table early in the morning, a half-drunk mug of tea, a phone face down and a pair of folded reading glasses beside her. — Sample household.

England Wales

Scotland

Northern Ireland

SIGNUMValoren’s own case-work deskFor estates in England and Wales

Want help with the whole estate?

Signum is part of Valoren — our own service, and we say so plainly.

Signum finds every account, policy and debt, chases the institutions and sets the figures out in one schedule you confirm. A separate regulated firm, named in your written quote, prepares and submits the probate application.

For an estate you sign two written agreements, never one. Both agreements, with both prices, are put in front of you before you commit to either.

It starts with a free intake, and if we are not the right fit for your estate, we will tell you so and point you at the directories below.

Ask what it would cost, free How it works, and the price bands

No call needed. We reply by email within two business days: what the work would involve and what it is likely to cost.

Valoren is not a law firm and is not regulated: no regulator, no Legal Ombudsman and no compensation fund cover our part. No referral fees, either way.

Prefer an independent adviser? The Law Society, STEP and the Chartered Institute of Taxation keep public directories, and none of them pays Valoren a referral fee.

§3

Answered, plainly.

Through the council it covers Housing Benefit, Council Tax Reduction, a Blue Badge, council housing and the electoral register. HMRC and DWP will contact you about the person's tax, benefits and entitlements.

It reports the death to government organisations. You still need to tell the person's GP, any hospital or care home, carers, their employer, their landlord, their bank or building society, private pension providers and insurers, utility companies, and phone and internet providers yourself. Private pensions are separate unless they are one of the public sector schemes Tell Us Once contacts.

If the registrar gives you a unique reference number to use the service yourself, you must use it within 28 days of getting the number. If you do not use Tell Us Once, you need to tell the relevant organisations about the death yourself.

Yes, once you have a final or interim death certificate. You can use Tell Us Once if the death has been registered, or if it was reported to the procurator fiscal or a coroner and you have a final or interim death certificate.

No. You cannot use Tell Us Once if the person was living in Northern Ireland when they died, or living abroad permanently when they died. You can use it if they were living in Scotland, England or Wales, and GOV.UK says this includes someone who died while abroad temporarily, for example on a holiday or business trip.

If you are keeping or selling the person's vehicle, you must tell the DVLA, even if you have used Tell Us Once.

Tell Us Once asks the DVLA to cancel their licence and end the vehicle tax; what happens to the vehicle itself is separate. You may also need to cancel or return their passport, and usually return a Blue Badge to the council that issued it.

§4

Related next steps

↑ OverviewWhat to do when someone dies (the England and Wales guide) →→ StepRegistering a death in Scotland →↓ HelpNotification letters for the organisations you tell yourself →

When you're ready

The Family Handover Kit is a set of prepared pages where a household writes down who to call, where things are kept and what the people who step in will need, for the day someone has to work through a list like this one.

The Family Handover Kit for Scotland

Informational, not legal or financial advice. This guide covers Scotland; England, Wales and Northern Ireland differ. Always confirm current rules at mygov.scot before acting.