How much does a bank locker cost per year in Nepal?

Annual rent runs from about Rs 2,000 for the smallest box at a development bank to Rs 17,000 for the largest box at a commercial bank. Most small-to-medium lockers at commercial banks sit between Rs 2,500 and Rs 6,000 a year. Nabil charges Rs 3,000 (small) to Rs 9,000 (extra-large); NIC Asia runs Rs 3,500 to Rs 17,000 across 15 sizes; Global IME starts at Rs 2,500. On top of rent you pay a refundable security deposit, usually Rs 10,000 to Rs 35,000 depending on size.

Can anyone rent a bank locker in Nepal?

No. Under NRB's Unified Directive, a bank can offer a locker only to its own deposit or loan customers, so you need an account at that bank first. You also go through the same KYC the bank runs on accounts, and you sign a self-declaration that you will not store prohibited items (weapons, explosives, narcotics). Individuals, companies, trusts, and clubs can all rent.

If my bank locker is robbed, does the bank pay me back?

Usually not. Nepali banks write their locker agreements as a lease or licence of the box, not as safekeeping of the contents, and insert clauses disclaiming liability for loss or damage. The bank also does not know what is inside, so there is nothing to value a claim against. No Nepali bank insures locker contents, and NRB rules are silent on it. Practically, the locker buys you a guarded steel vault with CCTV, not a guarantee.

What happens to a bank locker when the holder dies?

NRB rules require the contents to be handed to the person you nominated when you rented the locker. This is why filling the nomination is the single most important thing you do at signing. Without a clear nominee, the family goes through the same legal-heir certification (नाता प्रमाणित) and paperwork needed to claim any other asset after a death.

Is a bank locker better than a home safe?

It depends on what you store and how often you need it. A decent home safe is a one-time Rs 9,500–35,000 purchase versus roughly Rs 3,000 a year forever for a bank locker, but a home safe sits in a house that can be burgled and the contents are still uninsured either way. A bank locker wins on physical security (vault, CCTV, guards) and loses on access (bank hours only) and on the recurring cost. Gold and original property documents lean toward the bank; cash and frequently-needed papers lean toward home.

Bank Locker in Nepal: Charges, Rules & Is It Worth It?

Q: Is the security deposit on a bank locker refundable?

Yes. The security deposit (Rs 10,000–35,000 at most banks) is refundable when you surrender the locker, separate from the annual rent which is not. NRB rules require the bank to pay savings-account interest on that deposit while it is held. Some banks freeze the amount inside your own savings account instead of taking it as cash, so it keeps earning interest in your name.

A friend in Baluwatar bought four tolas of gold for his sister's wedding and then spent a week not sleeping well. The gold sat in a drawer under some clothes. He had read the news about house break-ins, priced a home safe, looked at the locker counter at his bank, and could not work out which was the sensible call.

That is the real question behind bank lockers in Nepal, and it has almost nothing to do with the rent. The rent is small. The thing worth understanding before you sign is what the bank is actually promising you, which turns out to be much less than most people assume.

What a locker actually costs

Rent is set by box size, billed once a year in advance. Here is the published annual rent at several commercial banks, taken from their own standard tariff sheets:

Bank	Smallest box	Largest box	Sizes offered
Global IME	Rs 2,500	Rs 7,000	6 (by volume)
Himalayan Bank	Rs 2,500	—	headline rate
Nabil	Rs 3,000	Rs 9,000	4 (S/M/L/XL)
Prabhu	Rs 3,000	Rs 10,000	4 (S/M/L/XL)
Everest	Rs 3,000	Rs 10,000	6
NMB	Rs 3,500	Rs 7,500+	11
NIC Asia	Rs 3,500	Rs 17,000	15
Siddhartha	Rs 2,500	Rs 13,500	9

Development banks undercut the commercial banks. Garima Bikas Bank lists small/medium/large at Rs 2,000 / 2,500 / 3,000 a year, and holds the deposit inside your own account so it keeps earning interest.

