Myself
The property is in my name, or a name I used to use.
Read more →State Controller data · republished every Thursday
California Unclaimed Property Recovery
California is holding $11.5 billion that belongs to other people. Getting it back should not be this hard.
When a bank, employer or insurer loses touch with someone, the money they were holding is turned over to the State Controller — and there it sits, indefinitely, until the owner works out how to prove it is theirs. We exist to close that gap. We find the property, assemble the proof the State requires, notarize what has to be notarized, and file it. You pay us a share of what we actually recover, and nothing at all if we recover nothing.
No fee unless we recover. Our share is capped at 10% by state law and is owed only after the State Controller has paid you.
Free · No account · No obligation
Search California Unclaimed Property
Enter a name exactly as it may have appeared on an old account. We check every reasonable variant of it — maiden names, initials, misspellings — against the State Controller’s published records.
Every record here comes from the State Controller’s published file, rebuilt weekly, and carries the State’s own property ID.
Why so much of it is still sitting there
The State Is a Vault, Not a Service
California holds unclaimed property indefinitely and safely, and it publishes the whole database. What it does not do is come and find you, tell you what proves your claim, or chase the paperwork when something is missing. That work falls to the owner — and it is the reason billions of dollars sit unclaimed in a system that is working exactly as designed.
1 in 7
Californians Have Unclaimed Property
Most have no idea. The system is passive: nothing happens until somebody thinks to look, and almost nobody thinks to look.
$11.5bn
Is Being Held Right Now
Against roughly $534 million returned in a year. At that rate the balance is not shrinking — the gap between what is held and what gets home keeps widening.
The proof
Is Where Claims Die
Finding the money is the easy half. Establishing that you are the person named on a record from 1998, or the heir of someone who died in 2011, is the half that stops people.
What We Are Building
A recovery service that does the difficult half properly and at scale: searching the way the records were actually written, knowing what the Controller accepts before a claim is filed, handling notarisation in-house, and answering the State’s requests the day they arrive rather than a month later.
We are paid only out of what we successfully recover. If a claim fails, it costs you nothing. That is not a promotion — it is the only fee structure that keeps our incentives and yours pointing the same direction.
Being straight about it
You Are Not Paying Us for Access
Every record we hold is public. Every claim we file, you could file yourself at claimit.ca.gov, for nothing. We say that on this page, in our letters, and on the phone, because it is true and because you would find out in a minute anyway.
What ten per cent buys
Four decisions, made on the first day instead of discovered over three months:
- Which filing category the State will apply — owner, business or heir. Each has a different documentation list, and the wrong one is a rejection letter.
- Whether it qualifies for the paperless route. Eligible single-owner claims pay in roughly ten to fourteen days. The paper route takes months. Most people never learn the fast one existed.
- Whether a notary is genuinely required — and, if it is, we are commissioned, so it does not become another appointment.
- Exactly which documents will be accepted, assembled in one complete package. A partial package earns a follow-up letter and starts the wait again.
What it does not buy
Speed at the State’s end. Once a claim is lodged, the Controller works at its own pace and no one can change that — not us, not anybody advertising otherwise.
The honest summary: we are worth hiring when the claim is complicated, or large enough that getting it wrong is expensive, or when you would simply rather not. For a straightforward claim in your own name, file it yourself and keep everything.
Two routes to the same money
The State’s Process, and Ours
Both end with the State Controller paying a claim. They differ in who does the work, how long it takes, and what happens when something goes wrong.
