What Should You Put in a Safety Deposit Box?

A safety deposit box offers a secure storage solution, typically located within the vault of a bank or credit union. These containers provide a robust physical safeguard for valuable possessions and important documents, protecting them from theft, fire, floods, and other potential hazards. While digital storage is common, a safety deposit box serves as a tangible, protected space for items that require an extra layer of security and are difficult or impossible to replace.

Items Best Stored in a Safety Deposit Box

Safety deposit boxes are ideal for items that are irreplaceable, difficult to replicate, and not needed for frequent access. This includes original personal and legal documents that would be challenging to obtain again.
Examples include:
Original birth certificates
Marriage licenses
Adoption papers
Citizenship documents
Death certificates
Property deeds
Vehicle titles
U.S. Savings Bonds
Important contracts
Business papers
Military discharge papers

Storing these originals helps prevent loss or damage, which could lead to significant complications and costs if they needed to be reissued.

Valuable physical items and heirlooms are also well-suited for a safety deposit box. This includes valuable jewelry, rare coin or stamp collections, precious metals, and family keepsakes that hold substantial monetary or sentimental value. The vault environment provides enhanced protection against theft or destruction in a home setting.

Digital backups of critical data, such as encrypted external hard drives or USBs containing family photos, financial records, or digital copies of important documents, can also be stored securely. The encryption adds another layer of security, ensuring that even if the physical device were compromised, the data remains protected.

Items Not Recommended for a Safety Deposit Box

While safety deposit boxes offer strong security, certain items are not suitable for storage due to potential access issues. Documents needed urgently or outside of banking hours, such as passports for imminent travel or medical directives, should be kept elsewhere. Access to a safety deposit box is restricted to bank operating hours, which can hinder immediate retrieval during an emergency.

Storing illegal substances, firearms, explosives, or any hazardous materials is strictly prohibited in safety deposit boxes. Lease agreements explicitly forbid these items, and attempting to store them can lead to severe legal consequences and forfeiture of the box’s contents.

Large sums of cash are also not advisable for safety deposit box storage. The contents are not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), unlike funds held in deposit accounts. Storing cash in a box also means it will not earn interest, and its value can diminish over time due to inflation, making a traditional bank account a better option for liquid funds.

Items that hold purely sentimental value but would cause significant emotional distress if inaccessible, such as a child’s favorite blanket or a wedding photo album, are often better kept in an accessible home safe. Items already adequately covered by a homeowner’s or renter’s insurance policy, and which are not exceptionally valuable or irreplaceable, may not require the additional security of a safety deposit box.

Obtaining and Managing a Safety Deposit Box

Safety deposit boxes are typically offered by banks and credit unions, providing customers with a secure space within the institution’s vault. The process of renting a box usually involves completing an application, signing a lease agreement, and paying an annual fee. These annual fees can vary based on the size of the box and the institution.

Accessing a safety deposit box involves strict security protocols to ensure only authorized individuals can retrieve contents. Most institutions utilize a dual-control system, requiring both the customer’s key and a “guard key” held by a bank employee to open the box. Customers typically provide identification and a signature for verification. If a key is lost, the customer must notify the bank immediately, and the box may need to be drilled open by a locksmith at the customer’s expense.

It is important to designate authorized individuals, such as a spouse or trusted family member, who can access the box. The process for adding or removing authorized users involves specific paperwork with the financial institution, ensuring someone else can access the contents if the primary renter is unable.

In the event of the renter’s death, accessing a safety deposit box can become complex and may involve legal procedures. Financial institutions typically restrict access until proper authorization is obtained, often requiring a certified copy of the death certificate and a letter from an executor or administrator. This delayed access underscores the importance of not storing original wills or other time-sensitive estate planning documents as the sole copy within a safety deposit box.

Maintaining an updated inventory of the safety deposit box contents, stored securely outside the box, is a practical recommendation. This inventory, along with photos or videos of the items, can be invaluable for insurance purposes or estate planning. Remember that the financial institution does not insure the contents of the safety deposit box; customers must purchase separate insurance, such as a rider on a homeowner’s or renter’s policy, for high-value items if they desire coverage against loss or damage.