Best and Worst Things to Keep in a Safe Deposit Box

You may regret storing some important documents and valuables in your bank. Here's why.

wall of safe deposit boxes with a few open and various items showing such as gold bars jewelry and cash

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Aaron Kassraie,

AARP

En español

Published January 05, 2022

/ Updated January 23, 2024

As more emphasis is placed on protecting digital records and online identities, a need still remains to secure our most precious physical belongings.

“If you have anything that is hard to replace or has sentimental value or you want to pass on to your kids, that’s probably the best reason for getting a safe deposit box,” says Dave McGuinn, founder and president of Safe Deposit Specialist, a financial consulting firm. “You’ve got one central location, and your family knows where your stuff is.”

While some big banks are moving away from safe deposit boxes, especially in newly constructed branches, McGuinn estimates there are still over 25 million leased safe deposit boxes in the U.S. That in itself, he says, is evidence of continuing demand.

“My clients are still expanding vaults, adding boxes and doing everything they can to accommodate their customers,” says McGuinn.

However, brick-and-mortar bank branches are vanishing across the country, meaning you may have to travel farther to access or lease a new deposit box. By the end of 2021, there were an unprecedented 2,927 fewer bank branches nationwide, eclipsing the annual closure record set in 2020, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data.

In 2022, the largest bank in the U.S., JP Morgan Chase, announced that it is no longer leasing new safe deposit boxes.

Think before you store

Best Things to Store in a Safe Deposit Box

Adoption records
Armed service records
Birth certificates
Business/legal contracts
Citizenship/naturalization papers
Collectibles
Death certificates
Family photos
Jewelry
Marriage/divorce records
Property records
Vehicle titles

Worst Things to Store in a Safe Deposit Box

Emergency cash
Letters of instruction (including funeral instructions)
Living will
Original last will and testament
Passport
Power of attorney (financial and health)
Uninsured valuables

J ust because you have a safe deposit box doesn’t mean you should automatically stash all your valuables in it. Since access to a safe deposit box is limited to banking hours, important items that may be needed at a moment’s notice are better off stored elsewhere. Think your passport, in case you need to take an emergency trip, or your living will, in case you’re gravely injured, according to the American Bankers Association (ABA).

Instead, consider keeping these items at home in a fireproof safe. Make sure a trusted friend or family member is aware of what’s kept in the safe and knows the lock combination. You might also consider including this information in a letter of instruction that accompanies your will, and giving copies of both to your will’s executor. (Ideally, the original copy of your will should be kept at the law firm where it was drafted — or in your home safe if you drafted it yourself — and not in a safe deposit box, where it’s difficult to retrieve after you die.)

Items that should be stored in a safe deposit box are those that are expensive or difficult if not impossible to replace. Examples include heirloom jewelry, original copies of adoption papers and important family photos.

“Some of the mega banks put a clause in [the safe deposit box agreement] that you can’t put anything of value in them,” says McGuinn, “which kind of takes away the need for a safe deposit box.” However, he notes that banks don’t vet what goes in your safe deposit box — you put items in and take items out in private — so the restrictions aren’t enforceable.

Some financial institutions also advise against storing cash, guns or other potentially dangerous or illegal items in safe deposit boxes.

Insure the contents of your safe deposit box

No matter what you store in your safe deposit box, be aware that it isn’t insured by the bank, the FDIC or any other government agency. Remember, your bank has no idea what’s kept in your box. “If you don’t know what it is, you don’t know the value of it,” McGuinn says.

However, items can be insured through your own private insurer. Ask an agent about adding what’s called a personal articles floater to your home or auto policy. Be sure to let the insurer know that the items are in a safe deposit box, which could score you a discount of about 50 percent on your premium, according to McGuinn.

Valuables such as jewelry and collectibles should be stored in a safe deposit box only if they are insured, says Naomi Becker Collier, an attorney specializing in trust and estate planning.

The ABA also recommends placing valuables in plastic bags or containers labeled with the leaser’s name to protect the box’s contents in case of a plumbing catastrophe or flood.

Picking a safe deposit box

Not all banks offer safe deposit boxes, and those that do might not have any available for rent. Check with local branches, especially older branches that are more likely to have been built with a vault that includes safe deposit boxes.

The price to rent a safe deposit box depends on the bank, the branch location and the dimensions of the box. Consider shopping around in your area to find the best value. Our checks with several major banks put the price of a small box — 3 inches tall by 5 inches wide; depth varies — at $50 to $55 a year. Larger boxes run more annually: 5 by 5 inches, $70 to $85; and 3 by 10 inches, $80 to $90. You’ll probably be required to put down a refundable deposit, perhaps $10 to $25, for the key. If the key is ever lost, the bank will charge you to drill into the box to replace the lock.

McGuinn has developed a safe deposit report card that includes 30 questions you should ask of a financial institution before signing a lease. The more “yes” responses, the better the vault is secured.

Once you pick a safe deposit box, let someone know where the box is. If you trust that person enough, put them on the safe deposit box’s contract. If you pass away, this will allow the person access without unnecessary legal entanglements and court orders.

If you’ve appointed someone as your financial power of attorney, that person may be able to access the box during your lifetime, according to Collier. However, a power of attorney is no longer valid once you die.

Securing a safe in your home

If your local bank doesn’t rent safe deposit boxes anymore or if you prefer the accessibility of having your valuables secured in your home, here’s what to consider.

There are two main categories of home safes: portable lockboxes and safes that you bolt into a wall or floor. Portable boxes should be well hidden; some suggest putting them inside beat-up cardboard boxes in the attic to make them as hard to find as possible. Know that crooks will likely look for valuables in your bedroom and closet, so skip those locations. But keeping a safe difficult to reach can also hinder you.

“The idea of a safe is also to have it accessible,” says Chris McGoey, president of McGoey Security Consulting. “If you’re older, you’re not going to be climbing up on ladders, necessarily, or going up in the attic.”

Instead, McGoey suggests getting a safe you can anchor to the floor. “If it’s a good safe and it’s bolted down, room placement doesn’t matter,” he says. “Burglars will see it, but they won’t be able to get it.”

In either case, make sure to tell a trusted family member or friend what’s being kept in the safe and how to open the lock. You might also consider including this information in a letter of instruction that accompanies your will.

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Aaron Kassraie writes about issues important to military veterans and their families for AARP. He also serves as a general assignment reporter. Kassraie previously covered U.S. foreign policy as a correspondent for the Kuwait News Agency’s Washington bureau and worked in news gathering for USA Today and Al Jazeera English. 