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🕊️ Fax Estate Documents After a Death

📅 Updated November 2026 · 🇺🇸 Send from anywhere in the US

✦ Quick Answer

You cannot report a death to Social Security by fax, email or online. The funeral home usually reports it, and otherwise you call 1-800-772-1213 or visit an office. Banks and insurers each set their own rules, and some do list a fax, such as the Wells Fargo estate fax 1-866-358-1145 and the VGLI claim fax 1-877-832-4943. Originals and certified copies cannot be sent by fax, but where a fax copy is accepted, sending it costs $2.99 for up to 3 pages.

Fax your estate documents, $2.99

Social Security: Phone or In Person Only

Social Security does not take a death report by fax, by email or online. Funeral homes generally tell Social Security when someone dies, so ask the funeral director whether they have done it. If they have not, call 1-800-772-1213, Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., with the person's name, Social Security number, date of birth and date of death. The TTY number is 1-800-325-0778. You can also report the death in person at a Social Security office.

The rule: fax estate papers only to an organization that lists a fax for them on its own estate page, claim form or letter, and send only copies it says it accepts. Report a death to Social Security by phone or in person.

Banks and Estate Accounts

Each bank sets its own process, so start with that bank's estate or bereavement page or the letter it sends you. Wells Fargo, for example, accepts notice of a death through an online form where you upload the death certificate, at a branch, by fax to 1-866-358-1145, or by mail with a notarized Letter of Instruction to Wells Fargo Bank N.A., Attention: D1118-02D, PO Box 71208, Charlotte, NC 28272-1208.

Wells Fargo requires a death certificate for all account types. For an account in the deceased person's name alone with no beneficiary, it also needs Letters Testamentary or similar court papers, and to open an estate account it needs an original or certified copy of those papers plus the estate's EIN. That last step cannot be done by fax, because a fax is never an original or a certified copy.

Fax your estate documents, $2.99

Life Insurance Claims

Life insurers also differ. For Veterans' Group Life Insurance (VGLI), the claim form SGLV 8283 can be faxed to 1-877-832-4943 or mailed to OSGLI, PO Box 70173, Philadelphia, PA 19176-9912, with a copy of the death certificate. SGLI and FSGLI claims go through the branch Casualty Assistance Office instead. VA life insurance claims (form 29-4125e) are filed online, by upload or by mail to the VA Insurance Center, PO Box 5209, Janesville, WI 53547-5209, and VA says original copies of death certificates are not required.

Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance (FEGLI) lists no fax. The FE-6 claim needs a certified copy of the death certificate. For a current employee it goes to the employing agency, and for a retiree it is mailed to the Office of Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance, P.O. Box 6080, Scranton, PA 18505-6080. For a private insurer, use the address and any fax number in the claim form or claim packet it sends you. For claim paperwork in general, see faxing insurance claim documents.

What a Fax Can and Cannot Replace

Letters Testamentary, or similar court papers appointing an executor or administrator, are issued by the local probate or surrogate's court and show who has the authority to act for the estate. Some organizations accept a copy of the death certificate, as Wells Fargo does when you notify it by fax, but when an organization asks for an original or a certified copy, you must mail or deliver it.

The estate's EIN comes from the IRS on Form SS-4, and the IRS instructions give 855-641-6935 as the fax number for domestic SS-4 applications. For other IRS fax numbers, see how to fax the IRS. If the person was a veteran and records are needed for a burial outside a VA National Cemetery, the National Personnel Records Center takes an emergency SF-180 by fax; see faxing an SF-180. For a pension or annuity, see faxing pension and annuity forms.

Fax your estate documents, $2.99

Entering the Fax Number

Select United States as the country, then type all 10 digits of the bank or insurer fax number, with no leading 1, no spaces and no dashes. The +1 is added for you, and if you type a 1 at the start, the box removes it. A number written as (866) XXX-XXXX is entered as 866XXXXXXX.

The pay button turns on only when all 10 digits are in, so a missing digit is caught before you pay. If the number is in Canada, select Canada and enter it the same way. For more help with the number box, see how to fax to a US number online.

What to Put on Each Page

Start with a cover page addressed to the department named on the form, such as the estate services team or the claims department. Give the deceased person's full name and date of death, the account, policy or claim number, your own name and your role, such as executor, administrator or beneficiary, and your phone, email and mailing address. List what is enclosed and give the page count.

Put the deceased person's name and the account or claim number at the top of every page, and number the pages. Leave Social Security numbers off the cover page; write them only where the form asks for them. Scan each document to PDF so the seal, dates and signatures can be read clearly, and send the claim form first, followed by the death certificate copy and any court papers.

