From 1 November 2025, you can name up to four nominees on your bank deposit account, your locker, and articles kept in safe custody. The old single-nominee limit that had stood since 1985 is gone. This page explains exactly what changed, the difference between simultaneous and successive nomination, how to update your nominees at the branch, and what your family must still do when you die.
You can now name up to four nominees per bank account, locker, or safe-custody item, effective 1 November 2025 under the Banking Laws (Amendment) Act, 2025. Deposit accounts allow either simultaneous nomination, with percentage shares totalling 100, or successive ranking. Lockers and safe-custody articles allow successive nomination only.
A nomination is a written instruction telling your bank who should receive the money in your account, or the contents of your locker, after you die. The nominee collects the funds quickly without a court order. Nomination decides who receives, not who finally owns, the asset.
The change comes from the Banking Laws (Amendment) Act, 2025, notified in the Gazette on 15 April 2025. Sections 10 to 13 of that Act amend the nomination provisions of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, and were brought into force from 1 November 2025.
Earlier, Section 45ZA of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 allowed a depositor to nominate only “one person”. The 2025 Act replaces this with “one or more persons not exceeding four, either successively or simultaneously”. The same four-nominee facility now extends to articles in safe custody and the contents of safety lockers.
The Reserve Bank of India is the authority that operationalises these provisions across banks. The detailed forms and procedure come through the Banking Companies (Nomination) Rules, 2025, which replace the older 1985 rules.
One point families must understand: a nominee is a trustee, not the owner. In Shakti Yezdani v. Jayanand Jayant Salgaonkar (Supreme Court, December 2023), the Court held that a nominee receives the asset only to hold it for the legal heirs, and does not become its absolute owner. Nomination speeds up release of money; succession law decides final ownership.
Dr. Shrawan Kumar Pathak, a retired professor in Patna district, held a fixed deposit of ₹18,00,000 and a bank locker. On 12 November 2025, soon after the new rules began, he visited his branch. On the deposit he set simultaneous nomination: his wife 50 percent, and his two children 25 percent each, totalling 100. On the locker, where only successive nomination is allowed, he ranked his wife first and his elder child second. When he died on 3 March 2026, the bank released ₹9,00,000 to his wife and ₹4,50,000 to each child within weeks, without a court order, exactly as he had recorded.
Up to four, on deposit accounts, lockers, and safe-custody articles, effective 1 November 2025 under the Banking Laws (Amendment) Act, 2025.
In simultaneous nomination, all nominees receive a defined percentage share at the same time. In successive nomination, the next nominee inherits only after the death of the one ranked above.
No. For lockers and safe-custody articles, only successive nomination is allowed. Simultaneous nomination with percentage shares applies only to deposit accounts.
Yes. In a simultaneous nomination, the shares you assign to the nominees must total exactly 100 percent.
Yes, existing nominations remain valid. To add up to three more nominees under the new law, you must update your nomination at the bank.
No. The Supreme Court in Shakti Yezdani v. Jayanand Jayant Salgaonkar (December 2023) held the nominee is a trustee who holds the funds for the legal heirs. Final ownership follows succession law or your will.
Yes, but you must appoint a guardian to receive the amount on the minor's behalf until the minor turns 18.
Registering a nomination is generally free. Banks may charge a small fee for changes; confirm the current fee with your branch.
The legal heirs must claim the funds using succession documents such as a succession certificate, letter of administration, or probate, which takes longer.