The deposit contract is a contract by which the depositor transfers possession of a thing to the depositary so that he can take care of it, and the latter must return it when the depositor claims it.[1]​ It is a real, imperfect bilateral contract, free of charge, of the law of nations, in good faith and not a transfer of ownership or possession (since the mere use of the res deposita is considered theft).

Depending on the origin of the deposit

Legislation may distinguish different deposit contracts depending on the country.

The Civil Code of Spain itself distinguishes between extrajudicial deposit and judicial deposit (Art. 1759 of the C.c):.

In Mexico, the civil code establishes that the deposit contract can be conventional or judicial.

It is conventional when the litigants deposit the disputed asset in the hands of a third party who undertakes to deliver it, once the litigation is concluded, to the person who has the right to it, in accordance with the judgment or, where appropriate, the arbitration award or the transactional agreement of the parties; while judicial seizure is a plurilateral legal act in which the part of the will of the law that bases it intervenes, that of the authority that orders it, that of the actuary that practices it and that of the depositary that agrees to carry it out and is governed by the relative provisions of the code of civil procedures.

Article 1356 of the Civil and Commercial Code of the Nation of Argentina defines deposit when one party undertakes to receive something from another with the obligation to safeguard it and return it with its fruits.

This type of contract is presumed to be onerous.

In articles 1367 to 1375 inclusive, the types of deposit are established (irregular deposit and necessary/regular deposit).[2]​.

Article 2211 of the Civil Code of Chile defines deposit in general as the contract in which a tangible thing is entrusted to a person who is responsible for storing it and returning it in kind.

The thing deposited - according to the same article - is called deposit, and is perfected with the delivery of the thing.