Show the full comparisonHide the comparison
| The work | The State’s process | With us |
|---|---|---|
| Finding it | The search matches the name you type. If the record was keyed differently, it does not exist as far as you are concerned. | We search every spelling, maiden and former married names, initials, misspellings and old addresses — plus the separate probate estates file, which an ordinary property search does not cover. |
| Knowing what proves it | You find out what was missing when the claim comes back rejected, often months later. | You find out before it is filed. Knowing what the Controller accepts is most of this job. |
| Notarisation | Required on cash claims of $1,000 or more and on every securities and safe deposit claim. You find and pay a notary yourself. | Handled in-house. We are a commissioned California notary, so it is a step in the process rather than an errand. |
| When the owner has died | You work out whether court Letters or a small-estate affidavit applies, and assemble the chain of proof yourself. | We identify the route and tell you exactly which documents the Controller accepts for it. |
| When the owner was a business | You establish who may lawfully sign for a dissolved, renamed or acquired entity. | We work that out and evidence it, including property filed under predecessor names. |
| If the State asks for more | A request for one more document is easy to miss, and a claim can sit for months while nobody is waiting on anything. | We answer it, and you can see which of thirteen stages your claim is at, at any hour. |
| Who does the work | You do. Every search, every form, every follow-up. | We do. Your part is about an hour, most of it signing. |
| What it costs | Your time, and the cost of a claim that fails for a reason nobody told you about. | A share of what we recover, capped at ten per cent by §1582. Nothing up front, and nothing at all if we recover nothing. |
There is no deadline on any of this, so nothing here is urgent — but nothing happens on its own either. Property sits until somebody does the work.
The first question everybody has
Is This a Scam? Here Is How to Check.
It is the right question, and you should keep asking it — of us and of anyone else who contacts you about this. The State Controller publishes warnings about firms in this industry, and they are worth reading. Everything below can be verified without asking us anything.
What We Never Do
- We never cold-call you. If we write to you, the letter names the exact record the State holds and carries a reference you can check on this site before you do anything
- Our fee is never asked for up front — by law, none of it may be collected until the State has paid you
- We never ask for your Social Security number before you have hired us
- We never claim to work for, or with, the State Controller. We are a private firm
Got a letter from us? Enter its reference at our record lookup — a genuine letter opens the exact record it describes. If a reference does not work, or anyone asks you for money up front, your Social Security number before you have hired anyone, or claims to be the State, it is not us. Report it to the Controller at CSUResearch@sco.ca.gov.
Check Us Yourself
- Telephone
- (949) 988-4809 Call before you send us anything at all.
- Our fee, in writing
- 10% of what is recovered, capped by Code of Civil Procedure §1582, and owed only after the State Controller has paid you.
The Controller’s fraud alerts The rules firms like us follow How to spot a finder scam
For businesses
Your Staff Can Search What You Are Owed. They Cannot See What You Owe.
Any clerk can type your company name into the State’s search. The harder half is the other direction: uncashed payroll, customer credits and refunded deposits that should have been reported to the State years ago and were not.
Code of Civil Procedure §1577 charges interest at twelve per cent a year on property that should have been reported, running from the date it was due — not from the date anyone notices. The same section says the Controller shall waive that interest for a holder who self-reports through the Voluntary Compliance Program.
There is also the half your search will miss: property filed under a predecessor entity, a former DBA, an abbreviation, or a company you acquired.
The reporting calendar
- Life insurers
- Notice report before 1 May · remit 1–15 December
- All other businesses
- Notice report before 1 November · remit 1–15 June
- Extension requests
- No later than 30 days before the report is due
Published by the State Controller. Missing these is what starts the twelve per cent running.
The scale of it
California returns more than $1 million every day to people who file a claim. Some of it could be yours.
One in seven Californians has unclaimed property waiting. Most have no idea, because the money was turned over quietly after a business lost touch with them.
Search your name$15,485,000,000
Held by the State Controller, waiting to be claimed
$534,000,000+
Returned to owners in the 2024/25 financial year
Figures published by the California State Controller. We are a private firm and not affiliated with it.
10%
Maximum fee, by statute
Code of Civil Procedure §1582 caps any recovery fee at ten percent of the property returned.
$1,000
Notarization threshold
Cash claims at or above this must be notarized. So must all securities and safe deposit boxes.
7 days
Data refresh cycle
The State Controller republishes the full record set every Thursday. We import it weekly.
None
Deadline to claim
California places no time limit. The State holds unclaimed property indefinitely.