Two patterns are worth noting. First, the spread within one bank is wide: NIC Asia runs from Rs 3,500 for a 125 mm box up to Rs 17,000 for its largest. Second, the "small" boxes most households actually need (enough for jewellery and a folder of documents) cluster tightly around Rs 3,000–4,000 a year across nearly every commercial bank. Nabil and Prabhu both price small at Rs 3,000; Global IME starts at Rs 2,500.

The deposit you get back (and the fees you don't)

Separate from rent, every bank takes a refundable security deposit when you rent a locker:

Bank	Security deposit range
Nabil	Rs 10,000 (S) – Rs 35,000 (XL)
Everest	Rs 15,000 – Rs 30,000 (held as a lien on your account/FD)
NMB	Rs 10,000 – Rs 25,000
Prabhu	Rs 10,000 – Rs 15,000
NIC Asia	Rs 10,000 – Rs 20,000
Himalayan	Rs 10,000 (key deposit)

This money comes back when you give up the locker. NRB rules require the bank to pay savings-account interest on the deposit while it holds it, so it is not dead money. Several banks (Garima, Everest, Prabhu) simply freeze the amount inside your existing savings account, which means it keeps earning in your name and unfreezes on surrender.

The fees that surprise people come later, mostly tied to keys:

Lost key / forced opening. If you lose your key, the bank drills the lock and bills you. Nabil charges Rs 6,000 + actual cost; Prabhu Rs 10,000 or the actual lock-replacement cost, whichever is higher; Global IME Rs 5,000 + actuals; Himalayan a minimum Rs 6,000. The vendor lock is genuinely expensive to replace, so this is not a token fee.
Late rent. Himalayan adds a flat Rs 200; Global IME Rs 500. Let it run long enough and the bank can break open the locker and forfeit it.
Surrender. Mostly small or free: Global IME Rs 2,000, NMB Rs 5,500, Prabhu Rs 500 within three years (free after), Siddhartha free.

Who can rent one, and the paperwork

You cannot walk in off the street and rent a locker. NRB's Unified Directive No. 21, which governs the safe-deposit vault service at every licensed bank, states the service may be provided only to the bank's own deposit and loan customers. So step one is holding an account there.

From the same directive and the banks' own locker pages, the rest of the rules:

KYC and risk-rating. The bank runs customer due diligence and classifies locker users by risk, the same way it does for accounts. Politically exposed persons get extra scrutiny.
A self-declaration. You sign that you will not store prohibited items: explosives, weapons, narcotics, or anything terror-linked. The bank never inspects the box, so this declaration is how it covers itself legally.
Who qualifies. Individuals, companies, associations, clubs, and trusts can all rent, per Siddhartha Bank's terms. Minors and anyone barred under the Contract Act cannot.
Documents. Citizenship or passport, a photo, and a signature specimen, alongside your account.

Two account-holder perks worth asking about: several banks discount locker rent for women's saving accounts (Everest and Himalayan both give 25% off small lockers on their Nari Bachat products), and premium-account tiers often get rent rebates.

Using it day to day

A locker is not a 24-hour vault. You reach it only during banking hours, and you sign the bank's locker register on every visit. Siddhartha's published hours, fairly typical, are roughly 10am to 4pm Sunday to Thursday and 10am to 2pm on Friday, so a locker is no help for anything you might need on a Saturday or late at night.

Two small things smooth the relationship. Set up a standing instruction so the annual rent auto-debits from your account, which several banks (Siddhartha among them) allow, and you never risk the late fee or a forfeiture from a missed renewal. And ask upfront whether the locker can be held jointly, so a spouse or family member can operate it too if the holder travels or falls ill; that operating arrangement is separate from the nominee question below.

The nominee line is the one that matters

When you rent the locker, you name a nominee. Under NRB rules, on the death of the locker holder the contents are transferred to that nominated person. Fill it carefully, because the alternative is ugly.

Without a clear nominee, a locker becomes one more frozen asset your family has to pry loose with a legal-heir certificate (नाता प्रमाणित) and a stack of paperwork, exactly the process laid out in the post on claiming assets after a death in Nepal. Everest makes nomination mandatory at signing for this reason. If you have set up nominees on your accounts and demat as part of writing a will, the locker belongs on the same list.

