Picture an old salary account from your first job, one you stopped using the moment you switched banks. Or a fixed deposit your father took out years ago that matured and was simply forgotten. Money like this doesn't vanish. It just waits, and the hardest part is rarely the claim itself, it's knowing the deposit exists at all and where to look.
As of 30 June 2026, ₹86,917.08 crore in unclaimed deposits had been transferred to the RBI’s DEA Fund. This includes money the depositor can still claim or, if the depositor has died, an eligible family member can claim. But each process has its own rules and regulations.
The RBI’s UDGAM portal gives you a central place to begin the search. Once you find a deposit, the next steps depend on whether it is in your name or belonged to a deceased family member. This guide explains both claim routes and what you need to do at each stage.
What Is Considered an Unclaimed Bank Deposit in India?
A bank deposit is considered unclaimed when it has not been operated or claimed for 10 years or more. This can include money held in savings accounts, current accounts, fixed deposits and recurring deposits. For a term deposit, the 10 years are counted from its maturity date.
An unclaimed deposit is different from an inoperative account. Your savings or current account generally becomes inoperative when there has been no customer-initiated activity for more than two years. The money stays with your bank, and updating your KYC reactivates the account.
The balance becomes an unclaimed deposit only after it has remained unoperated for 10 years. After this, your bank transfers the balance to RBI's Depositor Education and Awareness (DEA) Fund. This includes the interest accrued up to the date of transfer. The transfer does not mean you lose the money, and there is no time limit to claim it.
How to Search for Unclaimed Bank Deposits on UDGAM
RBI’s UDGAM portal helps you search for unclaimed deposits across 30 participating banks. It only shows accounts and deposits that have remained unclaimed for at least 10 years and have been transferred to RBI’s DEA Fund.
Step 1: Open the Official UDGAM Portal
Visit the official RBI UDGAM portal. Select either English or Hindi before continuing. Check that the website address ends in rbi.org.in. Avoid opening UDGAM through an unfamiliar advertisement, message or social media link.
Step 2: Access UDGAM as a New or Registered User
You must have a registered profile to use the search features.
- For New Users: Click Register. Enter your mobile number, first name, last name, and create a secure password. Accept the RBI Privacy Policy, input the CAPTCHA, and authenticate using the OTP sent to your mobile phone to complete account creation.
- For Existing Users: Log in by inputting your registered mobile number and CAPTCHA. You can authenticate using your Password + OTP, or select Log in with OTP to bypass your password. After the portal verifies the OTP, it takes you to the search page.
Note: UDGAM currently allows up to 10 logins per day and 10 searches during each login.
Step 3: Choose an Individual or Non-Individual Search
Select the category based on whose deposit you are trying to find:
- Choose Individual for accounts held by a person. Use this tab to search for your own deposit or one belonging to a deceased family member.
- Choose Non-Individual for accounts belonging to an HUF, proprietorship, company, partnership firm, LLP or another entity.
Step 4: Enter the Search Details
The information required depends on the category you selected.
For an Individual Deposit
Enter the primary or secondary account holder’s name as it appears in the bank’s records. Then select one bank, multiple banks, or all participating banks. After this, choose one of the following search methods:
- Address search: Enter the account holder’s address and select the State or Union Territory. This provides broader results.
- Unique-parameter search: Select Search with unique parameters and enter at least one of the following: PAN, voter ID, driving licence number, passport number or date of birth. This helps narrow the results.
Date of birth is an accepted search input, but it is not unique to one person. If you use it on its own, the portal may show multiple accounts or deposits that you will need to review. When searching for a deceased family member’s deposit, use their name and other details as recorded with the bank. Do not enter your own identifying details.
For a Non-Individual Deposit
Enter the entity’s name and select one bank, multiple banks or all participating banks. You can then search in either of these ways:
- Address search: Enter the entity’s address and select the State or Union Territory for broader results.
- Unique-parameter search: Select Search with unique parameters and provide at least one of these details: the authorised signatory’s name, PAN, Corporate Identification Number or date of incorporation.
Note: If you search using Date of Birth alone, it may populate multiple matching rows. When looking up a deceased relative, always insert their identity particulars, not your own.
Step 5: Review the Result and Note the UDRN
If the portal finds a matching database entry, it will display the account holder's name, general location, bank name, and a unique Unclaimed Deposit Reference Number (UDRN).
- The bank name is a clickable link that opens that institution’s internal guidelines for physical payouts.
- Click Export PDF to save or print the search slip. You must present this printed result and the UDRN when applying in person at the bank branch.