Where we earn the fee
The State Is Fast at Simple Claims. We Take the Ones That Stall.
If your name is on the record and the property is cash, the State Controller will approve it with very little evidence, and you should file it yourself for nothing. The claims that sit unpaid for years are the ones where the person filing is no longer the owner of record, or the record cannot be matched to a living person without outside documents.
Shares sold on escheat1,035,734 securities records
Owner died, no probateHeirship has to be proved
The company dissolvedSuccession from SoS filings
Someone else filed first445,006 records already claimed
Most complex claims are not refused. They stall on a deficiency notice nobody answers, and the file goes quiet for years. That is the part we do.
Who you are dealing with
About California Unclaimed Property Services
We are a California notary and asset recovery firm. We find property the State Controller is holding, establish what proves it belongs to you, notarize what the law requires notarizing, and file the claim — and we are paid a percentage of what is actually recovered, only after you have been paid.
What We Actually Do
- Find it We hold our own copy of the Controller’s published file and search it under every reasonable variant of a name — maiden names, initials, misspellings, business suffixes. The record was typed by whoever held the account, not by you.
- Work out what proves it The evidence differs by property type and by who is claiming. Most claims stall on proving the old address, not on entitlement, and that is where the work is.
- Notarize it in-house Every cash claim of $1,000 or more, every securities claim and every safe deposit box requires a notarized affirmation. We hold the commission, so a claim never waits on an appointment elsewhere.
- File it and stay with it We lodge the claim, answer whatever the Controller comes back with, and write to you at every stage — including a monthly note when there is nothing to report, because silence is what makes a months-long process feel like being ignored.
How to check any of this yourself
Check Any of This Yourself
This industry contains operators worth being careful about, so none of the following asks you to take our word for it. Every line below is either a public record or a matter of law, and you can check each one without contacting us.
- A commissioned California notary public Issued by the Secretary of State after a state examination and a Department of Justice background check. The commission is a public record you can look up.
- A $15,000 surety bond Filed with the county clerk, as California requires of every notary. It does not protect us — it protects the public, and a notary who causes loss repays it in full.
- A fee capped by statute, not by promise Code of Civil Procedure § 1582 caps any recovery fee at ten per cent of what is returned, and requires the agreement in writing. We could not charge more if we wanted to.
- Nothing owed unless the State pays you No search fee, no filing fee, no retainer. If we recover nothing, you owe nothing — which means we will tell you when a claim is not worth our involvement.
- We show you how to do it without us Every page on this site says you can claim free at %s, because you can. A firm that needs you uninformed is not one worth using.
- We are not the government We are a private firm. Not the State Controller’s office, not affiliated with it, not endorsed by it, and not acting under any government authority.
What this website is forWhat this website is for
What This Website Is For
It does two jobs, and the first one is free. It is a reference on California unclaimed property — what it is, how your money reached the State, what the law says a finder may charge, and exactly what it takes to prove a claim. Read all of it, use none of our services, and file the claim yourself. That is a legitimate outcome and the site is built to support it.
The second job is the service, for people who would rather not do any of that — usually because the claim involves an estate, a dissolved business, securities, or a denial that needs unpicking. Both live here, and the reference half is not a lead magnet for the other.
Two ways in
Learn How It Works, or Have It Handled
Most people arrive here having never heard the term. Read as much as you like — none of it costs anything — or hand the whole thing to us.
Learn it, or have it handled
Free to read
Understand What This Is
Start from nothing. What unclaimed property is, how your money ended up with the State, and what it takes to get it back.
Read the full guideEverything here is free to read, and always will be.
Free to start
Have Us Handle It
We search under every name variant, tell you what proves the claim, notarize what has to be notarized, and file it.
Book a free phone consultationNothing is owed until the State Controller has paid you.
How this works
How Your Money Got There, and How It Comes Back
Most people have never heard the term until they find their own name in a database. Here is the whole thing — three paragraphs on how the State ended up holding it, then the four steps that get it back to you.
Part one
How It Got There
None of this is unusual, and none of it is your fault.
