What do I have to do in the first 48 hours after someone dies?

Much less than most people fear. A doctor or the hospital needs to confirm the death and complete a medical certificate of cause of death - if the death happened at home and was expected, ring the GP surgery; out of hours, ring 111; if it was sudden or unexpected, ring 999. Once that is done, you need to tell close family, and if the person died at home you will usually want to contact a funeral director so they can bring the person into their care. Nothing else genuinely has to happen in the first two days. The registrar, the bank, the paperwork and the funeral can all wait.

How long do I have to register a death in the UK?

In England, Wales and Northern Ireland a death must be registered within 5 days; in Scotland the limit is 8 days. In England and Wales the clock effectively runs from the point the paperwork reaches you, because since September 2024 an NHS medical examiner reviews every death that is not being investigated by a coroner before it can be registered. The register office cannot book you in until it has the paperwork. If there is a delay, ring the register office and tell them - as long as they know, you are not in trouble.

What is the Tell Us Once service and how do I use it?

Tell Us Once is a free government service that reports a death to most government organisations in one go, instead of you writing to each of them. It covers HMRC, DWP (including State Pension and benefits), the Passport Office, DVLA, your local council for council tax, Blue Badge, libraries and the electoral register, Veterans UK, Social Security Scotland and many public sector pension schemes such as the NHS, Civil Service, Armed Forces and Local Government schemes. The registrar gives you a unique reference number when you register the death; you then use it online at gov.uk/tell-us-once or by phone. Use it within 28 days of getting the number.

Does Tell Us Once cover banks and private pensions?

No, and this is the most common misunderstanding about it. Tell Us Once deals only with government and public sector bodies. Banks and building societies, life insurers, private and workplace pension providers, mortgage lenders, landlords, utility companies, credit cards and subscriptions all have to be told separately by you. Many banks now have a single online bereavement form that takes about ten minutes, and some are part of a shared notification service that passes the details to several institutions at once - it is worth asking.

Is Tell Us Once available in Northern Ireland?

No. Tell Us Once operates in England, Scotland and Wales, and cannot be used if the person was living in Northern Ireland when they died, or was living permanently abroad. In Northern Ireland the registrar can still give you guidance and the Bereavement Service can deal with several benefit matters in one call, but you will need to contact organisations individually. It is worth asking the registrar exactly which bodies they will notify for you, and writing the rest into a list.

How many copies of the death certificate should I order?

Most families find that somewhere between four and ten certified copies covers it, and ordering them at the registration appointment is cheaper than going back later. Count the organisations that will want to see an original rather than a photocopy: each bank or building society, each pension provider, each insurer, the mortgage lender or landlord, any share registrar, and the probate application if one is needed. Certified copies are also useful because sending your only copy away by post can hold everything else up for weeks. A photocopy is not accepted by most institutions.

What happens if a coroner is involved?

A death is referred to a coroner where it was sudden, violent or unexplained, where the cause is unknown, where the person had not seen a doctor recently, or where it happened in custody. The coroner may order a post-mortem examination, and in some cases will open an inquest. Registration is then delayed until the coroner authorises it, which can take weeks or, where there is an inquest, considerably longer. In the meantime the coroner can issue an interim death certificate, which most banks, the DWP and the probate service will accept so that practical matters are not frozen while you wait.

What financial help is there with funeral costs?

If you or your partner receive a qualifying means-tested benefit such as Universal Credit or Pension Credit, you may be able to claim a Funeral Expenses Payment (called Funeral Support Payment in Scotland), which contributes towards burial or cremation fees and some other costs. It does not usually cover the whole funeral. If nobody is able or willing to arrange the funeral, the local council or hospital will arrange a public health funeral. Direct cremation, with no service at the crematorium, is the lowest-cost mainstream option and is now chosen by a substantial minority of families.

Can I claim Bereavement Support Payment, and how quickly?

