Report the loss; payment of a charge is not authorisation to open
Under paragraphs 243–245 of RBI’s Commercial Banks – Responsible Business Conduct Directions, 2025, a hirer who loses the bank-supplied key must notify the bank immediately. The bank may obtain an undertaking to return the key if it is later found. The opening must follow identification, recording of the loss and written customer authorisation; a fee debit or an oral request is not a substitute for that evidence. Read the current directions, paragraphs 243–245.
This guide uses the version updated as on 1 October 2026, checked on 25 October 2026. Its scope is the covered commercial-bank category; the directions exclude Small Finance Banks, Payments Banks, Local Area Banks and Regional Rural Banks. Confirm the governing instructions for an excluded bank class rather than assuming the same instrument applies to all institutions.
Follow the customer-request route, not the arrears route
A lost-key opening at the hirer’s request is a different situation from bank-initiated opening for unpaid rent, prolonged inoperation or a competent authority’s attachment. Do not impose those different gateways as conditions for dealing with a reported key loss, or assume that their notice and witness procedures displace the safeguards specified for the customer-request operation.
Record the locker number, hirer details, loss report and date. For joint hiring or representation, verify the actual operating mandate and legally sufficient authority before scheduling the operation. This article does not assume that one joint holder can always authorise an opening alone, or that a representative may replace the required customer attendance without a separately established lawful process.
Control who opens the locker and who sees its contents
Paragraph 244 permits the bank or its authorised technician to carry out the opening after the required identification and written authorisation. Paragraph 245 requires the customer or customers and an authorised bank official to be present. Verify the technician’s authority through the bank; a privately engaged locksmith should not be treated as authorised merely because the hirer pays that person.
The operation must not affect adjoining lockers, and contents must not be exposed to anyone other than the hirer during opening or restoration. Plan the work area and sightlines, preserve privacy and pause if the required participants or safeguards are absent. The bank’s involvement does not permit staff or technicians to inspect contents as a routine replacement exercise.
Charges may be recovered, but the basis must be communicated
Paragraph 243 permits recovery from the hirer of charges for opening, changing the lock and replacing the lost key. Applicable charges for lost-key replacement or a new password must be communicated to the hirer. The direction does not prescribe a single national rupee tariff, a mandatory percentage of locker rent or a universal refundable deposit for this procedure.
Ask for a component-wise estimate and reconcile it to the final debit or invoice. Check whether a quoted package already includes the lock or key, whether a deposit is adjusted once, and whether unused advance amounts are returned or credited under the agreed arrangement. These are evidence controls; they do not establish that every amount on a technician’s private quotation is contractually payable to the bank.
Close the incident without leaving two active access trails
Record the restored lock or access reference, delivery of the replacement key, the customer’s acknowledgement and any applicable undertaking concerning a later-found key. If the original turns up, follow the undertaking and bank process; do not use it on another locker or assume it remains valid. Preserve the cost reconciliation independently from the access-control record.
For digital lockers, paragraph 243 refers to communicating new-password charges, but this article does not assert that every physical-key repair step automatically applies unchanged to each electronic-vault design. Apply the relevant bank-controlled reset and customer-authentication process. Typical failures are proceeding without written authority, exposing contents, using an unverified technician, charging a component twice or treating the advance as the final cost without reconciliation.
Six worked illustrations
All facts and amounts below are fictional. Assumptions describe the model, not additional statutory rules.
Illustrative example 1: Component estimate
Assume communicated contractual charges of ₹2,000 for opening, ₹1,500 for the lock and ₹500 for the replacement key, excluding any separately applicable tax. Total is ₹4,000. These are fictional charges, not RBI-prescribed rates.
Illustrative example 2: Adjust an advance once
For a verified final eligible charge of ₹4,000, the hirer has already paid an adjustable advance of ₹1,000. The remaining balance is ₹3,000. A second full ₹4,000 debit would leave an unexplained ₹1,000 excess unless separately justified.
