What documents do you need to remove a deceased person's online accounts?

One reason these requests feel so hard is that nobody tells you which piece of paper is enough. Families either send everything and wait, or send the wrong thing and get a rejection with no explanation. The good news is that the same small set of documents covers almost every platform, and you can get most of them in a week.

The death certificate

When you register the death, the registrar gives you certified copies of the death certificate. Order more than you think you need, because banks, insurers and pension providers often ask for an original, and platforms accept a clear photo or scan. If you run out, you can order copies from the General Register Office for England and Wales for £12.50 each, sent four days after you apply, or £38.50 for next working day dispatch if you order by 4pm. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own registers with similar fees.

If the death was referred to a coroner, you may have an interim death certificate while the inquest is open. Most organisations accept it, and platforms that ask for "documentation confirming the death" generally do too. If one refuses, a letter from the coroner's office usually resolves it.

Proof that you can act

Platforms draw a line between two things you might be asking for. Anyone can ask for an account to be memorialised, and for that they usually only want proof of death. Only immediate family or the person legally handling the estate can ask for an account to be removed or for money or data to be released, and for that they want to see the link between you and the person.

• A birth certificate showing the parent's name, for a child of the person, or the person's own birth certificate if you are their parent.
• A marriage or civil partnership certificate for a spouse or partner. If your surname changed, this is also the document that connects your ID to the name on the death certificate.
• The grant of probate if there was a will and you are the executor, or letters of administration if there was not. These name you as the estate's representative. You do not need probate just to memorialise or remove a social media account, but PayPal, Google and Amazon may ask for it before releasing a balance.
• A will alone is weaker evidence than the grant, because it has not been through the court, but it helps while probate is pending.
• If the death was registered abroad, our country by country guide explains what the same documents are called in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Ireland.

Your own identity

A passport or driving licence. Some platforms ask for it on every request, others only for removal. Photograph it in good light, and cover the numbers that are not needed, such as the passport number, if the platform only needs to see your name and photo.

Identifying the account

This is the document families forget, and it causes more rejections than anything else. Each platform needs enough to find the right account:

• Facebook and Instagram: the profile's web address, copied from the address bar, not the person's name typed in. Instagram wants the username without the @ sign.
• Google: the exact Gmail address.
• Apple: the email address used as the Apple Account, and the device serial numbers for Activation Lock.
• LinkedIn and X: the profile address.
• PayPal and Amazon: the email address on the account.

What each platform asks for, as of September 2026

• Facebook: to memorialise, an obituary, death certificate, memorial card or other proof of death. To remove, the same plus verification that you are immediate family or the executor. UK guide.
• Instagram: to memorialise, a link to an obituary or news article. To remove, the person's birth certificate, death certificate, or proof of authority under local law. UK guide.
• Google: your ID and the death certificate to close the account; the grant of probate or letters of administration to request money; a court order for data. UK guide.
• Apple: the Legacy Contact access key and a death certificate for access; a death certificate to close the account; proof of purchase for Activation Lock; a court order for access with no Legacy Contact. Guide.
• LinkedIn: an obituary link to memorialise; death certificate, your ID and proof of relationship or authority to close. Guide.
• X: the death certificate and your ID, from family or the executor. Guide.
• Microsoft: the death certificate and proof of your relationship, through its next of kin process. Guide.
• PayPal and Amazon: the death certificate, your ID, and for a balance, the estate paperwork. PayPal, Amazon.
• Pinterest: an email with the profile link, proof of death and proof of relationship, which can be as simple as your name in the obituary.

Getting the format right

Sending documents safely

Only ever upload documents through the platform's own form, reached from its Help Centre, never through a link in an email or message you did not expect. Never send anyone a password, and treat any request for one as a scam. If you use a service like ours, the documents go through a private case page for that family only, and are deleted when the case is closed if you ask us to.

Or send them once and let us do the rest

Departed Digital asks for the documents once, at the stage they are needed rather than at the start, and uses them for every platform in the case. You get a written record of what was sent where and what happened. Packages start from £149.