Archived article · Original source date: 2024-08-14
This article is preserved from the previous Solana Bulls site as a historical archive. It reflects its original context; references to products, people, market conditions, eligibility, or rules may no longer be current.
Solana accounts require a minimum lamport balance tied to their allocated storage. New accounts are normally created with enough lamports to be rent-exempt.
How the minimum is determined
Applications query the cluster for the minimum balance at the account's byte size. Do not rely on a fixed SOL amount because account sizes differ and network parameters can change.
Who qualifies
Rent exemption is based on the account's lamport balance and data allocation. It does not depend on whether the account is a wallet, token account, stake account, validator account, or governance participant.
Recovering the balance
When the owning program supports a correctly authorized close operation, remaining lamports can generally be transferred to a destination account. Closing an account may destroy its stored state and should be treated as an intentional operation.
Developer checklist
- Calculate the current minimum for the exact account size.
- Fund resizing operations before increasing allocated data.
- Validate close authority and destination accounts.
- Explain refundable storage balances separately from transaction fees.
Review the Solana account model before implementing account creation, resizing, or closure.