Custodian

Custodian is a term used to describe a person or institution charged with the protection, care, and supervision of property, records, or assets. In everyday usage, it commonly refers to a building custodian or janitor, a staff member responsible for cleaning, basic maintenance, and the safety of a facility. Duties can include cleaning floors and restrooms, reporting and sometimes performing minor repairs, supervising access control, managing waste, and coordinating with facilities management on environmental and safety standards. In schools, universities, office buildings, and hospitals, custodians ensure the operational readiness of spaces and may work on shift rotations.

In law and finance, custodian has a broader technical meaning. A custodian bank or financial custodian holds and safeguards clients’ financial assets, separately from the bank’s own assets. They handle settlement, record-keeping, corporate actions, and reporting, subject to regulatory and contractual requirements. In trusts and estates, a custodian may hold property on behalf of beneficiaries, sometimes under a fiduciary duty. In recordkeeping, a custodian of records preserves and protects documents and information from unauthorized access or loss, often with defined retention schedules.

Other uses include a caretaker of a residence or property, a guardian in a custodial relationship, or a person entrusted with safekeeping under a legal or administrative framework. Etymology traces to the Latin custos, meaning guardian or protector.