Deceased Bank Account Claim Nepal: Full Guide

Updated August 2026. The priority order below is set out in the Bank and Financial Institution Act, 2073 (BAFIA). Document requirements are bank practice rather than a published national list, and inheritance questions can turn on the Civil Code — for anything disputed, take legal advice.

A family member has died and there is money in their bank account. Nobody at the bank will discuss it with you over the phone, and the paperwork sounds like it needs a court. Nepal’s law does set out exactly who has the right to claim — and in what order. Here is that order, what banks ask for, and the questions the law genuinely leaves open.

Who Has the Right to Claim

BAFIA Section 111 governs this. The starting point is strict: no claim over a deposit is entertained from anyone other than the actual depositor. On death, the right passes in a defined sequence.

⭐ The nominee comes first. If the depositor appointed a nominee (इच्छाइएको व्यक्ति), that person has the right to the deposit in the first place. Everything below only applies if there is no nominee, or the nominee has also died.

If there is no nominee: the statutory priority order

Priority	Who
1	Spouse living in the joint family
2	Son or daughter, adopted child, or widowed daughter-in-law in the joint family
3	Father, mother, grandson or granddaughter in the joint family
4	Spouse, child, parent, daughter-in-law or married daughter living separately
5 and below	More distant relatives in the order the Act sets out — grandparents, siblings, nephews and nieces, uncle, widowed aunt, sister-in-law, married sisters

Two features of this list catch families out. First, it distinguishes between relatives living in the joint family and those living separately — the same relationship ranks differently depending on the household. Second, it is a priority order, not a division formula: it says who has the right to claim, not how the money should be shared afterwards.

If nobody claims at all, the deposit ultimately goes to Nepal Rastra Bank’s Banking Development Fund. Money left unclaimed does not simply sit in the bank forever waiting for a distant heir.

The Question the Law Does Not Answer

Does the nominee keep the money, or hold it for the heirs? BAFIA gives the nominee priority to claim, but is silent on whether they take it beneficially or receive it on behalf of the estate — and Nepal’s inheritance rules under the Civil Code sit alongside this. We found no authoritative resolution of this point. If the nominee is not the only heir, or the amount is significant, this is precisely the situation to put to a lawyer before anyone withdraws anything. Families have fallen out over exactly this gap.

Two further points we could not verify, and you should therefore ask your own bank about rather than assume:

Whether a rupee threshold exists above which a court order is required instead of a ward-level relationship certificate. No published national rule sets one — banks appear to apply their own internal policy.
What happens to a joint account when one holder dies. BAFIA’s deposit-claim provision does not address survivorship.

Documents Banks Ask For

There is no single published national checklist, so this reflects consistent practice rather than a rule:

Death registration certificate

मृत्यु दर्ता प्रमाणपत्र from the local registrar. Nothing starts without it — see our death registration guide.

Relationship certification

नाता प्रमाणित from the ward or local level, establishing your relationship to the deceased.

Citizenship documents

Of the deceased and of each claiming heir.

Written application

To the branch, setting out the claim and the basis for it.

Bank instruments

Passbook, cheque book, fixed deposit receipt and cards, for surrender.

For minor heirs

Birth registration certificate, plus whatever the bank requires for a guardian to act.

Start with the death registration. Every other document depends on it, and it has its own 35-day deadline before late fees apply. If the death was some time ago and was never registered, that is the first problem to solve — not the bank.

🤝 Dealing with a deceased family member’s account?

Tell us the situation — whether there was a nominee, who the heirs are, and what the bank has asked for. Digital Solution will help you assemble the file in the right order.

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The Practical Sequence

Register the death and obtain the certificate.
Find out whether a nominee was appointed. Ask the bank in writing — it changes the entire route.
Get the relationship certification from the ward for whoever will claim.
Ask the branch for its written checklist for a deceased-account claim, rather than guessing.
Agree among the heirs first, in writing, if more than one person has a claim. The bank cannot resolve a family dispute and will simply stop.
Take legal advice if there is a nominee who is not the sole heir, a disputed relationship, or a substantial balance.

Do not keep operating the account. Using the deceased’s card, mobile banking or cheques after death — even to pay their own bills — is not a shortcut. It creates a record of transactions by someone who was not entitled to make them, and it will complicate the legitimate claim you are about to file.

The lesson for the living: appoint a nominee. It is free, takes minutes at the branch, and is the single thing that converts this process from a documentation exercise into a straightforward claim. If you have accounts without a nominee, fix that this week — and tell your family which bank holds what.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who can claim a deceased person’s bank balance in Nepal?

The nominee first, if one was appointed. Otherwise surviving relatives in the priority order set out in BAFIA Section 111, starting with a spouse living in the joint family.

What documents are needed?

Death registration certificate, relationship certification from the ward, citizenship documents of the deceased and the claimant, a written application, and the deceased’s bank instruments for surrender.

Does the nominee get to keep the money?

The law gives the nominee priority to claim but does not clearly state whether they hold it beneficially or for the estate. Where the nominee is not the sole heir, take legal advice.

Is a court order required?

Not necessarily — a ward relationship certification is the usual route. We found no published rule setting an amount above which a court order is mandatory; banks apply internal policy, so ask.

What happens to a joint account?

The deposit-claim provision does not address survivorship. Ask the bank what it applies to your specific account.

What if nobody claims the money?

It ultimately passes to Nepal Rastra Bank’s Banking Development Fund.

Can I use the account to pay the deceased’s bills?

No. Operating the account after death complicates the legitimate claim, whatever the intention.

How do I appoint a nominee on my own account?

Ask your branch. It is a short form, it costs nothing, and it removes almost all of this difficulty for your family.

Sources

Bank and Financial Institution Act, 2073 — Section 111, right to make claims over deposits, including the nominee provision and the statutory priority order.
Local-level (ward) relationship certification practice for deceased-account claims.

Claiming a Deceased Person’s Bank Account in Nepal: Who Has the Right