How to Find Bank Accounts Belonging to Someone Who Died

Finding a deceased person's bank accounts is a different task from gaining authority to withdraw the money.

First you need to identify the providers and accounts. Then the executor, administrator or other legally authorised person follows each provider's bereavement process to obtain balances and deal with the funds.

There is no single search that guarantees to identify every active bank account in the UK.

Use this order:

1. search the deceased person's own records for known providers;
2. contact banks and building societies you can identify directly;
3. use the Death Notification Service for participating organisations and active accounts;
4. use My Lost Account to search for dormant/lost bank, building-society and NS&I accounts;
5. contact NS&I directly where Premium Bonds or other NS&I products are suspected; and
6. once an account is found, follow the bank's bereavement process to prove your authority to deal with it.

My Lost Account says executors and next of kin can use its tracing service, but it also makes an important distinction: it traces lost accounts, generally accounts untouched for a long period, rather than every active account.

Before using any tracing service, gather what is already available lawfully to the estate.

Look for:

• bank statements;
• bank cards;
• cheque books;
• paying-in books;
• savings passbooks;
• letters;
• ISA certificates;
• tax records;
• Premium Bond records;
• Direct Debits;
• standing orders;
• interest certificates;
• pension paperwork;
• emails; and
• files kept by the deceased.

Bank statements from one account can reveal transfers to another provider.

A regular transfer labelled with another bank or savings reference can be the clue that finds a second account.

Depending on the deceased person's circumstances, useful clues can also appear in:

• Self Assessment records;
• savings-interest records;
• accountant files;
• financial-adviser records;
• solicitor files;
• previous probate or inheritance paperwork; and
• correspondence about ISAs or investments.

Do not assume an account with no recent paper statements did not exist. Many people switched to paperless banking years ago.

If you know or strongly suspect the provider, contact its bereavement team.

My Lost Account itself says this should be the first step for an executor or next of kin because the account may still be active rather than classified as lost.

You may be asked for:

• the deceased person's full name;
• date of birth;
• date of death;
• previous addresses;
• death certificate;
• account details if known; and
• evidence of your authority where required.

At the tracing stage, the bank may limit what it can tell you until your identity and legal entitlement are established.

The Death Notification Service is a free service designed to let a bereaved person notify participating banks, building societies and other member organisations of a death.

It can reduce the need to make the same notification repeatedly.

But it is not a universal hidden-account search across the whole UK banking market.

My Lost Account specifically notes that the Death Notification Service applies to active accounts with its participating organisations, while My Lost Account can be used separately for lost/dormant accounts.

Treat the two services as complementary, not interchangeable.

My Lost Account is a free tracing service bringing together:

• UK Finance's bank tracing scheme;
• the Building Societies Association scheme; and
• NS&I tracing.

It is designed for lost personal accounts where the account holder has lost touch with the provider.

The service says that if an account has been inactive for an extended period — often around 15 years — it may be treated as lost.

For a deceased person, the search form can be used by people such as an executor or next of kin and asks for a date of death.

It is free. Do not pay a tracing company simply for access to this service.

My Lost Account says that where an executor or next of kin does not know the bank, it recommends searching the five largest firms — HSBC, Barclays, Lloyds, NatWest and Santander — and using the regional search option for building societies.

That still does not prove there were no accounts elsewhere.

Use the deceased person's own records alongside the tracing services rather than treating any one search as exhaustive.

Contact NS&I directly if you suspect the deceased held:

• Premium Bonds;
• Direct Saver;
• Income Bonds;
• older NS&I products; or
• historic Post Office savings products within the relevant tracing arrangements.

My Lost Account can assist with lost NS&I products, but its guidance also points people with known NS&I details to NS&I directly.

If you have a holder's number, account reference or old prize correspondence, include it.

The current My Lost Account form asks for details such as:

• full name on the account;
• date of birth;
• date of death;
• previous addresses;
• likely provider;
• branch, if known;
• joint-account names;
• account number, if known;
• account type;
• approximate opening date;
• approximate last-use date; and
• approximate balance.

It also asks how the person searching is connected to the deceased, such as executor, beneficiary or next of kin.

You do not need to know every answer. Supply what you can accurately.

Finding the account does not automatically release the money.

The provider still needs to establish:

• your identity;
• the death;
• who has legal authority over the estate; and
• whether probate, letters of administration, Scottish confirmation or other documents are required.

Our guide on accessing a deceased person's bank account covers that next stage.

Each provider can have its own release requirements.

A dormant or lost account is not automatically forfeited.

My Lost Account says that after 15 years of no contact, money may have been transferred under the dormant-assets scheme, but banks and building societies continue to hold records and the money remains reclaimable by the legally entitled person or heirs following a legitimate claim.

That means "it is old" is not a reason to stop searching.

Our guide on lost savings accounts explains the dormant-assets route in more detail.

Do not assume you have an automatic right to obtain or browse a deceased person's credit report simply because you are a relative.

A credit report would also be incomplete as an asset-search tool because ordinary savings accounts are not a comprehensive part of consumer credit reporting.

Use bank, estate and tracing routes designed for bereavement instead.

My Lost Account is for UK-based personal accounts.

Foreign accounts need to be traced through the relevant overseas institution or jurisdiction.

Look for:

• foreign tax returns;
• international transfer records;
• overseas property paperwork;
• foreign-currency statements; and
• professional advisers with knowledge of the deceased's affairs.

Cross-border estates can have separate probate and tax requirements, so professional advice may be appropriate.

Create one row for every institution or clue:

This prevents repeated searches and gives the executor an audit trail.

Browse all our savings guides.

• My Lost Account — Start a search
• My Lost Account — About the service
• My Lost Account — FAQs
• GOV.UK — Applying for probate

Related: Accessing a Deceased Person's Bank Account | Inheritance and Savings After Death | Trace Lost Savings Accounts.