The Death Claim Settlement Process
RBI’s Settlement of Claims in respect of Deceased Customers of Banks Directions (September 2025, effective March 2026) standardise the death claim process across all commercial and co-operative banks. The framework creates four distinct scenarios: (1) accounts with a nominee or survivorship clause — bank can only ask for claim form, death certificate, and nominee’s identity proof; no succession certificate, probate, or indemnity bond permitted; (2) accounts without nominee, below threshold (₹15 lakh/commercial, ₹5 lakh/co-operative) — simplified procedure using claim form, death certificate, ID proof, indemnity bond, no-objection from other heirs, and legal heir certificate or affidavit; (3) above threshold or disputed — succession certificate or probate/letter of administration required; and (4) missing persons — court declaration of civil death required (FIR plus police non-traceable report accepted below ₹1 lakh). All claims (deposits and lockers) must be settled within 15 calendar days of complete document submission. Compensation for bank-attributable delay: Bank Rate + 4% per annum for deposits; ₹5,000 per day for lockers. Premature closure of term deposits on death is penalty-free (including tax-saving FDs). The UDGAM portal (udgam.rbi.org.in) helps trace unclaimed deposits transferred to the DEA Fund. Unresolved complaints escalate to the RBI Banking Ombudsman via cms.rbi.org.in.