Approved Nonbank Trustees and Custodians

 

The IRS maintains a list of entities approved, under Treasury Regulation Section 1.408-2(e), to serve as nonbank trustees or custodians. 


List updates

We will frequently update this list as other nonbank trustees or custodians are added or removed. Entities will be removed from the list after their withdrawal or revocation has become final. 

An approved nonbank trustee or custodian must notify the IRS of any change in entity name, address or any other change that may affect the entity’s status as an approved nonbank trustee or custodian.

An approved nonbank trustee or custodian should contact the IRS, in writing, as soon as possible, if the trustee or custodian: 

  • was incorrectly excluded from the list of approved nonbank trustees or custodians,
  •  is on the list but is no longer acting as a nonbank trustee or custodian, or
  •  needs to request any corrections.

Submit your written request to:

Internal Revenue Service
SE:T:EP:RA:T1
1111 Constitution Ave., N.W., NCA
Washington, DC 20224


Background

Nonbank trustees or nonbank custodians (NBT) are described under Treasury Regulation Section 1.408-2(e). An entity that is not a bank (or an insurance company in the case of Archer Medical Savings Accounts and health savings accounts) can request to be a nonbank trustee/custodian by applying in writing and demonstrating that certain requirements will be met in order to handle any of the following fiduciary accounts:

  • Archer Medical Savings Account (MSA)
  • Health Savings Account
  • Qualified Retirement Plan Custodial Account
  • 403(b)(7) Custodial Account
  • Individual Retirement Arrangement (IRA)
  • Roth IRA
  • Deferred Compensation Plan of State & Local Government and Tax Exempt Organizations Custodial Accounts
  • Coverdell Education Savings Account

If the requirements described in Treasury Regulations Sections 1.408-2(e)(2) - (e)(5)(viii)(F) are met, the NBT applicant will receive a written notice of approval. Annually, the Employee Plans Compliance Unit (EPCU) contacts the approved NBTs for an affirmation that the organization continues to serve as a nonbank trustee/custodian. The responses are used in the preparation of a Nonbank Trustee/Custodian List that will be published in the Cumulative Bulletin each February.

Additional resources