Notifying Companies After Death
Who to Contact and What to Have Ready
Alongside grieving, one of the first practical jobs facing an executor or administrator is telling the world, or at least the parts of it the person who died dealt with, that they have passed away. Notifying organisations promptly helps prevent fraud, stops unnecessary charges building up, and allows the estate to be administered without unnecessary delay.
Every estate looks a little different, but most executors will end up contacting banks, utility providers, insurers, government departments and various financial institutions, often more of them than they expected.
This guide sets out who typically needs to know, and what you will usually need to have ready before you contact them.
Why Notifying Companies Matters
Telling an organisation about a death allows them to update their records, guard against identity fraud, stop unnecessary payments going out, freeze accounts where appropriate, confirm outstanding balances, release funds to the estate, and transfer ownership of ongoing services.
Delays here are rarely dramatic on their own, but they do tend to compound, creating avoidable costs and extra correspondence further down the line.
Documents You'll Usually Need
Most organisations will ask for broadly similar information: an original or certified copy of the death certificate, your own identification, the Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration where required, relevant account or policy numbers, and your contact details as executor or administrator.
Exact requirements do vary by organisation, so it is worth having copies of the death certificate ready before you start, since almost every call or letter will need one.
Banks and Building Societies
Banks should be informed as soon as reasonably possible. They may freeze sole accounts, confirm balances, explain what Probate they require before releasing funds, and eventually close accounts once administration is complete.
Joint accounts are often treated differently depending on the ownership arrangement.
Our guide on informing a bank about a death walks through this specific process in more detail.
Mortgage Providers
If the person who died had a mortgage, it is worth contacting the lender promptly.
They can explain the outstanding balance, any payment arrangements available during administration, and what is required regarding the property itself while the estate is being settled.
Insurance Companies
Notify providers covering home, car, life, travel, health and pet insurance as relevant.
If a property is going to sit unoccupied for any length of time while the estate is administered, it is worth checking whether the home insurance policy has additional conditions that apply to empty properties, since this is easy to overlook.
Utility Providers
Contact suppliers for gas, electricity, water, broadband, telephone and mobile contracts.
Depending on the circumstances, you may need to close accounts, transfer them, update billing details, or arrange a final meter reading. Small ongoing utility bills are one of the more common things families forget to deal with promptly.
Council Tax
The local authority should also be informed.
Depending on the circumstances, the property may qualify for a Council Tax exemption or discount while the estate is being administered, so it is worth asking directly rather than assuming full charges continue automatically.
HMRC, DWP and Pension Providers
HMRC may need to be informed regarding Income Tax, Inheritance Tax, Capital Gains Tax or Self Assessment, and the executor carries responsibility for making sure this is handled correctly.
Benefits through the DWP should usually stop after death, so notifying them promptly helps prevent overpayments that may later need repaying.
Each pension provider should also be contacted directly, since they can advise whether death benefits or a survivor’s pension apply, and whether additional forms are needed.
Employers and Investment Companies
If the person who died was employed, their employer should be told, since outstanding salary, holiday pay or other employment benefits may need to be paid to the estate.
Investment companies holding shares, funds, ISAs, bonds or Premium Bonds should also be notified, and will usually require evidence of your authority as executor before releasing or transferring anything.
Subscriptions and Digital Accounts
It is easy to overlook the smaller, recurring things: streaming platforms, magazine subscriptions, gym memberships, software subscriptions, cloud storage and delivery memberships all keep charging until someone cancels them.
The same goes for email, social media, online shopping accounts, digital wallets and cryptocurrency platforms, each of which has its own policy for dealing with a deceased user’s account.
Using the Tell Us Once Service
Where available, the government’s Tell Us Once service lets you notify a range of government departments and council services, including HMRC, the DWP, the DVLA and the Passport Office, through a single process rather than contacting each one separately.
You are usually given a reference number by the registrar when you register the death, and the service needs to be used within 28 days of that point. It is worth knowing that
Tell Us Once does not cover everything, banks, insurers, pension providers and most private companies still need to be contacted individually, so treat it as a helpful shortcut for the government side rather than a complete solution. Full details are available directly on GOV.UK’s Tell Us Once page.
Create a Notification Checklist
Many executors find it genuinely helpful to keep a simple record as they go, noting the company name, account number, date notified, who they spoke to, what action is required, and the date it was completed.
This sounds like extra admin on top of everything else, but it consistently saves time later, particularly if a company asks you to confirm something you dealt with weeks earlier.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
A few mistakes come up again and again during this stage: forgetting small subscriptions, cancelling insurance too early rather than checking cover during the administration period, ignoring tax authorities until a letter arrives, not checking for existing direct debits, assuming one organisation will automatically tell another, and destroying paperwork before administration has properly finished.
Compare Estate Administration Solicitors Near You
Managing dozens of organisations after someone dies can feel overwhelming on top of everything else you are dealing with.
Find a Funeral will soon help you compare experienced estate administration solicitors who can handle correspondence, Probate applications and wider estate administration on your behalf.
As soon as reasonably practical after the death has been registered, since this helps prevent fraud and stops unnecessary charges or payments continuing.
No. Some organisations can release smaller balances or close accounts without formal legal authority, while others, particularly where larger sums are involved, will require the Grant of Probate or Letters of Administration first.
Yes. Keeping copies of every letter, email and form submitted throughout the administration process makes it far easier to answer questions later, and provides a clear record for the estate accounts.
No. Tell Us Once only covers government departments and council services. Banks, building societies, insurers and pension providers still need to be contacted individually.
Many will simply keep charging until someone actively cancels or closes them, which is why it is worth checking bank statements for recurring payments as part of the wider notification process.