What to Do When Someone Dies: The First Two Weeks

In the first two weeks you need to do four things: wait for the death to be confirmed, register it within 5 days of being told you can, order several death certificates, and use Tell Us Once within 28 days to notify government in one go. Then the funeral. Probate is not a first-two-weeks task, and nothing about it needs doing yet.

Almost everything else can wait, and most of it should. What follows is the order things actually happen in, with the two real deadlines marked.

This guide covers England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland differ, including the registration period.

This covers the first two weeks in full. Probate itself comes later and may not be needed at all — roughly two in five estates never need a grant. The four answers, and how to tell which is yours, when you get to that point.

Days 1 to 3: confirmation

You cannot register the death yet. After someone dies, a doctor must confirm the death and then contact the medical examiner. GOV.UK notes this "can take a few days".

The medical examiner is a senior doctor, independent of the person's care, who checks that the stated cause of death is accurate. Their office will then contact you to explain the cause of death and answer questions about it or about the care given. Speaking to them is voluntary. If you want to, it is often the only chance to ask a doctor directly what happened, and many families find it worth taking.

You must wait for the medical examiner's office to confirm you can register the death. If the death has been reported to a coroner, the process is different and takes longer; the coroner's office will tell you where you stand.

In these days: tell close family and friends, and find the will if you know where it is. That is enough.

Days 3 to 8: registering the death

The 5-day rule

Register the death within 5 days of getting the medical examiner's confirmation. That includes weekends and bank holidays. If you need more than 5 days, tell the register office immediately rather than letting it slide.

Who can register

Usually a relative, someone present at the death, someone living at the place where it happened, or the person arranging the funeral.

What you get

You receive the certificate for burial or cremation, universally called the green form. Give it to your funeral director, crematorium or burial authority: the funeral cannot take place without it.

Order certificates now

This is the practical tip that saves the most grief later. Certified copies of the death certificate are cheaper and quicker to get at the appointment than afterwards, and almost every organisation wants an original or certified copy, not a photocopy.

Estate	Certificates to order
One or two accounts, no property	3 to 4
Several accounts, a property, a pension	6 to 8
Complicated, or assets abroad	10+

Count: each bank, each pension provider, each insurer, the mortgage lender, the share registrar, the Land Registry, plus two spare. It is much easier to have one too many than to wait a fortnight for another.

The same appointment: Tell Us Once

The registrar will explain Tell Us Once, a free service that reports the death to most government organisations at once. They will either complete it with you there and then, or give you a unique reference number to use yourself online or by phone.

Use it within 28 days of getting that number.

What it covers

• HMRC, for personal tax and to cancel benefits and credits such as Child Benefit
• DWP, to cancel benefits and entitlements including State Pension and Universal Credit
• The Passport Office, to cancel a British passport
• DVLA, to cancel a licence, remove the person as keeper of up to 5 vehicles, and end vehicle tax
• The local council, for Housing Benefit, Council Tax Reduction, a Blue Badge, council housing and the electoral register
• Veterans UK, and Social Security Scotland
• Several public sector pension schemes: Armed Forces, Civil Service, Local Government, NHS England and Wales, the Pension Protection Fund, and Scottish Public Pension Agency schemes

What to have ready

Their surname, date of death, the name and contact details of the person dealing with the estate, and details of any surviving spouse or civil partner or next of kin. Also useful: passport number, driving licence number, vehicle registrations, the council's name, and their National Insurance number.

You need permission from a surviving spouse, civil partner, next of kin or executor before giving their details.

Who it does not cover

Banks, mortgage providers, insurers, utilities, landlords, employers, and private or workplace pension schemes. Those are on you.

You cannot use Tell Us Once if the person lived in Northern Ireland or permanently abroad.

Week 1 to 2: the funeral

Check the will and their papers first, for funeral wishes or a prepaid plan. Prepaid funeral plans are common and are easy to miss, and finding one after the funeral has been paid for is a painful discovery.

Paying for it: most funeral directors will invoice the estate, and many banks will release money from the deceased's account to pay a funeral invoice before probate. Send the invoice to the bank and ask. If money is tight, check whether you qualify for a Funeral Expenses Payment.

Funeral costs are a debt of the estate and are paid before anyone inherits.

Week 2: the organisations Tell Us Once missed

Now the letters. Contact:

• banks and building societies
• the mortgage lender
• insurers, including home, car, life and health
• private and workplace pension schemes
• utilities, broadband, mobile, TV licence
• the landlord or housing association
• their employer
• credit cards and any loans
• subscriptions and memberships

Use a single template letter with a certified copy of the death certificate, and ask each one the two questions that matter for what comes next:

1. What was the balance at the date of death?
2. Do you require a grant of representation to release this asset?

That second question is the one that tells you whether you need probate at all. Sending every letter in the same week rather than one at a time is the single biggest time saving in the entire process.

If you cannot find their pension schemes, GOV.UK has a pension tracing service.