How your money ended up with the State
How It Ends up with the State
A bank, employer, insurer or utility holds money that belongs to you. You move, or the account goes quiet, and their mail stops arriving. After a dormancy period fixed by statute — and after they have tried to reach you — they are required to report the property and hand it to the California State Controller.
Why It Is Still Yours
The State becomes the custodian, not the owner. It publishes the entire database, runs outreach, and holds the property indefinitely. There is no deadline and no expiry. Nobody at the Controller benefits from you not claiming it, which is why the official process is free and always will be.
What Changes Once It Transfers
Three things. Interest generally stops accruing at the point of transfer. Safe deposit box contents are inventoried and sold, so what is held is the proceeds rather than the objects. And the claim is now made to the Controller, not to the bank — a different process, with different proof requirements.
Part two
How It Comes Back
Four steps. Most of the waiting is the State’s, not ours.
1
Search
We check the state database under every spelling of your name, plus maiden names, initials and former addresses.
2
Verify
We tell you exactly which documents prove the claim is yours — the list differs by property type and by who is claiming.
3
Notarize
Claims over $1,000 in cash, all securities and all safe deposit boxes must be notarized. We are a commissioned California notary.
4
Receive
The State Controller pays you directly. Our fee is invoiced only after that payment reaches you.
Read the full guide to unclaimed property
Nine sections, plain English, about five minutes.
In practice
Six Situations, and How Each One Is Handled
These are composite examples drawn from how California claims typically run — not client accounts. We will publish real figures once we have filed enough claims to say something honest.
Open the one closest to your situation.
Individual · name changeA savings account under a name you no longer use3–5 months
The situation
A woman finds $4,100 from a credit union account closed in 2007, listed under her maiden name at an address she left three moves ago.
What makes it difficult
Proving she is the person named. The Controller is matching a name and an address from eighteen years ago against a driving licence that shows neither.
How we handle it
We build the chain of name — marriage certificate, then the divorce decree that restored it — and locate address evidence from that period, usually an old tax return or a DMV record. The affirmation is notarized in-house because the amount is over $1,000.
Timing noteMost of that is the Controller’s review
Business · dissolved entityUncashed vendor checks owed to a company that no longer trades4–7 months
The situation
A contractor discovers roughly $9,000 across six records — under the legal name, an abbreviation, and a DBA the company stopped using in 2011.
What makes it difficult
The company was dissolved. The money is plainly owed, but the claim has to come from whoever legally succeeded to its assets — and that is where most business claims are rejected.
How we handle it
We search every historical name, DBA and predecessor entity so nothing is left behind, then establish the chain of title through the dissolution filing and evidence of who holds the residual right. One claim, properly evidenced, rather than six that each get queried.
Timing noteLonger if the entity history is complex
Heir · safe deposit boxA parent’s safe deposit box, drilled and sold years ago5–9 months
The situation
Two siblings learn their late father held a box at a bank that has since been acquired. The State is holding the proceeds of its sale.
What makes it difficult
The contents were sold at auction — the jewellery is gone, and that is the hardest thing anyone has to hear. Every safe deposit box claim must be notarized, and the estate was never probated.
How we handle it
We tell them plainly what is recoverable before they spend a day on it. Then we assemble the death certificate, proof of relationship and a small-estate affidavit under Probate Code §13100, and notarize the affirmation for both siblings — travelling to them if that is easier.
Timing noteEstate evidence adds weeks before filing
Heir · securitiesInherited shares with years of unpaid dividends5–8 months
The situation
A man inherits a holding his mother never mentioned. The transfer agent lost contact in the 1990s; both the shares and the accumulated dividends were escheated.
What makes it difficult
Securities claims are notarized at any value, with no dollar threshold. And whether the State still holds the shares or sold them changes what he receives — as does whether the dividend arrears are pursued at all, which claimants routinely forget.
How we handle it
We establish what is actually held, claim the arrears alongside the position rather than after it, evidence the inheritance, and notarize the affirmation. Where entitlement itself is contested, we say so and point him to an attorney rather than guessing.
