How to Claim Money From a Deceased Person's Bank Account

To claim money from a deceased person's bank account, start with two facts from the bank's records. Was a nominee registered, or was the account joint with a survivor clause such as "either or survivor"? And how much does the bank hold in the person's name? A nominee or surviving joint holder needs only a claim form, the death certificate and an identity document, whatever the balance. Without a nominee, the heirs can still claim without going to court if the total due, including interest, is ₹15 lakh or less at a commercial bank and there is no Will or dispute. Above that limit, or where a Will exists, legal documents come back into the picture.

Whichever route applies, the bank has 15 calendar days from the date it holds all the documents to pay, and it owes interest if it is late for reasons of its own. Lockers and articles kept in safe custody follow the same scheme, with an inventory step added.

Where the rules come from and which banks they bind

The procedure was first laid down in the Reserve Bank of India (Settlement of Claims in respect of Deceased Customers of Banks) Directions, 2025, issued on 26 September 2025, which banks had to put in place by 31 March 2026. For commercial banks the same provisions now sit in paragraphs 282 to 324 of the Reserve Bank of India (Commercial Banks – Responsible Business Conduct) Directions, 2025, which apply them from 1 April 2026. Paragraph references below are to that consolidated text as updated on 1 October 2026.

Check the scope before collecting anything:

• The rules cover deposit accounts, safe deposit lockers and articles left with a bank in safe custody.
• Commercial banks and co-operative banks are both bound. For co-operative banks, the RBI fixed the no-nominee threshold at ₹5 lakh instead of ₹15 lakh when it issued the September 2025 directions.
• A bank may fix a threshold higher than ₹15 lakh (paragraph 283), so read its claim policy before assuming you need court papers.
• Government savings schemes run through banks, such as the Public Provident Fund and the Senior Citizens' Savings Scheme, are outside these rules. Claims under them follow each scheme's own rules.

Match the account to one of six claim routes

Most delays start with the wrong bundle of papers. Use the passbook or statement (it carries the legend "Nomination Registered" and the nominee's name where a nomination exists) to place the claim in one row of this table. Form numbers are the annexes to the commercial bank directions; the September 2025 version numbered the same forms I-A to I-H, and some banks still use those labels.

Nominee or surviving holder: three documents and no court papers

Where the account had a nominee, or a survivorship clause with at least one holder alive, payment is made against the Annex V claim form, the death certificate and the claimant's officially valid document (one of the identity proofs accepted under the RBI's KYC rules). Paragraph 286 bars the bank from insisting on a succession certificate, letters of administration, probate or an indemnity bond. The September 2025 text adds that this holds irrespective of the amount in the account, so a ₹40 lakh balance goes to the nominee on the same three papers as a ₹40,000 one.

Two limits apply. In a joint account, the nominee's right arises only after every joint holder has died (paragraph 285); while one holder is alive, the survivor clause governs. And payment does not make the nominee the owner. Before paying, the bank tells the nominee or survivor in writing that the money is received as a trustee of the deceased's legal heirs. Who finally keeps it therefore depends on the Will or the succession law that applies to the family. Demat accounts and mutual funds rest on the same principle, explained in nominee versus legal heir for demat and mutual fund holdings.

Since 1 November 2025, depositors can name up to four nominees. The government's explainer on the Banking Laws (Amendment) Act, 2025 describes two kinds. Simultaneous nominations give each nominee a stated percentage adding up to 100%. Successive nominations pass the claim to the next person in line if an earlier nominee has died. Under paragraph 270, if a simultaneous nominee dies before being paid, only that nominee's nomination lapses, and that share is claimed through the no-nominee route below.

No nominee and up to ₹15 lakh: the simplified route

This is the route most families without a nomination will use. Paragraph 287 opens it only when all four conditions hold:

• no nomination was made, or the joint account had neither a nominee nor a survivorship clause;
• the deceased left no Will;
• nobody is contesting the claim; and
• no court order known to the bank stops the payment.

The amount tested is the aggregate payable, including accrued interest, as on the date of the application. A savings balance of ₹4 lakh and a fixed deposit worth ₹11.5 lakh with interest come to ₹15.5 lakh, which is over the limit even though each account on its own is under it.

