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Bereavement guide

What to do when someone dies

Need to let us know about a bereavement?

We're sorry to hear about your recent loss and we offer our sympathies at this difficult time. The quickest and easiest way to let us know is by completing our online form.

Tell us about a bereavement

For more information about how we will use the personal data you provide, please see our Privacy Notice.

Have you already used the Death Notification Service (DNS) to let us know about this death?
The Death Notification Service is a free service which allows you to notify a number of member organisations of a person's death, all at the same time.

You don't need to do anything right now

Thanks for using the DNS to notify us know of our customer's passing.

We have all the details we need and will be in touch shortly to let you know about the next steps.

Are you the closest next of kin, executor or solicitor?
An executor is a legal representative who acts on behalf of the deceased customer's estate. They make sure all assets and requests are handled and distributed correctly. Viewing the will helps us know we are dealing with the correctly appointed person/people.

What we need from you

  • Your details.
  • The details of the person who has passed away.

We'll also ask for certain documents, but it's ok if they aren't available right now. They can be sent to us when they're ready.

What we need from you

  • Your details.
  • Details of the person who has passed away.

After you have submitted the details, please speak to the closest next of kin or executor and ask them to contact us as soon as they can. We can only close the deceased customer's estate after speaking with them.

We'll also ask for certain documents, but it's ok it they aren't available right now. They can be sent to us when they're ready.

Please complete the form with as much detail as you can. Mandatory fields are marked with an asterisk (*).

Already let us know?

If you notified us of a death before 20th November 2023, you can access this here via Click & Notify.

If you notified us after this date and need to send some documents, you can do this by following the "send documents" button just below.

Other ways to let us know

The other ways to notify us of a bereavement are listed below, click on each for more information. All are open to next of kin, executors and solicitors.

Bereavement checklist

Losing someone you love is difficult, and arranging all the formalities and paperwork can be confusing, so we’ve created a checklist to help you take those first steps: 

  1. 01

    Register the death

    Register the death within 8 days (5 days in England, Wales and Northern Ireland). This includes weekends and bank holidays. Find out how to do this here

  2. 02

    Arrange the funeral

    If you don’t know how or where to get started you can find the information here.  

  3. 03

    Let their bank(s) know

    If our customer only banked with Royal Bank of Scotland, the quickest and easiest way to let us know is via our online portal. If you'd prefer, you can call us on 0800 161 5904 to let us know about a death.

    Lines are open Monday - Friday, 9am-5pm.

    Relay UK: 18001 0800 161 5904

    If our customer banked with us and other banks, you can use the Death Notification Service to let them all know at the same time.

  4. 04

    Use the Government's 'Tell us Once' service  

    This service will inform government bodies such as HMRC, Department for Work and Pensions, the Passport Office, the DVLA and the local council.

    More information is available here.

  5. 05

    Managing their bills

    To sort out their bills you need to contact their providers and will usually need to supply either a copy or extract of the death certificate.

  6. 06

    Check if you can get bereavement benefits

    If your husband, wife or civil partner died in the last 21 months, you may be able to get Bereavement Support Payment.

What happens once you notify us

Frequently asked questions

Funeral invoice payment

You can use money from the deceased’s account to help with funeral costs

If you send or upload the final invoice on the funeral company’s headed paper, we’ll pay the funeral company directly. The fees will be paid in three to five working days.

Please note we are unable to make any reimbursement of funeral invoice that has already been paid.

We're here to help

You can get in touch with our dedicated team via webchat.

You can ask us any question you may have by clicking on the floating button on the right hand side of the page.

You can also call us on 0800 161 5904. 

Lines are open:
Monday to Friday 9am - 5pm

Relay UK: 18001 0800 161 5904

Umbrella and coins

Estate administration

If our deceased customer registered for our Estate Administration Service, provided by Hugh James Solicitors, you can contact them on 02920 391019 or Relay UK on 18001 02920 391019. Lines are open 8am - 6pm (Mon-Fri).

With this service, you will be assigned a dedicated case manager to make sure the terms of the will are carried out appropriately. 

Find out more about our Estate Administration Service.

Is there something else we can help you with?