Fax your estate documents, $2.99

Deadlines, Cost and Your Record

There is no single deadline for estate paperwork. Banks, insurers and courts each set their own, so follow the date in the letter, claim packet or court order you received, and send as early as you can.

A cover page, a two-page claim form, a death certificate copy and two pages of Letters Testamentary is 6 pages, which costs $2.99 + 3 x $0.99 = $5.96. You see the price before you pay.

There is no account to create, and nothing is printed on your document, so it arrives exactly as you uploaded it. Delivery usually takes a few minutes. If the fax cannot be delivered, the full amount goes back to your card automatically, and you can check the number and send again. When the fax goes through, you get a confirmation email that shows the destination number, the page count and the time it was sent, in US Eastern Time. Keep that email, because it is your record of exactly when it was sent and to which number.

OverseasFax only sends faxes. If the bank or insurer may fax something back to you, our sister service GetAFax.com gives you a private US fax number for 24 hours for $5, for up to 30 pages, and each fax arrives in your email as a PDF.

If you also need to clear a lien on a car the person owned, see faxing a car title lien release, and for every US topic, the US fax guide.

Why send it here

One price for the whole fax, shown before you pay, and nothing added at checkout.

Nothing is printed on your document. It arrives exactly as you uploaded it.

If it cannot be delivered, the money goes back to your card without you asking.

It works from anywhere in the US, in any browser, with no account.

Frequently Asked Questions

Cost and what you get

How much does it cost to fax a death certificate and claim form to an insurer?

$2.99 for up to 3 pages and $0.99 for each extra page. A cover page, a two-page claim form, a death certificate and two pages of Letters Testamentary is 6 pages, which is $5.96.

Do I need an account to fax estate papers as an executor?

No. You upload the files, enter the fax number and pay once, and the confirmation email arrives when the fax goes through.

Sending a fax

Can I fax a death certificate to Social Security?

No. Social Security does not accept death reports by fax, email or online. The funeral home usually reports the death, and otherwise you call 1-800-772-1213 or go to an office.

My dad died last week and the funeral home did not tell Social Security, what do I do?

Call 1-800-772-1213, Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., with his name, Social Security number, date of birth and date of death. You can also report it in person at a Social Security office.

Can I fax a death certificate to Wells Fargo?

Yes. Wells Fargo lists fax 1-866-358-1145 for notice of a death, along with its online form, a branch or mail, and it requires a death certificate for all account types.

How do I file a VGLI death claim?

Fax form SGLV 8283 to 1-877-832-4943 or mail it to OSGLI, PO Box 70173, Philadelphia, PA 19176-9912, with a copy of the death certificate.

Can I fax a FEGLI FE-6 claim form?

No fax is listed. The FE-6 goes to the employing agency for a current employee, or by mail to the Office of Federal Employees' Group Life Insurance, P.O. Box 6080, Scranton, PA 18505-6080, for a retiree, with a certified copy of the death certificate.

Do I need an original death certificate for a VA life insurance claim?

No. VA says original copies of death certificates are not required for form 29-4125e, which you file online, by upload or by mail to the VA Insurance Center in Janesville, WI.

Fax numbers and format

Where do I find the fax number for my mom's life insurance company?

In the claim form or claim packet the insurer sends you, or on its own claims page. Use only that number, and call the insurer if the packet shows none.

How do I type a toll-free bank fax number like 1-866-358-1145?

Select United States and type 8663581145, with no leading 1. The +1 is added for you, and the pay button turns on when all 10 digits are in.

What should I write on the cover page when I fax estate documents?

The deceased person's full name and date of death, the account, policy or claim number, your name and role, your contact details, a list of what is enclosed and the page count. Leave Social Security numbers off the cover page.

Receiving a reply

Can the bank fax me forms to sign for the estate?

Yes, if the bank agrees. OverseasFax only sends, so use our sister service GetAFax.com for a US fax number for 24 hours for $5, with faxes arriving in your email as a PDF.

Delivery, proof and safety

Can I fax Letters Testamentary instead of mailing a certified copy?

Only where the organization accepts a copy. Wells Fargo, for example, needs an original or certified copy of the court papers to open an estate account, and a fax is never either one.

How do I show the insurer when I sent the death claim?

Keep the confirmation email. It shows the destination number, the page count and the time it was sent, in US Eastern Time, which is your record of exactly when it was sent.

My fax to the estate department did not go through, what happens?

You get your money back automatically. Check the number against the bank's or insurer's form and send again.

Is it safe to fax a death certificate and account numbers?

Yes, if the number is right. The fax goes straight to the number you enter, there is no account, and nothing is printed on your document.