Also in week 2: protect the assets

• Secure any empty property. Locks, post collected or redirected, heating left on enough to prevent frozen pipes in winter.
• Tell the insurer the property is unoccupied. This one genuinely catches people: standard buildings and contents cover often lapses after 30 to 60 days of vacancy, and an insurer that was not told may decline a claim. Ring them and get the position in writing.
• Do not clear the house yet. Possessions form part of the estate, and things that look like clutter occasionally turn out to be valuable or specifically left to someone in the will.

What not to do

• Do not distribute anything. Not money, not jewellery, not the car. Debts and taxes come first, and as personal representative you are responsible from the date of death.
• Do not put the property on the market. GOV.UK advises not to make financial plans or put property on the market until you have probate.
• Do not close accounts before recording the date-of-death balance in writing.
• Do not cancel insurance.
• Do not mark the will. No staples, no paperclips, no sticky notes. Marks and holes cause queries at the probate registry.
• Do not rush into paying for probate help. Find out first whether you need a grant at all.

Whether the tax deadlines below apply to you at all depends on the estate's own figures, and it is worth knowing early because one of them is counted from the date of death. The four situations an estate can be in explains which deadlines come with each.

The two deadlines that matter now

Deadline	What
5 days	Register the death after being told you can
28 days	Use Tell Us Once after getting your reference number

Later, if Inheritance Tax is due, it must be paid by the end of the sixth month after the death, and an IHT400 must be submitted within 12 months. There is no deadline for applying for probate itself.

After the first two weeks

Once the funeral is over and the letters are out, you move into the estate stage:

1. Find out whether you need probate at all. See do you need probate.
2. Value the estate. GOV.UK warns this can take several months. See how to value an estate.
3. Work out the Inheritance Tax position. See what is an excepted estate.
4. Apply, if you need to. See how to apply for probate without a solicitor. If there was no will, check who is entitled to apply first.

There is no prize for speed here. Take it in order, one thing at a time.

Where to get support

GOV.UK links to bereavement help and support, and to bereavement services from your local council. You may also be entitled to Bereavement Support Payment if your partner died, Statutory Parental Bereavement Pay and Leave, or Guardian's Allowance.

If you are struggling, that is not a paperwork problem and it does not have a form. Talk to your GP, or to a bereavement charity. The admin will still be there next week.

Frequently asked questions

What do I have to do first when someone dies?

A doctor must confirm the death and contact the medical examiner, which can take a few days. You wait for the medical examiner's office to confirm you can register the death, then register it within 5 days of that confirmation. Nothing else is urgent in the first few days.

How long do I have to register a death?

You must register the death within 5 days of the medical examiner's office confirming you can register it, and that includes weekends and bank holidays. In Scotland the period is 8 days. If you need longer you must tell the register office immediately.

How many death certificates should I order?

Order one for each organisation that will want to see an original, typically five to ten for an estate with several accounts and a property. Ordering them when you register is cheaper and faster than ordering them later, and most organisations will not accept a photocopy.

What is Tell Us Once?

Tell Us Once is a free government service that reports a death to most government organisations in one go, including HMRC, DWP, the Passport Office, DVLA, the local council and several public sector pension schemes. You must use it within 28 days of getting your reference number.

Who can register a death?

Usually a relative, someone present at the death, someone living at the place where the death happened, or the person arranging the funeral. The registrar will explain the Tell Us Once service at the same appointment and either complete it with you or give you a reference number.

Can I arrange a funeral before probate?

Yes. The funeral goes ahead long before probate. You need the certificate for burial or cremation, the green form, which you get after registering the death. Many banks will release money from the deceased's account to pay a funeral invoice before the grant is issued.

What should I not do in the first two weeks?

Do not give away or sell possessions, do not distribute money to family, do not close accounts before you have recorded their date-of-death balances, and do not cancel the home insurance. GOV.UK also advises not making financial plans or putting property on the market until you have probate.

When do I need to think about probate?

Not in the first two weeks. Once the funeral is over, find out whether a grant is needed by asking each organisation holding an asset. There is no deadline for applying for probate, though Inheritance Tax, if any is due, must be paid by the end of the sixth month after the death.

None of this is the probate application itself; that comes weeks later, and quite possibly never. When you reach it, what this estate needs and what help with it would cost is set out here. There is no hurry, and nothing on this site will tell you there is.

Sources

Checked 17 September 2026:

• GOV.UK, What to do after someone dies: Register the death — medical examiner process, the 5-day period, the green form
• GOV.UK, Tell Us Once — what it covers, the 28-day window, what to have ready, what it does not cover
• GOV.UK, Applying for probate — not making financial plans or marketing property before probate
• GOV.UK, Dealing with the estate of someone who's died — the personal representative's responsibilities and the administration period
• GOV.UK, Pay your Inheritance Tax bill — the six-month deadline
• GOV.UK, How to value an estate for Inheritance Tax — valuing can take several months

The 30 to 60 day unoccupied property insurance point is a general market observation, not an official figure: check your own policy.

Related guides

• Do you actually need probate?
• How to apply for probate without a solicitor
• How long does probate take?
• How much does probate cost in the UK?