Now Open Bank Account & Safe Deposit Lockers without Nominee: RBI Releases New Directions [Read Notification]

The Reserve Bank of India has notified the Reserve Bank of India (Nomination Facility in Deposit Accounts, Safe Deposit Lockers and Articles kept in Safe Custody with the Banks) Directions, 2025 which allows customers to open bank accounts and obtain safe deposit lockers without the necessarily selecting a nominee. RBI has directed banks to offer the nomination facility and properly record the choice made by the customer with effect from November 1, 2025.

The Directions draw their authority from the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 and the corresponding Nomination Rules, and consolidates earlier RBI instructions into a single, comprehensive framework covering scheduled commercial banks, regional rural banks and cooperative banks.

As per the extant directions, banks are required to inform prospective customers at account opening and locker allotment about the benefits of nomination and to obtain either a nomination or a formal opt-out declaration; importantly, a bank cannot deny or delay account opening, locker allotment or related services solely because a customer declines to nominate.

Other safeguards require banks to register, acknowledge and verify nomination, cancellation or variation requests and issue acknowledgements within three working days; where a request is rejected as non-conforming the customer must be informed in writing within three working days with reasons.

The RBI has directed banks to indicate “Nomination Registered” and the nominee’s name on passbooks, statements and deposit receipts and to run awareness campaigns and messages on customer literature to promote understanding of the facility. The Directions also extend to Cooperative banks who are also required to comply with the same timelines and record-keeping obligations.

Death of Nominee/Depositor

If a nominee dies before the depositor’s death or before the settlement of the claim, the RBI has clarified that the nomination made in favour of that person will become ineffective. In such cases, the account or locker will be treated as one without a valid nomination, and the claim will be settled in accordance with the applicable legal and procedural rules governing accounts without nominees.

The Directions further specify that if a bank makes any payment or releases contents in contravention of these provisions, such payment or release will not be considered a valid discharge of the bank’s liability.

The Reserve Bank has also repealed all its previous circulars and guidelines relating to nomination facilities. However, any actions already taken under those earlier instructions will remain valid.

Banks have been instructed to update their internal systems, procedures, and documentation to ensure full compliance with the new framework before it comes into effect on November 1, 2025.

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