Illustrative example 3: Detect a duplicate component
A communicated package of ₹3,500 includes the replacement lock. The final statement also lists a ₹1,500 lock charge, producing ₹5,000. The difference is ₹1,500. Seek correction or evidence for a genuinely separate agreed service; do not assume the direction authorises double charging.
Illustrative example 4: Unused advance
An adjustable advance is ₹5,000 and supported final charges are ₹4,200. The unreconciled excess is ₹800. Obtain evidence of its credit, refund or other agreed lawful treatment rather than leaving it as an unexplained cost.
Illustrative example 5: Separate annual rent
Assume replacement charges of ₹4,000 and independently due annual rent of ₹3,000. A combined bank debit of ₹7,000 reconciles arithmetically, but the incident cost is ₹4,000. The extra ₹3,000 is rent and should not be described as an RBI lost-key tariff.
Illustrative example 6: Two incidents, separate evidence
Two properly authorised lost-key incidents have supported charges of ₹4,000 and ₹4,500. Total cost is ₹8,500. If ₹2,000 advance was paid for each incident, total advances are ₹4,000 and the combined uncovered balance is ₹4,500. Keep each authorisation and advance allocated to its own incident.
Ten-step verification table
| Step | Action | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Report immediately | Dated loss notice and correct locker identifier. |
| 2 | Record the incident | Bank record of loss and hirer details. |
| 3 | Verify identity and mandate | KYC identification, joint-operation terms and authority. |
| 4 | Obtain written authorisation | Customer approval for the proposed opening. |
| 5 | Communicate charges | Bank-approved scope, components and any advance terms. |
| 6 | Confirm the operator | Bank or bank-authorised technician. |
| 7 | Arrange attendance | Required customer or customers and authorised bank official. |
| 8 | Protect the site and privacy | Adjoining lockers unaffected and contents not exposed to others. |
| 9 | Reconcile restoration and costs | Replacement reference, receipts, advances and final debit. |
| 10 | Close the access trail | Customer acknowledgement and later-found-key undertaking where obtained. |
Sixteen practitioner FAQs
1. What is the hirer’s first step?
Notify the bank immediately when the supplied key is lost.
2. Should the loss be recorded?
Yes. Proper recording is part of the paragraph 244 process.
3. Can payment alone authorise opening?
No. Written customer authorisation and identification remain necessary.
4. Who may carry out the opening?
The bank or its authorised technician under the stated procedure.
5. Can any locksmith chosen by the hirer proceed?
Do not assume authority. Verify the technician through the bank.
6. Who should be present?
The customer or customers and an authorised bank official under paragraph 245.
7. Can one joint holder always act alone?
Check the actual mandate and lawful authority; the article does not create a universal single-holder entitlement.
8. May staff inspect the contents during repair?
The directions require that contents not be exposed to any individual other than the hirer during opening or restoration.
9. What about neighbouring lockers?
The operation must not affect them.
10. Does RBI fix one national replacement price?
No such fixed rupee tariff is prescribed in paragraphs 243–245.
11. Can opening and lock-change charges be recovered?
Paragraph 243 permits recovery of the specified charges from the hirer, with applicable charges communicated.
12. Is a package component chargeable again automatically?
No. Reconcile the communicated package and seek a basis for any additional line.
13. Does an advance equal the final cost?
Not necessarily. Match it once to the supported final charges and resolve any excess.
14. What if the original key is later found?
Follow the bank process and the undertaking to return it where obtained.
15. Is this the same as opening for unpaid rent?
No. It is the customer-request lost-key route with its own stated safeguards.
16. What closes the incident?
Documented restoration, customer acknowledgement, cost reconciliation and a controlled replacement-access record.
Conclusion
A locker hirer who loses a bank-supplied key must notify the bank immediately. RBI requires identification, recording of the loss, written authorisation and customer attendance for the opening, with privacy safeguards and communication of replacement charges.