Bereavement Support Payment is for people who were under State Pension age when their spouse, civil partner or cohabiting partner died. It is not means-tested. The higher rate is a one-off payment of £3,500 followed by up to 18 monthly payments of £350, and applies where you have dependent children or are pregnant, including for cohabiting couples with children; the standard rate is £2,500 followed by up to 18 monthly payments of £100. Claim within 3 months of the death to receive the full amount - later claims lose payments, and after 21 months you usually cannot claim at all.

Does a lasting power of attorney continue after death?

No. A lasting power of attorney ends completely at the moment of death, and an attorney has no authority to act afterwards - not to pay bills, not to close accounts, not to arrange anything. Authority passes to the executor named in the will, or to the person entitled to apply as administrator if there is no will. If you were an attorney, tell the bank and the Office of the Public Guardian, stop using the account, and keep clear records of anything you did before the death.

What to do when someone dies: a UK checklist for the first weeks

The first 48 hours - the short version

Almost every checklist you will find online opens with twenty or thirty tasks. That is not what the first two days look like. Here is the honest list of what has to happen now, and nothing on it is urgent in the sense of being needed within the hour.

Only these things, and only if they apply to you

Get the death formally confirmed. In hospital or a care home, the staff handle this. At home with an expected death, ring the GP surgery in working hours, or NHS 111 out of hours. If the death was sudden or unexpected, ring 999.
Tell the people who should hear it from you. Close family first. You can ask someone else to make the rest of the calls, and most people are glad to be given something useful to do.
If the death was at home, contact a funeral director. They will bring the person into their care, usually within a few hours, at any time of day or night. Ringing one does not commit you to using them, and you do not have to decide anything about the funeral itself yet.
If the person was an organ donor or had wishes about donation, tell the medical staff straight away - donation is time-critical in a way that nothing else here is.
Make sure their home and any pets are safe. Lock up, turn the heating down, take perishable food out, and arrange for any animals to be looked after.

That is it. If you are exhausted, eat something and sleep. The register office, the bank and the paperwork will all still be there in two days, and none of them penalise you for taking a breath first.

One more thing worth doing early, though not necessarily today: look for a will before you make firm funeral arrangements. A will often records what the person wanted - burial or cremation, a particular place, particular music - and it names the executor, who is the person with legal authority to act. Making arrangements and then discovering they conflict with written wishes is a painful thing to unpick. Look in the obvious places: a home file, the solicitor who did the conveyancing, a bank deposit box, or the National Will Register.

What needs doing first?

If you are not sure where you are in the process, this should place you. Find the line that describes today, and do only what it says.

Quick check

Where are you right now?

1
It happened in the last day or two

→ Wait for the medical certificate of cause of death. In England and Wales an NHS medical examiner reviews the cause first and will usually ring you to talk it through. Nothing else can be booked until that paperwork reaches the register office.
2
You have been told the paperwork is ready

→ Ring the register office in the area where the death happened and book an appointment - within 5 days in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, 8 in Scotland. Order several certified copies of the death certificate while you are there, and ask for the Tell Us Once reference number.
3
A coroner is involved

→ Registration waits until the coroner authorises it, which can take weeks. Ask the coroner's officer for an interim death certificate - banks, the DWP and the probate service normally accept it, so life does not have to stall while you wait.
4
The death is registered

→ Use Tell Us Once within 28 days to notify the government departments in one go. Then start the list of organisations it does not cover: banks, insurers, private pensions, the mortgage lender or landlord, utilities and subscriptions.
5
Government and banks are told, and the funeral has happened

→ Now is the time to think about whether probate is needed and to start valuing the estate. There is no deadline in the first few weeks, and this part is much easier once you are less exhausted.

If the death happened abroad, the process is different: register it in the country where the person died and contact the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, which can help with bringing the person home.

Registering the death

A death is registered at a register office, and it is a booked appointment rather than something you can turn up for. The legal limit is 5 days in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and 8 days in Scotland, including weekends and bank holidays. In practice the clock only becomes real once the medical paperwork exists, because the register office cannot see you before that.

