Safe Deposit Box Fees

What is a safe deposit box fee?

A safe deposit box is a locked container in your bank's vault, rented by the year. People use them for passports, deeds, wills, and things that are difficult or impossible to replace.

The fee is annual and set by box size. Larger boxes cost more, and prices can vary by branch.

How much does it cost?

Across 1,081 institutions, the median annual safe deposit box fee is $45.00, with most falling between $32.50 and $60.00, and a recorded high of $500.00.

That spread is wide because it covers every box size. A small box for documents sits near the bottom of the range and a large box near the top, so compare like with like when you are shopping.

Two costs sit alongside the rental. Late payment on a box can carry its own fee, and losing both keys means a drilling and lock replacement charge. Notary service, median $2.50, is often needed for the same documents, and some institutions offer it free to account holders, so ask first.

Boxes are usually issued with two keys and no spare held by the bank. That is a security feature, and it means losing both keys is a real problem: the bank must drill the lock, you pay for the drilling and the replacement lock, and it happens on the branch's schedule rather than yours.

Rental is generally billed annually and often set to auto-debit from a linked account. That is convenient until the linked account closes and the rental goes unpaid, which can lead to the box being drilled and its contents turned over to the state.

Keep a list of what is in the box, with photos, somewhere other than the box. If you ever make a claim against an insurer or the bank, you will need to show what was there.

If you rent a box jointly, check whether the agreement lets either renter open it alone. That matters if one of you dies or cannot get to the branch.

Who charges the most, and who charges the least?

The chart below compares box fees banks and credit unions publish. Box size drives the price, so compare the same size.

Availability can matter as much as price. Some branches no longer offer boxes, so ask which nearby branches still have one.

Do you actually need one?

For some documents a box is the right answer. For others it is an annual cost with a real drawback: you can only reach the contents during branch hours.

1. 1Do not store your only copy of a will in a box. Access after a death can require probate paperwork, which is exactly when the document is needed. Leave the original with your attorney or executor.
2. 2Do not store anything you might need urgently or out of hours, such as a passport before an early flight.
3. 3Do store deeds, titles, birth certificates and irreplaceable records that you rarely need but could not easily replace.
4. 4Ask whether your account waives the fee. Some premium and relationship accounts include a box.
5. 5Consider a quality home safe for documents you need occasionally. It is a one-off cost with no access restriction, though it does not protect against everything a vault does.
6. 6If you store valuables, arrange insurance explicitly. Ask your homeowner's or renter's insurer whether a rider covers box contents.

Questions to ask your bank

• What box sizes do you have at this branch, and what does each cost a year?
• What do you charge to drill a box if both keys are lost?
• Who can open the box besides me: a co-renter, a named agent, or no one?
• What happens to the box if this branch closes?
• Does my account include a box or a discount on one?

What regulators say

Your rights over a box come from the rental agreement rather than banking regulation, so the contract is the document that matters. Read what it says about the bank's liability, which is often limited, and about what happens if the branch closes or the vault is relocated.

Unpaid rental leads to the box being drilled and the contents handed to the state as unclaimed property, under the same state laws that govern dormant accounts. Keeping your address current with the institution matters here for the same reason it does there.

Compare your own bank

Compare by box size rather than by headline price, and ask two questions the fee schedule will not answer: are the contents insured, and who else can open it if you cannot?