Indemnity Bond Format
Undertaking to make good a loss — duplicate documents, claims, releases.
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I, [your name], aged [age] years, son / daughter of [parent name], residing at [your address] (hereinafter the Obligor), do hereby bind myself in favour of [organisation] (hereinafter the Obligee) in the sum of ₹ [amount].
Whereas the Obligee has, at my request, agreed to act in the matter of [matter], I hereby undertake to indemnify and keep the Obligee fully indemnified against all claims, demands, actions, losses, costs and expenses that may arise in consequence.
I further undertake that should the original document or claim in question be recovered or asserted at any time hereafter, the same shall be surrendered to the Obligee forthwith and shall not be dealt with by me in any manner.
What is an Indemnity Bond?
An indemnity bond is a written undertaking to make good a loss if one arises — most often given when an original document has been lost, a claim is being released early, or an institution is being asked to act without the usual paperwork. The organisation on the receiving end wants a named party carrying the risk before it issues a duplicate or pays out. Without the bond, the request simply sits unactioned.
It appears wherever an institution is asked to proceed on an assurance rather than an original: banks issuing a duplicate fixed deposit receipt or passbook, registrars issuing duplicate share certificates, insurers settling a claim where the policy document is missing, transport authorities dealing with a lost registration certificate, and employers releasing dues to a legal heir. Companies also give indemnity bonds to customers and to each other in commercial dealings, though there the undertaking usually sits as a clause inside a contract rather than as a standalone bond.
Form requirements are local and unusually specific. In India these are commonly executed on non-judicial stamp paper of a value fixed by the relevant state stamp act, notarised, and often supported by one or two sureties; the issuing institution normally publishes its own required wording and stamp value, so ask for it before drafting anything. In the UK, US, Canada and Australia the same function is usually served by a deed of indemnity, a statutory declaration or a surety bond from a bonding company, each with different execution formalities. Check what the receiving institution requires.
The bond does not replace the lost document or prove ownership. It is a promise about consequences, not evidence of entitlement, and the institution will normally still want a police complaint or lost report, a public notice where its rules call for one, and identity proof. It also does not cap the liability being accepted unless a monetary limit is written in — an open-ended indemnity is exactly that. And it is not a substitute for advice: an indemnity given in a succession or estate matter should be reviewed by a qualified adviser before signing.
What to put in an Indemnity Bond
These are the details this template asks for. Anything left blank is marked in red on the preview so you can see what is still missing.
| Field | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| Issued to (full name) | For example: James Whitfield |
| Father's / mother's name | For example: K. Subba Rao |
| Age | For example: 34 |
| Their address | For example: 588 Kinnear Road, Columbus, OH 43212 |
| Issuing organisation | For example: Maple Grove Homeowners Association |
| Indemnity amount ($) | For example: 25,000 |
| Indemnity against what? | For example: any loss arising from issue of a duplicate share certificate in place of the original… |
| Printing on stamp paper? | Free text |
| Stamp paper value optional | For example: $100 |
How to write an Indemnity Bond
Get the institution's required format first
Banks, registrars, insurers and government offices almost always publish the wording and stamp value they will accept, and a bond drafted from scratch is routinely returned. Ask the branch or department for their proforma, the stamp paper denomination, whether sureties are required and how many, and whether notarisation or attestation is needed. Doing this before drafting saves the second and third rejection.
Identify the deponent and the institution
State the full name, parentage or spouse name where the local format expects it, age, occupation and complete address of the person giving the bond, and identify the recipient institution with its branch or office. Add the identifying reference the matter turns on: account number, folio number, certificate numbers with distinctive numbers, policy number, or vehicle registration. This is the field the recipient matches everything else against.
Set out the facts in short numbered recitals
Explain what happened in plain sequence: what the document was, when and how it was lost or why the original cannot be produced, what search was made, and what has already been reported. Reference the police complaint number and date, and any newspaper notice the institution requires. Keep each fact to a sentence, because recitals that ramble invite questions about what has been left out.
State the undertaking and any monetary limit
Write the operative promise: to indemnify and keep indemnified the institution against all claims, demands, costs and losses arising from acting on this request or from the missing document later surfacing. If a limit has been agreed, state the amount in figures and words. Add the undertaking to surrender the original immediately if it is found, and to notify the institution when that happens.
Execute it the way the format requires
Print it on stamp paper of the required denomination where that applies, sign every page, and have the sureties sign with their own identification and address proof attached. Then complete the attestation the institution asks for — notarisation, an oath commissioner, or witnessing by two independent adults. Submit the original and keep a scanned copy together with the acknowledgement receipt.
Common mistakes
- Drafting your own wording instead of using the institution's proforma, which usually means a rejection and a fresh set of stamp paper.
- Using stamp paper of the wrong denomination, or from a state other than the one where the bond is executed, leaving a document the institution will not accept.
- Giving an open-ended indemnity where a capped amount was available, so a signature intended to release one certificate carries unlimited exposure.
- Naming a surety who cannot show means or identification, which stalls the file until a replacement is found and the whole bond re-executed.
- Omitting the police complaint reference or the public notice the institution requires, which sends the application back for the one document that takes longest to obtain.
Frequently asked questions
What is an indemnity bond used for?
Most commonly to obtain a duplicate of a lost document — a share certificate, fixed deposit receipt, insurance policy or vehicle registration certificate — or to have a payment or transfer released where the usual paperwork cannot be produced. It gives the institution a named party to recover from if the original resurfaces or a competing claim appears. The same instrument is also used in estate and release-of-dues situations.
Does an indemnity bond need stamp paper?
In India, usually yes, and the denomination is set by the stamp act of the state where it is executed and by the institution's own requirement. Elsewhere the equivalent document is normally executed as a deed or a statutory declaration and stamp paper does not apply. Ask the receiving institution for the value it requires before buying anything, since rules and rates are revised periodically.
What is the difference between an indemnity bond and an affidavit?
An affidavit is a sworn statement of facts — it says what happened. An indemnity bond is an undertaking about the future — it says who bears the loss if things go wrong. Institutions frequently ask for both, because the affidavit establishes the account of the loss while the bond allocates the risk of acting on it. The two are not interchangeable.
Do I need a surety for an indemnity bond?
It depends on the institution and the amount involved. Banks and registrars often require one or two sureties of demonstrable means, with identity and address proof attached, for higher-value matters, and waive the requirement below a threshold. Ask before you draft, because adding a surety afterwards usually means executing the whole bond again on fresh stamp paper.
Is an indemnity bond legally enforceable?
A properly executed bond recording a clear undertaking is generally enforceable as a contract, subject to local formalities such as stamping, attestation and in some cases registration. What it does not do is guarantee recovery: enforcement means suing the person who gave it, and its practical worth depends on their means. That is why institutions ask for sureties on larger matters.
This page explains general practice and is not legal advice. Requirements differ between countries and, in some cases, between states — check what applies where the document will be used.