The medical examiner step - new since September 2024

This is the part most older guides still miss. In England and Wales, every death that is not being investigated by a coroner is now reviewed by an NHS medical examiner - an experienced doctor with no involvement in the person's care - before it can be registered. The examiner checks the proposed cause of death, and their office will usually contact you to explain what it means and to ask whether you have any concerns about the care your relative received.

Two practical consequences. First, it can add a few days between the death and your registration appointment, and that delay is normal rather than a sign anything is wrong. Second, you are being offered a genuine opportunity to raise questions with someone independent. If something about the care has been troubling you, this is the right moment to say so, and you are not being difficult by doing it.

Who can register. Usually a relative. If no relative is available it can be someone present at the death, an official from the hospital, or the person arranging the funeral. You do not need to be the executor.

What to take. The register office will tell you exactly what it needs, and requirements vary a little between nations. Broadly, take anything you have that confirms the person's details: full name including any maiden name, date and place of birth, last address, occupation, and the full name and occupation of a surviving spouse or civil partner. Their NHS number, National Insurance number, birth certificate, marriage or civil partnership certificate and passport are all useful if you can find them. If you cannot find some of it, go anyway - the registrar would rather have you there with gaps than not at all.

What you come away with. The certified copies of the death certificate you order, a certificate for burial or cremation (the "green form") that the funeral director needs, and a unique reference number for Tell Us Once. Keep that reference number somewhere you will not lose it - it is the key to the next step.

When a coroner is involved, registration waits

Where a death is sudden, violent or unexplained, where the cause is unknown, or where the person had not seen a doctor recently, the death is referred to a coroner. The coroner may order a post-mortem examination and, in some cases, open an inquest. Registration cannot happen until the coroner authorises it, and where there is an inquest that can take months.

You are not stuck in the meantime. Ask the coroner's officer for an interim death certificate. Banks, the DWP, pension providers and the probate service normally accept it, so accounts can be dealt with and the funeral can usually still go ahead once the coroner releases the person. The Coroners' Courts Support Service offers free help to families going through this, including at inquests.

How many death certificate copies to order - and why it matters

This is the single most useful piece of practical advice on this page, because getting it wrong costs weeks rather than pounds. At the registration appointment you can buy certified copies of the death certificate. Most organisations will not accept a photocopy or a scan; they want to see an original, and many want to keep it or hold it for a while before returning it.

If you order one copy and post it round in sequence, each organisation takes a week or two and the whole administration stretches out for months. If you order several, you can write to everyone in the same fortnight. Copies bought at the registration appointment are cheaper than ordering them later, so the practical answer is to think about it before you go rather than in the room.

Rough count

How many copies will you need?

One for each bank or building society where they held an account
One for each pension provider - workplace, personal and any old ones
One for each insurer - life, home, car, travel, private medical
One for the mortgage lender or landlord
One for any shares held directly, or a share-dealing account
One to keep with your own papers, unsent

For most estates that lands somewhere between four and ten. It is far better to have one spare than to be one short six weeks from now.

Copies of the grant of probate are a separate thing

Do not confuse certified copies of the death certificate, bought from the registrar, with copies of the grant of probate, bought from the probate service later on if a grant turns out to be needed. Extra copies of the grant cost £2 each when ordered with the probate application and £16 each afterwards, so the same logic applies - order them with the application. The probate application fee itself is currently £526 for estates over £5,000. Our guide to probate costs and the probate cost calculator set out the rest.

The Tell Us Once service

Tell Us Once is the one piece of government machinery in this whole process that genuinely makes life easier, and it is free. Instead of writing separately to the tax office, the pension service, the council, the DVLA and the passport office, you report the death once and they are all notified. Most people find it takes fifteen or twenty minutes.

The registrar gives you a unique reference number when you register the death. You then use it either online at gov.uk/tell-us-once or by ringing the number the registrar gives you. Some register offices will offer to run through it with you there and then, which is worth accepting if you are finding forms hard going. Use the reference within 28 days.

