General information — not legal advice. Procedures differ between institutions and change without notice. Always confirm the current requirements with the bank, insurer or registrar before travelling to a branch or office.
Last reviewed: 23 August 2026 · Report an error on this page
A locker is not an asset in itself — it is a box whose contents nobody has seen. That makes it the one claim where the process is designed around witnessing rather than paperwork, and where the family should expect a formal opening rather than a quiet handover.
The rules here are unusually favourable, and worth knowing before you go: where a nomination or a survivorship arrangement exists, the RBI has told banks they may avoid insisting on a succession certificate, letters of administration, probate, an indemnity bond or surety — and to release the contents within 15 days.
What you cannot do is open it informally. Even with the key.
Find the locker before you look for the key
Locker rent is usually debited from a linked account at the same branch, so the bank statement is the reliable way to discover a locker the family did not know about. Ask the bank for all relationships against the customer ID, which lists lockers alongside accounts.
The key matters less than people assume. A missing key is dealt with by breaking the locker open in the same witnessed procedure, at the claimant's cost — it delays things but does not defeat the claim.
Establish who is entitled to access
Sole hirer with a registered nominee — the bank gives the nominee access, with liberty to remove the contents, once an inventory has been taken.
Jointly hired, operable under joint signatures, with a nomination — on the death of one hirer, access and liberty to remove the contents is given jointly to the survivor and the nominee, again after an inventory.
No nomination and no survivor — the legal heirs claim, and here the bank will want succession documentation, because there is nobody it is authorised to release to.
The inventory: what actually happens on the day
Within 15 days of the claim
This is the part families are unprepared for, so it is worth picturing. The locker is opened and an inventory of the contents is prepared in the presence of two independent witnesses, an officer of the bank who is not associated with the locker facility, and the claimant — the nominee, survivor, or a person receiving on behalf of a minor.
Everything in the locker is listed. You then give the bank a separate written statement confirming that you have received all the contents and that the locker is empty.
Bring the two witnesses with you rather than assuming the bank will provide them, and take your own photographs or notes of the inventory as it is written. If there is any chance of a dispute among heirs later, that record is what protects you.
What to take with you
- Bank's locker claim formusually requiredFrom The branch
- Death certificateusually required
- Claimant's identity and address proofusually required
- Two independent witnesses, with their identity proofusually requiredBring them with you; they must not be bank staff.
- Locker keysometimes requiredA lost key means a witnessed break-open at the claimant's cost.
- Guardianship proofsometimes requiredWhere the nominee is a minor.
- Succession certificate or letters of administrationsometimes requiredOnly where there is no nomination and no survivor.
What the contents mean afterwards
Access to a locker settles nothing about ownership. What comes out — jewellery, property papers, share certificates, cash — belongs to the estate and devolves under a will or succession law exactly as it would have if it had been kept at home.
This is the practical reason the inventory matters. A nominee who empties a locker in front of witnesses and a bank officer, with a signed list, is in a far better position than one who quietly took the contents home.
Property documents and share certificates found inside then start their own claim processes — our property and share guides cover those.
Surrender the locker and stop the rent
Once emptied, surrender the locker formally and get written confirmation. Rent continues to be debited otherwise, and an unpaid locker rent on a frozen account is a small mess that takes disproportionate effort to unwind.
If the family wants to keep a locker at that branch, it is opened as a fresh hiring in the new holder's name, not transferred.
Documents checklist
Take this list with you. A filled circle is asked for almost every time; a dashed one depends on your circumstances.
- Bank's locker claim formusually required
- Death certificateusually required
- Claimant's identity and address proofusually required
- Two independent witnesses with identity proofusually required
- Locker keysometimes required
- Guardianship proof for a minor nomineesometimes required
- Succession documentationsometimes requiredOnly where there is no nomination and no survivor.
Common questions
I am the nominee and I have the key. Can I just open it?
No. Access is given by the bank after an inventory taken in front of two independent witnesses and a bank officer. Opening it outside that procedure leaves the contents unaccounted for, which is exactly what the inventory exists to prevent.
Will the bank ask for a succession certificate?
Where a nomination or survivorship arrangement exists, it should not. The RBI has told banks they may avoid insisting on a succession certificate, letters of administration, probate, an indemnity bond or surety, and to release the contents within 15 days of the claim.
The key is lost. What now?
The locker is broken open under the same witnessed procedure, at the claimant's cost. It adds time and a charge but does not stop the claim.
Who has to be present at the opening?
Two independent witnesses, a bank officer who is not connected with the locker facility, and you as the claimant. Bring your own witnesses — do not assume the branch will supply them.
Does taking the contents make them mine?
No. The contents belong to the estate and pass under a will or succession law. The witnessed inventory protects you precisely because it records what you took and on whose behalf.
Sources
Everything on this page traces back to these. If one has changed since we checked it, the page is wrong — please tell us.
Related guides
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Nobody should have to search for this
Most of the difficulty in these pages is not the paperwork. It is not knowing what existed, where it was held, or who to ask. That part is avoidable — but only by the person who holds the information, while they still can.
KinSetu is a private record of what your family would need to find: accounts, policies, investments and documents, released to the people you name. It exists so that your family never has to reconstruct it from bank statements.
Start a free recordAbout this guide
KinSetu publishes these guides to help families understand the process of claiming assets after a death in India. They are general information, not legal, tax or financial advice, and reading them creates no professional or advisory relationship with KinSetu.
We research each guide from the institutions’ own published forms and circulars, cite them where we can, and review pages periodically. Even so, requirements vary by institution, branch, state and individual circumstance, and they change without notice. We cannot guarantee that any list of documents or steps is complete or current for your situation, and KinSetu accepts no liability for decisions taken solely on the basis of these pages.
Nomination is not inheritance. A nominee is generally the person an institution releases an asset to — not necessarily the person legally entitled to own it, which is determined by a will or by succession law. Where ownership, division between heirs, or a dispute is involved, please consult a qualified lawyer.
Found something out of date or incorrect? Tell us — we check every report and correct the page. Last reviewed on 23 August 2026.