How to Check and Update Nominees for PPF, NSC, SCSS & Post Office Accounts

Nominee, in one line: the person the post office or bank pays first if you die — so your family usually avoids a court process. A nominee can be named to receive the money as an outright beneficiary or as a trustee for your legal heirs (more on that below). Updating your nominee in PPF, NSC, SCSS and post office schemes became free from 2 April 2025. It takes minutes, and most people never check theirs.

Why nomination matters more than people think

When an account holder dies with a valid nominee, the nominee can claim the balance from the post office or bank without first producing a succession certificate. Without a nominee, the family often faces a slower, costlier route — a court's succession certificate, or (up to a limit) an indemnity-based claim. A nominee you set years ago — before a marriage, a child, or a falling-out — can send money to the wrong person. If the worst has already happened, see our guide on how to claim small-savings money after a death.

The April 2025 change — updating is now free

Earlier, changing or cancelling a nominee in small savings schemes carried a ₹50 fee. A gazette amendment — G.S.R. 214(E), dated 2 April 2025 — to the Government Savings Promotion General Rules, 2018 removed that fee entirely, and India Post implemented it via SB Order 05/2025. So there is no longer any cost reason to leave an outdated nominee in place.

How to check and update your nominee

1. Find out who's currently nominated — check the passbook/certificate or ask at the post office or bank branch where the account is held.
2. Submit the nomination form at the branch where the account is held. Under the Government Savings Promotion General Rules, 2018 you can name up to four nominees and set the percentage share for each. Nomination is normally made at account opening in Form 1; to change or cancel it later, submit Form 10.
3. Keep the stamped acknowledgement with your records.
4. Repeat for every account — PPF, NSC, SCSS, SSY, RD, TD and MIS are separate; a nominee on one does not carry to the others. See the PPF complete guide and the NSC complete guide for scheme-specific detail.

Beneficiary or trustee — a choice on the form

The nomination form (Form 10) asks how the nominee should receive the money: as a beneficiary with absolute and exclusive ownership, or as a trustee who holds it for the benefit of your legal heirs. This is an important choice — a nominee is the person entitled to receive the balance, but where they are named as a trustee (or where there's a dispute), the money is ultimately for the legal heirs. If who should finally own the money differs from who's convenient to claim it, make a will as well; nomination and succession are not the same thing.

Can an NRI be your nominee? Yes

A 2023 amendment (Rule 14(9)) makes clear that a Non-Resident Indian can be nominated as a nominee — with payment to such a nominee made on a non-repatriation basis. So a child or relative abroad can be named.

Do this for every account — a one-page family checklist

List each account (scheme, holder, branch), note who's nominated and their share, and set one yearly reminder to re-check after any big life event — marriage, a child, a death, or a move abroad. That single habit is what keeps money reaching the right person without a court.

(Reminder tool, not legal advice. Confirm the exact form and procedure with your post office or bank.)

Frequently Asked Questions