Tell Us Once does cover

HMRC - income tax and any tax credits
DWP - State Pension, Universal Credit, Attendance Allowance, Pension Credit and other benefits
The Passport Office - cancels the passport
DVLA - driving licence and vehicle records
Your local council - council tax, Blue Badge, libraries, the electoral register, and council housing or adult social care where relevant
Veterans UK and Social Security Scotland
Public sector pension schemes - NHS, Civil Service, Armed Forces, teachers, police, fire and the Local Government Pension Scheme

Tell Us Once does not cover

Banks and building societies
Private and workplace pension providers
Life, home, car and travel insurers
Mortgage lenders and landlords
Utilities, broadband, mobile and the TV licence
Credit cards, loans and car finance
Subscriptions, memberships and charity direct debits
Employers, GP surgeries and dentists

Everything in this column has to be done by you. The checklist below works through it.

Tell Us Once is not available in Northern Ireland

Tell Us Once operates in England, Scotland and Wales. It cannot be used if the person was living in Northern Ireland when they died, or was living permanently abroad. In Northern Ireland, ask the registrar precisely which organisations they will notify on your behalf, and be prepared to contact the rest individually - the Bereavement Service helpline can handle several benefit and pension matters in one call, which shortens the list considerably.

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Who you have to tell yourself

This is the longest list, but almost none of it is urgent, and it is the part where letting someone else help genuinely works. If a friend keeps asking what they can do, hand them this table and a pile of death certificate copies.

Two things make it much easier. Sit down with three months of bank statements and highlight every direct debit and standing order - that is your real list, more accurate than anything you can reconstruct from memory. And keep a simple written record of who you have told and when, because six weeks from now you will not remember.

Who to tell	Why it matters	Roughly when	What they usually need
Banks, building societies and credit unions	Accounts are normally frozen once the death is notified. Joint accounts usually pass to the surviving holder.	First few weeks	Death certificate copy or, for many banks, a free online bereavement form
Private and workplace pension providers	Death benefits may be payable to a nominated beneficiary, and any overpaid income has to be repaid.	First few weeks	Death certificate copy, policy number, beneficiary details
Life insurance and other insurers	A life policy may pay out quickly and can help with funeral costs. Home and car cover must be kept valid.	First few weeks	Death certificate copy, policy number
Mortgage lender or landlord	Payments continue until the property is sold, transferred or the tenancy ends. Tenancies do not simply stop.	First month	Death certificate copy, account or tenancy reference
Utilities, broadband, phone and TV licence	Meter readings on the date of death help settle the account. A TV licence can often be cancelled or refunded.	First month	Account numbers, final meter readings
Credit cards, loans and car finance	Debts are paid from the estate, not by relatives personally - but interest and letters keep coming until you tell them.	First month	Death certificate copy, account numbers
Subscriptions and memberships	Streaming, gym, magazines, charity direct debits and food boxes carry on billing silently.	When you have the energy	Bank statements to spot what is still going out
Employer, GP surgery, dentist and hospital clinics	Stops appointment letters arriving, and the employer may owe final pay or a death-in-service benefit.	First few weeks	A phone call is usually enough
Social media and online accounts	Most platforms can memorialise or close an account. Email accounts often hold the trail of everything else.	No rush at all	Death certificate copy for some platforms
The Bereavement Register and Deceased Preference Service	Both are free and stop most marketing post, which many people find the hardest thing to keep receiving.	Whenever you are ready	Name and address of the person who died

What happens to bank accounts

A sole account is normally frozen once the bank is told, and direct debits stop. That sounds alarming, but two useful exceptions apply almost everywhere. Banks will usually pay a funeral director's invoice directly from the account before probate if you give them the invoice, and many will release funds to pay an inheritance tax bill under the Direct Payment Scheme. Ask the bereavement team - it is a routine request, not a favour.

A joint account normally passes to the surviving holder automatically and carries on working, so if household bills run from a sole account it is worth thinking about how they will be paid in the meantime.

Two things to be quietly alert to

A lasting power of attorney ends at death. If you were an attorney, your authority stopped the moment the person died - you cannot pay bills, move money or close accounts on that basis any more. Authority passes to the executor named in the will, or to whoever is entitled to apply as administrator if there is no will. Tell the bank and the Office of the Public Guardian, and keep records of anything you did beforehand.