Paragraph 288 lists the documents:

1. the claim form in Annex VI, signed by the claimants (heirs who give up their share sign a disclaimer instead);
2. the death certificate;
3. each claimant's officially valid document;
4. a bond of indemnity in Annex VII;
5. a letter of disclaimer or no-objection in Annex VIII from each legal heir who is not claiming, where there are any; and
6. either a legal heir certificate from a competent authority, or a declaration in Annex IX by an independent person who knows the family well, is not a party to the claim and is acceptable to the bank.

Paragraph 289 stops the bank from asking for a surety bond from a third party on claims up to the threshold. The Annex IX declaration is what spares most families a separate certificate: a long-standing neighbour or family friend who meets the description can sign it.

Above ₹15 lakh, or where a Will exists

Once the total crosses the threshold, paragraph 290 lets the bank settle on any one of three bases. The first is a succession certificate granted under the Indian Succession Act, 1925, filed with the claim form, death certificate and identity proof. The second is a legal heir certificate. The third is an Annex IX affidavit sworn before a notary public, judge or judicial magistrate by an independent person. On top of any of these, the bank may call for the indemnity bond, the disclaimers and a surety bond in Annex VII from acceptable third parties, who can include heirs who are not claiming.

A Will changes the route even when the amount is small. An undisputed Will is settled on probate or letters of administration, with the claim form, death certificate and identity proof, plus documents from any beneficiary who is not a legal heir (paragraph 291). Under paragraph 292, the bank may act on the Will without probate if it is satisfied that the Will is lawful, undisputed and genuine; it then takes the indemnity bond and disclaimers. If the claim is disputed, settlement waits for probate, a succession certificate, letters of administration or a court decree, and nothing moves while a restraining order is in force (paragraph 293). Paragraph 294 rules out a third-party surety in both Will situations.

Lockers and articles in safe custody

For a locker, the nominee of a sole hirer gets access and may remove the contents. With joint hirers, the operating mandate decides: where the locker was operated jointly, the nominees and surviving hirers act together, and a survivorship mandate such as "either or survivor" lets the survivor proceed. Contents due to a minor nominee go to the guardian named in the nomination form (paragraph 302). The papers are again the Annex V claim form, the death certificate and an identity document, and paragraph 306 says no succession certificate or probate is needed unless something in the nomination does not match.

Before anything leaves the vault, the bank fixes a date in writing for an inventory. It is taken in front of the claimants, two independent witnesses, the vault custodian and another bank employee, and recorded on Annex X, which also carries the acknowledgment that the locker has been emptied. Articles in safe custody use the Annex XI inventory instead.

Without a nomination or survivorship mandate, paragraph 308 allows a simplified procedure for lockers where the heirs agree and there is no Will. Unlike deposits, this procedure has no rupee limit. The claim form (Annex VI), death certificate, identity proof, disclaimers (Annex VIII) and a legal heir certificate or Annex IX affidavit are enough. An independent valuer then values the contents, the valuation goes into a bond of indemnity in Annex XII, and the heirs may remove the contents once that bond is signed. No bond is required where the claim rests on probate, a succession certificate, letters of administration or a court order (paragraph 313).

Lodging the claim and the 15-day deadline

A claim can be lodged at any branch of the bank, not just the one where the account was kept, against an acknowledgment. If papers are missing or wrong, paragraph 317 requires the bank to list them when it acknowledges the claim, and to issue a confirmation once the full set is in. Keep that confirmation, because its date starts the clock. Banks may also accept claims online with status tracking, though originals can still be verified at a branch.

Deposit claims must be settled within 15 calendar days of the bank receiving all required documents (paragraph 319). For lockers and safe custody articles, the bank must process the claim within the same 15 days and write to the claimants fixing the inventory date (paragraph 320).

Missing the deadline has a price. Under paragraph 321, a bank that misses it must give the claimant its reasons in writing. If the delay is the bank's own fault, it pays interest on the amount due at not less than the prevailing Bank Rate plus 4% a year for the period of delay. Both the amount and the Bank Rate are taken as on the date the documents were complete. The RBI's website showed a Bank Rate of 5.75% on 12 November 2026, which would put the minimum at 9.75% a year. For lockers and safe custody articles, paragraph 322 fixes compensation at ₹5,000 for each day of delay.