The catch: is the bank liable if your locker is robbed?

This is the part that changes how you should think about a locker, and it is the part the rent table hides.

Nepali banks do not promise to keep your valuables safe. They rent you an empty steel box. A 2023 Kathmandu School of Law Review study read the locker agreements of all 20 commercial banks and found they are written as leases, licences, or "unclassified" contracts, deliberately structured to insert clauses disclaiming the bank's liability for any loss or damage to contents. The bank also genuinely does not know what is inside, so even in a dispute there is no agreed value to claim against.

The study argues these disclaimers sit uneasily with Nepal's National Civil Code bailment provisions (Sections 575–578), which hold a custodian liable for negligence, and with the Consumer Protection Act 2075. That argument has not been settled by a clear Nepali Supreme Court ruling on locker contents. For contrast, India went the other way: its consumer commission held the State Bank of India liable for a locker burglary and ordered it to pay Rs 30 lakh, and the Indian Supreme Court has since laid down binding locker rules for banks. That is Indian law, not Nepali, and Nepal has not codified an equivalent.

What this means in practice:

No Nepali bank insures your locker contents. The NRB directive requires CCTV and a fire-and-smoke alarm system before a vault can operate, but says nothing about insuring what is inside.
A locker is physical security, not financial cover. This is the opposite of a bank deposit, which is explicitly guaranteed up to Rs 5 lakh by the DCGF (covered in the post on deposit insurance). Your cash in an account is insured; your gold in a locker is not.
Keep your own record. Photograph what goes in, note weights and any hallmark or document numbers, and store that list outside the locker. If something ever goes wrong, that record is the only evidence you will have.

Why everyone suddenly wants one

Locker demand has tightened, and gold is the reason. The Kathmandu Post reported a 2025 gold rush as daily jewellery demand jumped to around 40 kg, with people piling into gold as a safe haven while the economy stalled. More gold in private hands means more people looking for somewhere to put it that is not a bedroom drawer.

Banks do not publish waiting-list data, so availability is hard to pin down precisely, but the signs are there: several banks ration lockers to a handful of branches, and Garima's own page notes allotment is "subject to availability and the bank's discretion." If you want one in a Kathmandu branch, ask early rather than assuming a box is waiting.

Locker vs home safe: the honest comparison

A bank locker is not the only option, and for some households a home safe is the better one.

	Bank locker	Home safe
Cost	~Rs 3,000/year, forever	Rs 9,500–35,000 once
Physical security	Bank vault, CCTV, guards	Only as good as the bolting and the house
Access	Bank hours only (roughly 10–4)	Anytime
Contents insured?	No	No
Theft risk	Low (but no payout if it happens)	Higher (house burglary), no payout either

A solid home safe is not expensive. A Godrej Eurolite runs around Rs 21,225, and the broader market on listings sits between roughly Rs 9,500 and Rs 35,000. Over ten years, a one-time Rs 21,000 safe costs less than Rs 3,000-a-year locker rent. But it lives in a house that can be broken into, and the contents are uninsured either way.

The sensible split most people land on:

Bank locker for gold you rarely touch, original lalpurja and property documents, and heirloom jewellery. High value, low access frequency, real burglary target.
Home safe for cash you might need, copies of documents, passports, and the jewellery you actually wear. Lower value or higher access frequency.

Storing original property documents matters more than people think, since a lost lalpurja is a serious headache to replace, as the land-document checklist post covers.

What you actually need to know

The rent is the easy part. Rs 2,000–4,000 a year gets most households a small or medium box at almost any bank. The deposit (Rs 10,000–35,000) comes back and earns interest; the key-loss and forced-opening fees are the ones that bite.
A locker is a guarded box, not a guarantee. Nepali banks rent you the box and disclaim liability for the contents, nobody insures what is inside, and there is no Rs 5 lakh-style cover. Keep your own dated inventory.
The nominee line is the most important thing you fill in. It decides whether your family inherits the contents cleanly or fights paperwork for months.

Got a specific question about a bank's locker terms or whether your gold belongs in one? Email parjanya57@gmail.com.

This post is part of the Nepal Money Basics guide — the save-the-gap section.