Identity fraud after a death is real. Notices in local papers and social media posts are sometimes used to target estates. Registering with the free Bereavement Register and the Deceased Preference Service stops most marketing post and reduces the risk, and it is worth being careful about how much detail goes into a public notice.

The funeral

Nothing about the funeral needs deciding in the first few days, and funeral directors are used to families who ring, arrange for the person to be brought into their care, and then take a week to think. Before you commit to anything, three checks are worth making.

Is there a prepaid funeral plan? Look through the paperwork and ask the bank. A plan may already cover most of the cost and may specify a particular funeral director. Booking someone else first can waste a great deal of money.
Is there a will, and does it say anything about the funeral? Wills often record burial or cremation wishes. They are not legally binding on the executor, but most families want to follow them, and it saves later disagreement.
Who is actually agreeing to pay? Whoever signs the funeral director's contract is personally responsible for the bill, even though it is normally reimbursed from the estate as a first-priority expense. If the estate is small or uncertain, be clear about that before you sign.

On cost, there is a wide range and you are allowed to ask about all of it. Funeral directors must give you a standardised price list, which makes comparison straightforward. Direct cremation - a simple cremation with no service at the crematorium, after which the family can hold whatever gathering they want, whenever they want - is the lowest-cost mainstream option and is now a common choice rather than an unusual one. A separate memorial later, on your own terms, is often both cheaper and more comforting than a rushed service in the first fortnight.

Help with funeral costs

If you or your partner receive a qualifying means-tested benefit - Universal Credit, Pension Credit, Income Support, income-based Jobseeker's Allowance or Housing Benefit among others - you may be able to claim a Funeral Expenses Payment (Funeral Support Payment in Scotland). It contributes towards burial or cremation fees, certain other costs and a set amount towards everything else. It rarely covers a whole funeral, but it can make a real difference, and it is worth claiming even if you think you may not qualify.

If nobody is able or willing to arrange a funeral, the local council or the hospital will arrange a public health funeral. It is a simple but respectful cremation or burial, and family can usually attend. Nobody should feel pressured into debt by a funeral. If money is tight, our guide to Pension Credit is also worth a look, because it unlocks several other forms of help.

Money and benefits in the first month

This section matters in both directions: there is money that may be owed to you, and money that may need to be handed back.

Bereavement Support Payment

If you were under State Pension age when your spouse, civil partner or cohabiting partner died, you may be able to claim Bereavement Support Payment. It is not means-tested, so earnings and savings do not affect it, and it does not reduce most other benefits for the first year. It is paid as a first, larger lump sum followed by monthly instalments for up to 18 months.

Rate	Who it is for	First payment	Monthly, up to 18 months
Higher rate	You have dependent children, or were pregnant when your partner died - including cohabiting partners with children since the 2023 change	£3,500	£350
Standard rate	Married or in a civil partnership, without dependent children	£2,500	£100

Rates checked against gov.uk/bereavement-support-payment in July 2026. Entitlement also depends on your partner's National Insurance record, or on the death being caused by their work.

Claim within 3 months - this one really is time-sensitive

Almost nothing on this page has a deadline that will cost you money. This does. To receive the full amount of Bereavement Support Payment you usually need to claim within 3 months of the death. Claim later and you lose monthly payments - they are not backdated in full - and after around 21 months you generally cannot claim at all.

If you are within State Pension age and so not eligible, that is not the end of it: check whether you can inherit part of your late partner's State Pension, and whether you now qualify for Pension Credit as a single person when you did not as a couple. Household income changing often opens doors that were closed before.