Illustration: what a late settlement costs the bank

Illustration. Ramesh Iyer dies without a Will or a nominee. At his bank he leaves a savings balance of ₹3,85,000 and a fixed deposit of ₹8,00,000 with accrued interest of ₹42,600 on the date his widow, Lakshmi, applies. The total payable is ₹12,27,600, which is within ₹15 lakh, so the simplified route applies. Lakshmi files the Annex VI claim with the death certificate, her identity proof, an Annex VII indemnity bond, Annex VIII disclaimers signed by her son and daughter, and an Annex IX declaration from a neighbour of 20 years.

On 8 January 2027 the bank confirms that the documents are complete, so payment is due by 23 January 2027. It pays on 19 February 2027, which is 27 days late counting from the day after the deadline, and the fault is its own. Assuming the Bank Rate on 8 January 2027 is still 5.75%, the minimum compensation is ₹12,27,600 × 9.75% × 27 ÷ 365, or about ₹8,854. Had Ramesh also hired a locker, and had the bank written to fix the inventory date ten days after its 15-day window, it would owe a further ₹50,000 at ₹5,000 a day.

Change one number to see the threshold at work. With a fixed deposit of ₹11,50,000, the total becomes ₹15,77,600, and the bank may then insist on a succession certificate, a legal heir certificate or a sworn Annex IX affidavit, and may ask for a surety as well.

Fixed deposits, later credits and other loose ends

• Fixed deposits. Banks must allow premature closure on the depositor's death without any penal charge, even inside a lock-in period (paragraph 296). For a joint deposit, the surviving holders and the legal heirs of the deceased holder must consent, unless all the holders gave a specific mandate letting survivors withdraw on their own (paragraph 297).
• Money arriving after settlement. Credits that reach the account after the claim is settled are returned to the sender with the remark "Account holder deceased", and the nominee, survivor or heirs are told (paragraph 295). Ask pension offices, insurers and companies paying dividends to pay the heirs directly instead of relying on the old account.
• Death outside India. A foreign proof of death has to be certified in the country of issue, for instance by the Indian Embassy or Consulate General, a notary public or by apostille (paragraph 324).
• A person who is missing. Without a death certificate, the heirs need a court order under section 110 or 111 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 treating the person as dead. Where the amount is below ₹1 lakh, or a higher figure the bank sets, a copy of the FIR and the police non-traceable report can be accepted instead (paragraph 298).
• Sole proprietors. A proprietorship account takes nomination like an individual account, and the same claim routes apply (paragraph 323).
• Old, untouched accounts. If nobody operated the account for ten years, the balance may already have moved to the RBI's Depositor Education and Awareness Fund. The RBI's FAQs on the DEA Fund confirm that legal heirs can still claim it through the bank, and the scheme sets no time limit. How such accounts are classified and revived is covered in inoperative bank accounts and unclaimed deposits.
• Shares and mutual fund units. These are claimed from the depository participant, registrar or fund house, not the bank, under SEBI's transmission process for shares after a holder's death.

When the bank delays or refuses

Complain to the bank in writing first and keep the acknowledgment. If it does not reply within 30 days, or replies and you are not satisfied, you can go to the RBI Ombudsman.

Complaints filed from 1 July 2026 fall under the Reserve Bank – Integrated Ombudsman Scheme, 2026, and the RBI's FAQs on the 2026 Ombudsman Scheme set out the process. You file on the RBI's complaint portal at cms.rbi.org.in, by email to crpc@rbi.org.in, or by post to the Centralised Receipt and Processing Centre in Chandigarh, and there is no fee. Apart from the amount in dispute, which has no cap, the Ombudsman can award up to ₹30 lakh for consequential loss and up to ₹3 lakh for loss of time, expenses, harassment and mental anguish.

Watch the window. The Ombudsman must receive the complaint within 90 days from the end of the bank's 30-day reply period or from its last communication, whichever is later. If the bank never replies at all, that means the 120th day after your written complaint is the last safe day to file.