What If Your UDGAM Search Shows No Result?
Before assuming that no deposit exists, check the following:
- Pending Bank Responses: Check the tracker link below the search panel to see whether a specific bank failed to respond to the live query. If so, try searching again later.
- Search Overload: If your search parameter generates too many results, the system will error out. Narrow the search pool by adding a unique ID filter, such as a PAN card.
- The 10-Year Timeline: UDGAM handles only funds sent to the DEA Fund. If an account has been dormant for 3 to 9 years, it is classified as "inoperative" but won't show up here. You must contact the bank branch directly to track it.
- Out-of-Network Banks: While UDGAM covers roughly 90% of total unclaimed value across 30 major banks, a few smaller co-operative institutions may still require you to search their corporate website independently.
- Naming Discrepancies: Try searching using old spellings, initials, middle names, or a maiden name used when the account was first created.
How to Claim a Bank Deposit in Your Name
Finding the deposit completes only the search stage. You must then follow the concerned bank’s instructions to establish your claim and recover the money.
Step 1: Follow the Claim Instructions for Your Bank
Open the UDGAM result and keep its PDF or UDRN available. Select the bank’s name in the result to open its official instructions for claiming or activating the deposit.
Banks do not all follow the same submission process. Depending on the bank, you may be able to begin the claim online, download a claim form or submit the request at a branch. Check the bank’s instructions before visiting so that you know which form and documents it expects.
If you found the deposit through the bank’s website instead of UDGAM, keep any available account number, passbook, statement or fixed deposit receipt ready.
Step 2: Complete the Bank’s Claim Form
Fill in the bank’s formal Unclaimed Deposit Claim Form or request letter for unclaimed deposits. The form will generally ask for details such as:
- Your current full name, contact information, and signature.
- Your claimant capacity (e.g., Self / Original Account Holder).
- The legacy bank account number or deposit receipt number, if known.
- The Unique Deposit Reference Number (UDRN) generated by your UDGAM search.
- Whether you want to keep the account open or close it and receive the balance.
Note: If your name has legally changed due to marriage or amendment since the account went dormant, you must attach a government-issued legal document, like a Gazette notification or Marriage Certificate.
Step 3: Submit Your KYC and Supporting Documents
Present your updated identification documents to the bank to prove ownership.
- Provide Core KYC: Submit a recent passport photograph alongside valid, self-attested copies of your Aadhaar Card and PAN Card.
- Attach Account Evidence: Provide any available historical account papers (cheque books, statements, or original deposit certificates).
- Lost Document Clause: Missing your old paperwork will not cancel your claim. The UDRN, combined with clean, modern KYC, allows the bank to verify you against their archived digital signatures.
- Submission Flexibility: You can submit your updated KYC at any branch of the bank, including non-home branches. While Video-KYC (V-CIP) can be used to update your details, the final claim authorisation may still require a physical signature at the branch.
Step 4: Choose Whether to Continue or Close the Account
If you want to keep a savings or current account, the bank will fully restore your account functionality, allowing regular deposits and withdrawals.
If you no longer need the account, request a final settlement and closure instead. For a matured fixed or recurring deposit, the bank will process the proceeds according to its settlement procedure. For example, SBI allows a customer to request either reactivation and continued use or a final claim followed by account closure.
After verifying your claim, the bank either restores the account or settles the eligible amount. Its reimbursement from RBI’s DEA Fund happens separately without requiring any action from you.
How to Claim a Deposit of a Deceased Family Member
If a family member has passed away, you must claim their unclaimed deposit from the bank that held the account, not from RBI. The bank will first check whether the account had a surviving joint holder, a registered nominee, or neither, to determine who can receive the money.
If You Are the Joint Holder or Survivor
First, check whether the account has a survivorship clause such as “either or survivor”, “anyone or survivor”, “former or survivor” or “latter or survivor”.
If it does, you will generally need to submit:
- The bank’s claim form
- The deceased account holder’s death certificate
- An officially valid document confirming your identity and address
Once the bank verifies the documents, it can pay you the balance as the surviving account holder. It cannot ask you for a succession certificate, probate, a letter of administration, an indemnity bond, or a surety, regardless of the amount in the account.
Receiving the money as a nominee does not necessarily make you its final legal owner. You receive it as a trustee for the legal heirs. Its eventual distribution depends on the deceased person’s Will or the applicable succession law.
If the joint account did not have a survivorship clause, your status as a joint holder does not automatically give you the deceased holder’s share. The bank will process that part of the deposit under the legal-heir procedure.
