Nominee Claim on a Deceased Account Delayed? Run This 15-Day Calculation

Reviewed on: 2026-06-12.

Sunita, a school teacher in Indore, was the registered nominee on her late father's savings account holding Rs 4,20,000. She submitted the bank's claim form, the death certificate, and her PAN and Aadhaar on 3 February and took a dated acknowledgement. The branch settled the claim on 30 March, which is 55 days later. Under RBI's deceased customers' claims directions, the bank had 15 calendar days, so it was 40 days late. Sunita wrote one letter claiming compensation at Bank Rate plus 4 per cent per annum on Rs 4,20,000 for 40 days, roughly Rs 4,800 at a Bank Rate of 6.5 per cent, and the bank credited it. The maths, not the anger, moved the file.

That is the whole method of this guide: know the 15-day norm, fix the date your documents became complete, and put the delay in days and rupees in front of the bank.

The RBI (Settlement of Claims in respect of Deceased Customers of Banks) Directions, 2025 apply to deposit accounts, lockers and safe custody articles across commercial and cooperative banks. The points that decide most cases:

• 15 calendar days to settle a deposit claim from the date the bank receives the complete documents.
• A nominee needs three things only: the bank's claim form, the death certificate, and the nominee's own identity and address proof. The bank cannot demand a succession certificate, probate, indemnity bond, or no-objection letters from other relatives, whatever the balance.
• No nominee, modest balance: a simplified route applies up to a threshold of Rs 15 lakh at commercial banks and Rs 5 lakh at cooperative banks, with banks free to set higher limits. It needs the claim form, death certificate, ID, an indemnity, a no-objection from non-claiming heirs, and a legal heir certificate or an independent person's heirship affidavit. No third-party surety can be insisted on within the threshold.
• Above the threshold with no nominee: a succession certificate, probate, or letters of administration is the normal requirement.
• Any branch works. You can lodge the claim at any branch of the bank, not only the home branch.
• Delay costs the bank. Settlement beyond 15 days due to the bank's fault carries compensation at Bank Rate plus 4 per cent per annum on the claim amount for the delay period.
• FDs break free. A deceased depositor's fixed deposit can be closed prematurely without penalty.

The clock starts when the bank holds your complete set, so the acknowledgement is your most valuable paper. Submit everything together, ask the counter to confirm nothing is missing, and get the acknowledgement with the date and a reference. If staff refuse to acknowledge, send the set by registered post with acknowledgement due. If the bank later says a document was missing, ask it to state in writing which document and under which requirement; the 2025 directions and the bank's published policy are the only valid sources. Shifting demands, one paper per visit, is the classic delay pattern, and a written demand list ends it.

To: The Branch Manager, [Bank], [Branch]
Subject: Deceased claim - A/c [number] of late [name] -
settlement overdue under RBI Directions 2025

1. I submitted the complete claim documents on [date],
   acknowledgement [reference]. As nominee, the required set was
   the claim form, death certificate and my ID, all submitted.
2. [X] calendar days have passed against the 15-day norm in the
   RBI (Settlement of Claims in respect of Deceased Customers of
   Banks) Directions, 2025.
3. Please settle the claim to my account [details] immediately and
   pay compensation at Bank Rate plus 4 per cent per annum on
   Rs [amount] for [X minus 15] days of delay.
4. If unresolved in 30 days I will file with the RBI Ombudsman
   at cms.rbi.org.in.

[Name, relationship, mobile, date]

1. Day 16: the letter above to the branch manager.
2. No movement: the bank's grievance redressal officer, then the principal nodal officer, quoting the same acknowledgement.
3. After 30 days or a rejection: the RBI Integrated Ombudsman at cms.rbi.org.in, free, covering public and private banks alike. Helpline 14448.
4. Public sector bank: add an RTI to the bank's Public Information Officer for the nomination record, the date your claim was marked complete in the system, and the file noting explaining the delay. Public sector banks are public authorities; private banks are not. See how to file an RTI online and why RTI applications get rejected before drafting.

The nominee receives the money from the bank; the nominee does not automatically own it. The funds belong to the legal heirs under the applicable succession law or the will, and the nominee holds them as trustee. Settle the bank claim fast, then handle distribution as a separate, calmer question. Banks are not allowed to push that second question back onto the nominee, which is exactly why the three-document rule exists.

No. The 2025 directions bar banks from demanding indemnity, succession papers, or heirs' consent from a registered nominee. Ask the officer to cite the rule they rely on in writing; the demand usually evaporates.

Ask the branch in writing to confirm from the account opening records whether a nomination exists and in whose favour. Banks must check and answer. The passbook often carries a “Nomination Registered” remark with a nomination ID.

A certificate apostilled or consularised, or certified by the Indian Mission in that country, is acceptable. The same 15-day norm applies once your set is complete.

The simplified no-nominee route needs the non-claiming heirs' disclaimer. If one heir refuses, the family is in dispute territory and the bank will wait for a succession certificate or a court direction. Resolve the disagreement first; the bank cannot arbitrate it.

No. Government small savings schemes such as PPF and SCSS follow their own scheme rules through the post office or the operating bank, with separate forms. This guide covers bank deposit accounts.

Yes. The compensation attaches to the delay, not to the pending status. Write with the dates and the calculation, as Sunita did, even after the principal is received.

Money in accounts is one of three tracks. For the locker, see locker access delayed after the holder's death. For a joint account where you are the surviving holder, the faster survivorship route is in bank refuses a survivorship claim.

• Locker access after death
• Survivorship claim refused
• Premature FD closure refused
• All practical guides

Download the deceased account claim checklist (PDF).