GOV.UK Notify Integration

GOV.UK Notify is the UK government’s official notification service for sending emails and text messages. It is free for all public sector organisations and provides a reliable, accessible way to send incident notifications to individuals at scale.

Who can use GOV.UK Notify?

GOV.UK Notify is available to central government departments, local authorities, NHS trusts, police forces, fire and rescue services, educational institutions, and other public sector bodies. If your organisation has a .gov.uk email address, you can register immediately.

Setup Steps

In GOV.UK Notify

Register for a GOV.UK Notify account at notifications.service.gov.uk using your official organisational email address.
Create a new service (e.g. “Cyber Incident Notifications”).
Create email and/or SMS templates for your incident notifications. Use personalisation fields so CrownSync can populate them dynamically (see below).
Go to API integration in the Notify dashboard and generate an API key. Choose the key type based on your needs:
- Test— pretends to send messages (use during setup)
- Team and guest list— sends only to team members and allowlisted numbers/addresses
- Live— sends to anyone (requires going live approval from GOV.UK Notify)

In CrownSync

Go to Admin → Integrations → GOV.UK Notify.
Paste your GOV.UK Notify API key.
Enter your template IDs for each notification type (email and/or SMS).
Click Save. CrownSync will validate the API key and confirm the connection.

Personalisation Fields

When creating templates in GOV.UK Notify, use personalisation fields that CrownSync will populate automatically. Include them in your template using double brackets, e.g. ((incident_title)).

Field	Description	Example Value
`incident_title`	Title of the incident	Suspected ransomware infection
`incident_severity`	Severity level	Critical
`incident_ref`	CrownSync incident reference number	INC-2026-0042
`incident_date`	Date the incident was declared	13 April 2026
`incident_status`	Current incident status	Containment
`organisation_name`	Your organisation’s name	Example Borough Council
`contact_name`	Name of the incident lead	Jane Smith
`contact_email`	Contact email for enquiries	[email protected]

Sending Breach Notifications to Individuals

Under UK GDPR, organisations may need to notify affected individuals when a personal data breach is likely to result in a high risk to their rights and freedoms. GOV.UK Notify is well suited for this because it provides reliable, trackable delivery at scale.

CrownSync can trigger batch notifications via GOV.UK Notify when you activate a breach notification communication template. You can:

Upload a CSV of affected individuals (name, email, and/or phone number)
Select the appropriate GOV.UK Notify template
Preview the personalised message before sending
Send via email, SMS, or both

Going live

Before sending notifications to real recipients, your GOV.UK Notify service must be approved for live use. This requires submitting a request through the Notify dashboard. Allow time for the approval process before relying on live notifications during an incident.

Delivery Tracking

GOV.UK Notify provides delivery status tracking for all messages sent. CrownSync syncs these statuses so you can see:

Delivered— message was successfully delivered
Sending— message is in the queue
Failed— permanent failure (invalid address or number)
Temporary failure— inbox full or phone off (Notify will retry)

Delivery statuses are logged in the CrownSync audit trail, providing evidence that breach notifications were sent and received.

Troubleshooting

403 Forbidden: Your API key may have been revoked or is the wrong type. Check the Notify dashboard and generate a new key if needed.
Template not found: Verify the template ID in CrownSync matches the ID shown in GOV.UK Notify. Template IDs change if you delete and recreate a template.
Messages not sending: If using a test key, messages are simulated and will not be delivered. Switch to a team or live key for actual delivery.
Rate limits: GOV.UK Notify applies rate limits per service. CrownSync queues messages to stay within limits during bulk sends.

Disclaimer

GOV.UK Notify is a service provided by the Government Digital Service. CrownSync is not affiliated with or endorsed by HM Government.

Integration instructions last verified: April 2026