How to Check and Claim an Unclaimed Bank Deposit in Pakistan
A bank deposit in Pakistan becomes unclaimed after 15 years and goes to the State Bank. How to check the lists by CNIC and claim the money through your bank.
In Pakistan, a bank deposit becomes "unclaimed" after 15 years with no transaction and no statement requested. The bank then writes to you, waits three months, and hands the money to the State Bank of Pakistan. It is not lost. You claim it back through the same bank, with your CNIC.
The rule is section 31 of the Banking Companies Ordinance, 1962. We read the current text on the Pakistan Code, the federal law website of the Ministry of Law and Justice, on 29 September 2026. The 15 year period was written into the section by Act No. XXIX of 2024, so advice that quotes a shorter period is out of date.
We also opened the unclaimed deposits list that Meezan Bank links from its own website. It is a spreadsheet with one sheet for each year from 2010 to 2025, listing names, CNIC or passport numbers, account numbers, branches and amounts. That is how you find out whether your name is on a list at all.
When a bank deposit becomes unclaimed in Pakistan
A deposit turns unclaimed after 15 years with no transaction and no statement requested or acknowledged by you. For a fixed deposit, the 15 years start when the fixed term ends. Unpaid profit and uncashed pay orders follow the same 15 year rule.
| What | 15 years start from |
|---|---|
| Current or savings account | Your last transaction, or the last statement you asked for or acknowledged, whichever is later |
| Fixed deposit or term deposit | The day the fixed period ended |
| Profit, dividend or bonus due on a deposit | The day it became payable |
| Cheque, draft, pay order or bill of exchange issued by the bank | The date of issue, certification or acceptance |
Three kinds of deposit are left out of this rule: deposits in the name of a minor, a government, or a court of law. Foreign currency deposits are covered, because the section applies to Pakistani rupees "or any other currency".
Unclaimed is the last stage, not the first. An account is usually marked dormant much earlier, after about a year without use, and a dormant bank account can be reopened at the branch long before the 15 years run out.
What the bank must do before handing money to the State Bank
The bank must send you a three months' notice by registered post, acknowledgement due, to the last address you gave it. If no reply comes within three months, it pays the full amount, with any profit, to the State Bank. That payment ends the bank's own liability.
The notice counts as delivered even if it goes astray. The law treats it as served on the 15th day after posting, as long as it was correctly addressed and paid for. So an old address on file is a real risk, and updating it costs nothing.
After the transfer, three things follow under the same section:
- The money stops earning profit from the day it reaches the State Bank.
- The bank must keep your signature cards and account papers until the State Bank says it can stop.
- The Limitation Act does not cut off the bank's duty to pay the State Bank, however old the deposit is.
Every bank must also file a return with the State Bank within 30 days after each calendar year ends, listing all amounts that have passed the 15 year mark.
How to check if your money is on an unclaimed list
Search your bank's published unclaimed deposits list for your CNIC or old account number, then check the State Bank's list. The law requires the State Bank to put every unclaimed amount it holds on its website and to advertise that list every quarter.
- Find your old account number, CNIC or passport number, and the branch you used.
- Open your bank's own website and look for "unclaimed deposits". Meezan Bank links a spreadsheet with a sheet for each year.
- Search the file for your CNIC or account number, not your name, because spellings vary.
- Check the State Bank's website list, which section 31(8) requires it to publish.
- If you find a match, note the year, branch and amount before you go to the bank.
Section 31(8) also says public attention must be drawn to the State Bank's list through notices in at least two newspapers and media channels once every quarter. We could not open the State Bank's list from our connection on 29 September 2026, because its pages load only through a browser script, so we have not checked how it is searched.
Not every bank links its list from the home page. If you cannot find it, call the bank, and the numbers are in our list of bank helpline numbers.
How to claim an unclaimed deposit from the State Bank
You claim through the bank that held the account, not directly with the State Bank. Section 31(10) says any person entitled to the money submits the claim to the State Bank through the concerned bank, following the procedure the State Bank sets.
In practice, start at the branch where the account was. If that branch has closed, ask the bank which branch now holds its records. Take your original CNIC, and any old cheque book, passbook, statement or deposit slip you still have. The bank's records help here, because the law makes it keep your signature card after the transfer.
The State Bank checks that the claim is genuine and then decides. When it pays, your receipt is a final discharge for the State Bank. Its decision is final under section 31(15), except in the limited case the section itself provides.
Claims from abroad can follow a different route. Section 31(14) lets the State Bank set a separate procedure for people not living in Pakistan. A power of attorney from abroad may let a relative in Pakistan act for you, but ask the bank first whether it will accept one for this claim.
Heirs, lockers and what to do if the bank will not help
Heirs of a depositor who has died can claim too, since the law covers "any person who claims to be entitled". Items left in an unpaid bank locker are handled under a separate part of section 31. If a bank delays, complain in writing, then go to the Banking Mohtasib.
For an heir, the usual starting document for a dead relative's bank balance is a succession certificate from NADRA. Your bank will tell you what else it needs.
Lockers work differently. Under section 31(15A), if a customer stops paying locker rent and the bank moves the contents to its vault, it must report them to the State Bank and publish that fact on its website. Read what a bank locker in Pakistan covers before assuming the contents are safe forever.
If the branch refuses or stalls, put the claim in writing and keep the receipt. A bank complaint that goes unresolved can then be taken to the Banking Mohtasib, which handles complaints against banks.
Common questions
After how many years does a bank account become unclaimed in Pakistan?
After 15 years with no transaction and no statement requested or acknowledged, under section 31 of the Banking Companies Ordinance, 1962, as amended in 2024.
Is unclaimed money lost for good?
No. The bank pays it to the State Bank, which holds it in custody under section 31(13). The section sets no deadline for making a claim.
Does an unclaimed deposit keep earning profit?
No. Section 31(4) says it stops bearing interest or sharing profit from the day the bank pays it to the State Bank.
How do I know if my account was sent to the State Bank?
Search your bank's unclaimed deposits list and the State Bank's list for your CNIC or account number. The bank should also have sent a registered letter three months before the transfer.
Can I claim my unclaimed deposit directly from the State Bank?
No. The law says the claim goes to the State Bank through the bank that held the deposit.
Are minors' accounts covered by the unclaimed deposit rule?
No. Deposits in the name of a minor, a government or a court of law are left out of section 31(1).
How we verified this
What we checked, where we read it, and what we could not confirm.
Last checked on 29 September 2026. Every rule above is read in section 31 of the Banking Companies Ordinance, 1962 on the Pakistan Code, in the consolidated text whose footnotes record the substitutions made by Act No. XXIX of 2024: the 15 year periods, the exclusions, the three months' notice, the 15th day service rule, the end of profit, the annual return, the State Bank's website list and quarterly notices, claims through the concerned bank, the separate route for non-residents and the locker provision. The spreadsheet of unclaimed deposits for 2010 to 2025 is linked as "List of Unclaimed Deposits" on Meezan Bank's website. We could not open the State Bank's own list or claim procedure, did not look up any individual's details, and did not file a claim.
About the author
Tax, Bills and Technology Writer
Ali Akhtar is a young and curious voice here at Pakistan Era. He is currently pursuing his A-Levels and has a growing interest in Pakistan’s changing industrial landscape and educational trends. Ali likes to write in a way that helps him explain and explore the world around him. His writing reflects the perspective of the new generation navigating the evolving trends of Pakistan where technology, youth innovation, and shifting opportunities are reshaping the country’s future.