If You Are the Registered Nominee
If you are the registered nominee, you will generally need to submit:
- The bank’s claim form
- The depositor’s death certificate
- An officially valid document confirming your identity and address
The bank cannot require a succession certificate, probate, a letter of administration, an indemnity bond, or third-party surety solely because of the amount involved. It must first confirm that the nomination is valid and that no court order prevents it from making the payment. For a joint account, a nominee can claim only after all the joint account holders have died. If more than one nominee was registered, the bank will follow the valid nomination recorded for the account. A nominee receives the money as a trustee for the legal heirs. The deceased person’s Will or the applicable succession law determines final ownership and distribution.
If You Are a Legal Heir and No Nominee Was Registered
If there is no nominee or survivorship clause, the bank must establish who is entitled to claim the deposit. The process depends on the amount involved, whether the depositor left a Will and whether anyone disputes the claim.
When the simplified process applies RBI sets the simplified-claim threshold at ₹15 lakh for commercial banks and ₹5 lakh for co-operative banks. A bank may adopt a higher threshold.
This process applies when:
- No nominee or survivorship clause exists.
- The depositor did not leave a Will.
- No one is contesting the claim.
- The bank is not aware of a court order preventing payment.
You will generally need:
- The bank's deceased claim application form.
- The original account holder's Death Certificate.
- Identity and address proof of all claiming legal heirs.
- A signed Indemnity Bond from the claimants.
- A Letter of Disclaimer / No-Objection Certificate (NOC) from any legal heirs who are choosing not to participate in the payout.
- A Legal Heir Certificate issued by a revenue official, or an RBI-prescribed status declaration signed by an independent, non-claiming family associate.
Note: Banks cannot demand a third-party surety bond from an unrelated individual if the balance falls inside this threshold.
When the claim is above the bank’s threshold For a claim above the simplified limit, the bank will require stronger proof of who is entitled to the money. One route is to submit a succession certificate along with the claim form, death certificate and the claimants’ identity and address documents. Alternatively, the bank may rely on a legal heir certificate or RBI’s prescribed affidavit identifying the legal heirs. In that case, it may also require the indemnity bond, no-objection letters from non-claiming heirs and a surety from an acceptable third party. These are alternative routes based on the documents available and the bank’s verification. You do not automatically need every document listed above. When the account holder left a Will
The simplified threshold tracking is bypassed if a valid Will exists.
- Banks will typically request a court probate or letters of administration alongside standard death and KYC filings.
- At its discretion, a bank may honour an unprobated Will if no beneficiaries dispute the text and all legal heirs sign an execution indemnity bond.
Once the bank confirms that it has received all the required documents, it must settle the deposit claim within 15 calendar days. If anything is missing or incorrect, the bank must identify it when acknowledging your claim.
Conclusion: Find the Deposit, Then Claim It From the Bank
An unclaimed deposit does not disappear when it is transferred to the RBI’s DEA Fund. Start by searching for it on the UDGAM portal, then follow the bank's claim instructions.
The documents and settlement process will depend on whether you are the account holder, a surviving joint holder, a nominee or a legal heir. Once you identify the route that applies to you, submit the complete claim to the bank and keep its acknowledgement for your records.
FAQs
What documents do you need to claim an unclaimed bank deposit?
You generally need the bank’s claim form, current KYC documents and any available proof of the old account, such as a passbook, statement or fixed deposit receipt. For a deceased holder’s deposit, you will also need the death certificate and documents establishing your status as the joint holder, nominee or legal heir.
Will you receive interest on an unclaimed bank deposit?
Yes, if it was an interest-bearing deposit. The amount transferred includes interest accrued until the transfer date, after which RBI currently prescribes 3% simple interest per year until payment. No additional interest is paid on non-interest-bearing balances.
Is there a time limit for claiming an unclaimed bank deposit?
No. RBI has not prescribed a time limit for claiming money transferred to the DEA Fund. You or the eligible legal claimant can approach the bank whenever the deposit is found.
What can you do if the bank delays or rejects your claim?
First, complain to the bank and retain the acknowledgement. If you receive an unsatisfactory reply or no reply within 30 days, you can complain through the RBI Complaint Management System under the Integrated Ombudsman Scheme, 2026.
How can you prevent your bank deposits from becoming unclaimed?
This usually comes down to a few habits: using your accounts periodically, keeping your KYC and contact details current, and reviewing your nominees rather than setting them once and forgetting them. You may also use 1FCode to maintain one updated record of your accounts and nominee details so your family knows what exists. You must still complete the official account and nomination changes with the bank.
