Texas Bullion DepositoryFrequently Asked Questions

The Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts partnered with Lone Star Tangible Assets (LSTA), a Texas-based company, to build and operate the depository. A team of experts from both the Comptroller’s office and the contractor was assembled in the fields of system development, physical security, computer security, vault operations, shipping and receiving, metal assaying, customer service, marketing, audit, law and contracts.

As of June 1, 2018, U.S. citizens and residents, including business entities, can open an account at the depository. Services for depositors from other nations will open in the future.

The Texas Bullion Depository is an agency of the State of Texas. The Texas Bullion Depository bill was signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott on June 12, 2015, officially establishing the first state-administered precious metals bullion depository.

The legislation that authorized the creation of the Texas Bullion Depository ensures governance and accountability are always at the forefront of depository operations – features that don’t exist at other private depositories in the United States and abroad. Oversight from the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts certifies the operator meets the standards established for the program.

The Depository Administrator, who is appointed by the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, has direct oversight and audit privileges regarding all Depository Account Holder accounts. In addition, the depository is audited by a well-known Texas-based accounting firm, and it submits those reports to the Comptroller for review according to a regular schedule. Finally, the depository is subject to audits from the State of Texas.

The Texas Bullion Depository has been built to incorporate industry-leading technology, encryption, physical security and insurance. All information about the depositor’s account – from automated notifications of account events to photographic verification uploads of all deposits and withdrawals – is available at any time by logging into a password-protected account. Account information submitted to the Texas Bullion Depository is transferred in at least 256-bit encryption. Personally identifiable information is never stored in an unencrypted manner.

Our policy is to respect an individual's right to privacy. We will take all necessary steps to protect your personal and financial information from disclosure. Common-law privacy protects personal information for which the public has no legitimate interest and for which disclosure would ordinarily be objectionable. Other information that is specifically protected by law includes your date of birth, social security number and account access number.

The Texas Bullion Depository is located at a state-of-the-art special purpose-built facility on 10 acres in Leander, Texas, about 30 miles north of Austin.

Deposits are stored in the facility’s highest-rated Class III vault specifically allocated for depository holdings.

To ensure the security of deposits, it is not prudent to publicly list the details of the physical security measures taken by the Texas Bullion Depository. However, because the facility was built on such a large lot, the building maintains a security perimeter not ordinarily available to depositories located near large metropolitan areas.

In addition, the depository takes a multi-layered approach to physical security that increases with complexity at each layer. The Texas Bullion Depository maintains its own internal security and investigation team, which is supplemented by Texas law enforcement.

A general list of approved precious metals is provided during the deposit process. At this time, we accept Gold, Silver, Platinum, Palladium and Rhodium precious metal products.

Yes. The depository currently only offers segregated storage, which means the metals you submit for storage under your account are the exact same metals you will receive back when you make a withdrawal from your account.

Yes. The full metal content value of Depository Account Holder assets is insured through the Lloyd's of London insurance marketplace. The policy was reviewed and approved by the Depository Administrator and it covers 100% of all assets stored in Depository Account Holder accounts.  Additionally, the policy maintains language that permits automatic increases in limits as new depository accounts are opened.

You can store your precious metal items at the Texas Bullion Depository upon the approval of your account at the depository. The process of applying for an account can be completed online.

Numerous account types are available including options for personal, joint, business, trust and estate.

The online application process will require you to upload certain documents for the purposes of verifying your identity and establishing the Depository Account Holder. At a minimum, you must have the following items available to upload during the application process:

• United States issued driver license
• Acceptable secondary form of identification
• Acceptable form of proof of address

The cost to store your metals at the Texas Bullion Depository varies based on the total value of the metals stored in your account, multiplied by an annual storage rate for that value bracket.

The fee is calculated and accrued daily but billed quarterly. Minimum quarterly storage fee is $25. Please review our pricing for more information.

The Texas Bullion Depository is for storage only. We do not sell precious metals or recommend dealers. We also do not offer tax advice concerning the metals.