Pensions, overpayments and tax

State Pension. Payments must stop from the date of death. Tell Us Once handles the notification. Anything paid after the death normally has to be repaid, and it is much less stressful to flag it early than to receive a letter about it later. Depending on when your partner reached State Pension age and their National Insurance record, you may be able to inherit part of their State Pension - ask the Pension Service specifically about this, because it is not always volunteered.
Private and workplace pensions. Tell Us Once does not cover these. Contact each provider. Some pay a lump sum death benefit to a nominated beneficiary, some continue a reduced pension to a spouse, and some do neither - it depends entirely on the scheme. Old paperwork and payslips are the best way to find schemes nobody remembers.
Benefits. Any benefits in the deceased's name stop. If you were claiming as a couple, your own claim will change and may need to be made again as a single person. Do not assume it happens automatically.
Tax. HMRC is notified through Tell Us Once and will work out whether tax was overpaid or underpaid in the year of death. A refund is fairly common, particularly where someone died early in the tax year.

The next few months - the estate

Once the funeral has happened and the immediate notifications are done, the remaining work is the estate: working out what the person owned and owed, whether a grant of probate is needed, paying any inheritance tax, and passing on what is left. This is the slow part, and it is the part you should not attempt while you are still running on adrenaline.

Whether probate is needed depends on how the assets were owned rather than what they were worth. Anything held as joint tenants - a jointly owned home, a joint account - normally passes straight to the surviving owner without a grant. Property in the deceased's sole name almost always requires one, because the Land Registry will not act without it. Banks apply their own thresholds and will tell you theirs if you ask in writing. Our guide to what probate is works through the decision properly.

If a grant is needed, the executor named in the will applies for it - see applying for probate for the steps, and executor duties for what the role actually involves and the responsibilities that come with it. For a realistic sense of timing, how long probate takes sets out where the delays typically fall. And before you agree to pay anyone a percentage of the estate, look at probate costs and run the numbers through the probate cost calculator - the gap between the cheapest and dearest routes on the same estate is often several thousand pounds.

Three real situations

Scenario

Ruth, 71

Husband died at home after a long illness, Yorkshire

Situation: Frank died on a Sunday evening at home, expected, with the district nurse having visited that morning. Ruth is exhausted and has two grown-up children living several hours away.

Ruth rings 111 that evening. A doctor attends, confirms the death, and tells her the GP will complete the paperwork on Monday. She rings a local funeral director at ten at night and they come within the hour. She tells her children. Then she goes to bed, and does nothing else for two days.

On Wednesday the medical examiner's office rings her. They explain the cause of death in plain language, and ask whether she has any concerns about Frank's care. She has a question about a change of medication in June; they look into it and ring her back. She had not expected this and finds it unexpectedly steadying.

She registers the death on the Friday - inside the 5 days, counted from when the paperwork was ready. She orders six certified copies because Frank had two bank accounts, three old pensions and a life policy. The registrar gives her the Tell Us Once reference and offers to do it with her at the desk. She says yes, and in twenty minutes HMRC, the DWP, the council and the DVLA are all dealt with.

Ruth is 71 and so over State Pension age, meaning no Bereavement Support Payment. But when she rings the Pension Service she finds she can inherit part of Frank's additional State Pension, and that as a single person she now qualifies for Pension Credit, which she did not as a couple. Her daughter works through the bank statements and cancels eleven direct debits.

Scenario

Daniel, 44

Mother died suddenly, coroner involved, Manchester

Situation: Aisha collapsed at home with no recent GP contact. The paramedics could not revive her, and the death was referred to the coroner. Daniel is the executor named in her will.

Nothing can be registered. The coroner orders a post-mortem examination, and Daniel is told it will be several weeks before the death can be registered. He assumes everything is frozen until then, and starts worrying about his mother's mortgage payments.

The coroner's officer puts him right. Daniel asks for an interim death certificate, and it turns out to be enough for almost everything: the bank accepts it and pays the funeral director's invoice directly from Aisha's account; the mortgage lender puts the account on hold; the DWP stops her benefits. The funeral goes ahead once the coroner releases her.

He cannot use Tell Us Once yet, because it needs the registrar's reference number and the death is not registered. So he writes his own short list and works through it over a few weekends. When registration finally happens two months later, he uses Tell Us Once anyway to catch anything he missed.

Because Aisha owned her house in her sole name, a grant of probate will definitely be needed. Daniel reads applying for probate and decides to do it himself, and uses the probate cost calculator to check what he would have paid a solicitor. The difference persuades him.

