Claim a Deceased Person's Bank Account With No Nominee

If a family member died with money in a bank account or fixed deposit, no nominee was registered and there is no will, you claim the balance as a legal heir. You file a claim with the branch, prove the heirs, sign a bond of indemnity, and for larger balances produce a succession certificate from a civil court. Under the Reserve Bank of India (Settlement of Claims in respect of Deceased Customers of Banks) Directions, 2025, the bank must settle a complete claim within 15 calendar days.

This is the no-nominee path. If a nominee or survivor is already on the account, the bank cannot make you run around for a succession certificate, and the route is faster. That different situation, and the delays families face, is covered in our guide on a deceased account claim when a nominee exists. This article stays strictly on the harder case: no nominee, no survivor, and often no will.

When there is no nomination and no survivorship clause, the money does not belong to the bank. It belongs to the legal heirs of the deceased under the personal succession law that applies to the family (for example the Hindu Succession Act 1956, or the relevant Muslim, Christian or Parsi rules). The bank's job is only to release the balance to the right people without unnecessary hardship. RBI has warned that causing unwarranted inconvenience to such claimants invites serious supervisory disapproval.

Two documents do most of the heavy lifting, and people confuse them:

• Legal heir certificate identifies who the heirs are. It is issued by a Tahsildar or revenue officer (in some states a municipal authority), under state rules, usually in a few weeks.
• Succession certificate is a court order under the Indian Succession Act 1925 that gives an heir the legal authority to collect the deceased's debts and securities, including bank deposits. You petition the district or civil court where the deceased lived. It is more rigorous and can take a few months.

The RBI 2025 Directions set a standard threshold below which every bank must run a simplified, no-court procedure for these claims. That limit is up to ₹15 lakh in a commercial bank and up to ₹5 lakh in a co-operative bank. Within it the bank must NOT insist on a succession certificate or probate.

1. Balance within the threshold: You give a claim form signed by all claimants, the death certificate, your identity proof, a bond of indemnity, a no-objection or disclaimer letter from any heirs who are not claiming, and a legal heir certificate (or an affidavit by an independent person about the heirs). No court order needed.
2. Balance above the threshold, or a dispute between heirs: The bank can ask for a succession certificate, letter of administration, probate or a court decree before paying.

Banks may, at their discretion, also ask for a third-party surety on the indemnity bond for above-threshold cases. The threshold itself is RBI-prescribed, but the indemnity-bond format, stamp value and whether a surety is demanded vary from bank to bank, so confirm your branch's exact requirement in writing.

1. Inform the branch and freeze the position. Visit the home branch with the death certificate. Ask for the deceased-claim form and the bank's current indemnity format and threshold.
2. Establish the heirs. Apply for a legal heir certificate from the Tahsildar or revenue office. Collect identity and relationship proof for every heir.
3. Get the others to step back. Heirs who will not take a share sign a disclaimer or no-objection letter so the bank can pay the claimants.
4. Sign the bond of indemnity on the bank's format, on stamp paper of the value your state requires.
5. If the balance crosses the threshold, file a succession-certificate petition in the district or civil court that covers the deceased's residence. Carry the court order to the bank once granted.
6. Submit the complete set and start the clock. Once the bank has all required documents complete in all respects, the 15 calendar day settlement window begins.
7. For fixed deposits: ask for premature payment. On the death of a depositor, the bank must allow premature closure of a term deposit without any penal charge, even inside a lock-in period.

A complete claim must be paid within 15 days. If the bank sits on it, escalate in writing to the branch manager, then to the bank's principal nodal officer, citing the RBI 2025 Directions. If it is still unresolved after 30 days or you get an unsatisfactory reply, complain to the RBI Ombudsman under the Reserve Bank - Integrated Ombudsman Scheme through https://cms.rbi.org.in. For delay attributable to the bank, RBI requires compensation as interest for the delay period.

Because banks are public authorities or hold public funds, you can also use the Right to Information route for public-sector banks to ask for the status, the officer handling your file and the bank's settled internal timeline. For the legal text and how RTI applies, see the RTI Act 2005. For a full walkthrough of escalation and drafting, keep The RTI Playbook handy.

Not always. If the balance is within the RBI-prescribed threshold (up to ₹15 lakh in a commercial bank, ₹5 lakh in a co-operative bank) the bank settles on a claim form, death certificate, identity proof, indemnity bond and a legal heir certificate. A succession certificate is needed mainly above the threshold or when heirs dispute the claim.

A legal heir certificate, issued by a Tahsildar or revenue authority under state rules, simply lists the heirs. A succession certificate is a civil-court order under the Indian Succession Act 1925 that authorises an heir to collect the deceased's bank deposits and securities. The court route is slower but carries more legal weight.

Under the RBI (Settlement of Claims in respect of Deceased Customers of Banks) Directions, 2025, the bank must settle a claim within 15 calendar days from the date it receives all required documents, complete in all respects. The clock starts only when your file is complete, so submit everything together.

Yes. On the death of the depositor the bank must allow premature termination of a term deposit without any penal charge, even if the FD is still within its lock-in period. Ask the branch to apply this when you lodge the claim.

RBI has long advised banks not to insist on a succession certificate routinely for small no-nominee balances. Point the manager to the simplified procedure and threshold in the 2025 Directions, ask for the refusal in writing, then escalate to the nodal officer and the RBI Ombudsman if it is not resolved.

Start by getting multiple original death certificates and a legal heir certificate, because every institution wants its own copy. Ask your branch in writing for its exact threshold and indemnity format before you spend on a court petition you may not need. Keep dated copies of everything you submit so the 15-day clock is provable. If the bank drags its feet, the complaint chain is branch, nodal officer, RBI Ombudsman, and an RTI request for public-sector banks.