Scenario

Marie, 38

Partner died, not married, two young children, Belfast

Situation: Connor died in a road accident. They lived together for eleven years and had two children but never married. They are in Northern Ireland.

Two things about Marie's situation differ from the standard advice. First, Tell Us Once is not available in Northern Ireland. The registrar explains which organisations they will notify, and Marie contacts the rest herself - the Bereavement Service helpline deals with several benefit and pension matters in a single call, which shortens the list a good deal.

Second, she is not married - which until 2023 would have ruled her out of Bereavement Support Payment entirely. Because she has dependent children and was receiving Child Benefit, she can now claim the higher rate: £3,500 followed by monthly payments of £350. She claims in the sixth week, comfortably inside the 3-month window for the full amount. Had she waited six months, she would have lost several hundred pounds she could not get back.

Because Connor died without a will, Marie is not automatically entitled to inherit under the intestacy rules the way a spouse would be, and their home was owned in his sole name. That is genuinely complicated, and it is the point at which she takes proper legal advice rather than reading more articles - which is the right call. Our what is probate guide explains why sole-name property always needs a grant.

Questions people ask

What do I have to do in the first 48 hours after someone dies?: Much less than most people fear. A doctor or the hospital needs to confirm the death and complete a medical certificate of cause of death - if the death happened at home and was expected, ring the GP surgery; out of hours, ring 111; if it was sudden or unexpected, ring 999. Once that is done, you need to tell close family, and if the person died at home you will usually want to contact a funeral director so they can bring the person into their care. Nothing else genuinely has to happen in the first two days. The registrar, the bank, the paperwork and the funeral can all wait.
How long do I have to register a death in the UK?: In England, Wales and Northern Ireland a death must be registered within 5 days; in Scotland the limit is 8 days. In England and Wales the clock effectively runs from the point the paperwork reaches you, because since September 2024 an NHS medical examiner reviews every death that is not being investigated by a coroner before it can be registered. The register office cannot book you in until it has the paperwork. If there is a delay, ring the register office and tell them - as long as they know, you are not in trouble.
What is the Tell Us Once service and how do I use it?: Tell Us Once is a free government service that reports a death to most government organisations in one go, instead of you writing to each of them. It covers HMRC, DWP (including State Pension and benefits), the Passport Office, DVLA, your local council for council tax, Blue Badge, libraries and the electoral register, Veterans UK, Social Security Scotland and many public sector pension schemes such as the NHS, Civil Service, Armed Forces and Local Government schemes. The registrar gives you a unique reference number when you register the death; you then use it online at gov.uk/tell-us-once or by phone. Use it within 28 days of getting the number.
Does Tell Us Once cover banks and private pensions?: No, and this is the most common misunderstanding about it. Tell Us Once deals only with government and public sector bodies. Banks and building societies, life insurers, private and workplace pension providers, mortgage lenders, landlords, utility companies, credit cards and subscriptions all have to be told separately by you. Many banks now have a single online bereavement form that takes about ten minutes, and some are part of a shared notification service that passes the details to several institutions at once - it is worth asking.
Is Tell Us Once available in Northern Ireland?: No. Tell Us Once operates in England, Scotland and Wales, and cannot be used if the person was living in Northern Ireland when they died, or was living permanently abroad. In Northern Ireland the registrar can still give you guidance and the Bereavement Service can deal with several benefit matters in one call, but you will need to contact organisations individually. It is worth asking the registrar exactly which bodies they will notify for you, and writing the rest into a list.
How many copies of the death certificate should I order?: Most families find that somewhere between four and ten certified copies covers it, and ordering them at the registration appointment is cheaper than going back later. Count the organisations that will want to see an original rather than a photocopy: each bank or building society, each pension provider, each insurer, the mortgage lender or landlord, any share registrar, and the probate application if one is needed. Certified copies are also useful because sending your only copy away by post can hold everything else up for weeks. A photocopy is not accepted by most institutions.
What happens if a coroner is involved?: A death is referred to a coroner where it was sudden, violent or unexplained, where the cause is unknown, where the person had not seen a doctor recently, or where it happened in custody. The coroner may order a post-mortem examination, and in some cases will open an inquest. Registration is then delayed until the coroner authorises it, which can take weeks or, where there is an inquest, considerably longer. In the meantime the coroner can issue an interim death certificate, which most banks, the DWP and the probate service will accept so that practical matters are not frozen while you wait.
Can I use the deceased's bank account to pay for the funeral?: Not directly - the account is normally frozen when the bank is told. But almost all UK banks will pay a funeral director's invoice straight from the account, before probate, if you give them the invoice. Many will also release funds to pay an inheritance tax bill under the Direct Payment Scheme. Ask the bereavement team at the point you notify them; it is a routine request. If there is not enough in the account, check for a prepaid funeral plan, a life policy, or whether the estate can reimburse whoever pays.
What financial help is there with funeral costs?: If you or your partner receive a qualifying means-tested benefit such as Universal Credit or Pension Credit, you may be able to claim a Funeral Expenses Payment (called Funeral Support Payment in Scotland), which contributes towards burial or cremation fees and some other costs. It does not usually cover the whole funeral. If nobody is able or willing to arrange the funeral, the local council or hospital will arrange a public health funeral. Direct cremation, with no service at the crematorium, is the lowest-cost mainstream option and is now chosen by a substantial minority of families.
Can I claim Bereavement Support Payment, and how quickly?: Bereavement Support Payment is for people who were under State Pension age when their spouse, civil partner or cohabiting partner died. It is not means-tested. The higher rate is a one-off payment of £3,500 followed by up to 18 monthly payments of £350, and applies where you have dependent children or are pregnant, including for cohabiting couples with children; the standard rate is £2,500 followed by up to 18 monthly payments of £100. Claim within 3 months of the death to receive the full amount - later claims lose payments, and after 21 months you usually cannot claim at all.
Does a lasting power of attorney continue after death?: No. A lasting power of attorney ends completely at the moment of death, and an attorney has no authority to act afterwards - not to pay bills, not to close accounts, not to arrange anything. Authority passes to the executor named in the will, or to the person entitled to apply as administrator if there is no will. If you were an attorney, tell the bank and the Office of the Public Guardian, stop using the account, and keep clear records of anything you did before the death.
When do I need to worry about probate?: Not in the first few weeks. Whether a grant of probate is needed depends on how the assets were owned rather than what the estate is worth - anything held as joint tenants passes automatically to the survivor, while property in the deceased's sole name almost always requires a grant. Most institutions will tell you their own threshold if you ask in writing. Our guides on what probate is and applying for probate walk through the decision, and there is a calculator for the likely cost.

If you need someone to talk to

The practical list on this page is finite and you will get to the end of it. The rest is not a task and does not need managing. If you want to talk to someone who is not family, these organisations are free and you do not need a referral:

Cruse Bereavement Support - the UK's largest bereavement charity, with a free national helpline, online chat and local one-to-one support.
Samaritans - free, 24 hours a day, every day of the year, on 116 123. You do not have to be in crisis to ring, and you can also email.
Marie Curie - a free support line and practical information for anyone affected by dying, death and bereavement, whether or not Marie Curie nurses were involved.
Your GP - worth telling them, both so it is on your record and because they can point you to local bereavement services.
Coroners' Courts Support Service - free help for families going through a coroner's investigation or an inquest, including someone to sit with you in court.

There is no schedule for any of this. Some people want to deal with the paperwork straight away and some cannot look at it for a month. Both are normal, and the deadlines on this page are far more forgiving than they appear.

About this guide

This is general information about the process after a death in the UK, checked against GOV.UK guidance in July 2026. It is not legal, tax or financial advice, and it cannot take account of your particular circumstances. Rules and figures differ between England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and they change. Where an estate involves a business, land, assets abroad, a disputed will, an intestacy with an unmarried partner, or anyone who may have a claim against the estate, take advice from a solicitor before you distribute anything. See our disclaimer for more.

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