Timing noteSecurities review is the slowest category
Deceased · insuranceA life insurance policy nobody in the family knew existed6–10 months
The situation
A woman is contacted about $23,000 in benefits from a policy her mother took out in 1988. The named beneficiary was her father, who died four years before her mother did.
What makes it difficult
The named beneficiary predeceased the insured, so the benefit does not pass to him — it falls to the estate. That changes the claim entirely: she is no longer evidencing a beneficiary designation, she is evidencing her entitlement to an estate that was never probated.
How we handle it
We establish the order of deaths with both certificates, confirm no contingent beneficiary was named, and claim through the estate using a small-estate affidavit with her brother’s consent. Two death certificates, two proofs of relationship, one notarized affirmation.
Timing noteTwo deaths means twice the evidence
Business · acquired companyMoney owed to a company you bought years ago4–8 months
The situation
A manufacturer acquired a smaller competitor in 2014. The State is holding roughly $31,000 in deposits and uncashed cheques still recorded under the acquired company’s name.
What makes it difficult
The buyer is certain the money is theirs and the Controller has no way of knowing that. The claim turns entirely on the chain of title through the purchase — and asset purchases and share purchases are treated very differently, which is where these claims usually fail.
How we handle it
We read the purchase agreement to establish what actually transferred, then evidence the chain from the acquired entity to the current owner. While we are searching, we also check what the acquired company may have owed as a holder — better found by you than by an auditor.
Timing noteShare purchases are simpler than asset purchases
Not sure which of these is closest to you? A free thirty-minute call will tell you — including if the honest answer is that you should simply file it yourself.
While you wait
A claim takes months. You should never have to wonder where it stands.
The parts we control take days. The State Controller’s review takes months, and nobody can shorten that — anyone who promises to has told you something untrue. What we can do is make the wait legible.
You Always Know Who Is Holding It
Every claim sits at one of thirteen stages, and each stage says plainly whether we are waiting on you, working on it ourselves, or waiting on the State. Most of the anxiety in a months-long process comes from not knowing which.
You Hear from Us When It Matters
An email at every milestone, and a text only when we actually need something from you. We would rather a message from us meant something than arrived constantly.
Silence Still Gets an Update
While the Controller is reviewing, we write every thirty days even when there is nothing to report. “Still with the State, no change, nothing needed from you” is the message that stops you wondering.
Waiting on youWe are workingThe State has it
Now narrow it down
Who are you claiming for?
My business
The property is in a company name — active, dissolved or acquired.
Read more →Someone who has died
I am an heir, executor or trustee.
Read more →How You Are Protected
Our fee is capped at ten per cent of what is recovered by Code of Civil Procedure §1582, and nothing is owed until the State Controller has paid you. If we recover nothing, you owe nothing. Our recovery fee is never asked for up front — it comes out of money the Controller has already paid you. A booking deposit on an in-person appointment is a separate thing, and is credited back against anything you are charged.
There is no deadline to claim unclaimed property in California. Anyone creating urgency is selling, not informing.
Pricing
Three Ways to Work with Us
The three ways to work with us
Published in full, one click from every page. You never need to speak to anyone to find out what this costs.
DIY Claim Kit
$49
one-off
- Step-by-step guide to the whole process
- Document checklist for your claimant type
- Document checklist for your property type
- Worksheets, letter templates and a claim tracker
- Notarization decision flowchart
Consultation
Free
by phone · in person $25 deposit, from $150 + travel
- 30 minutes on the phone at no charge, no card required
- We tell you what you are actually dealing with
- An honest read on whether you need us at all
- In-person visits available across California
Most complete
Full-service Recovery
10%
of what we recover — the statutory maximum
- We search under every name variant
- We assemble and verify every document
- We notarize the affirmation ourselves
- We file with the State Controller and track it
- Nothing owed until the Controller pays you
A Named Professional
The person who takes your call prepares your documents and notarizes your affirmation. You will know their name and commission number before you commit to anything.
Credentials & bonding →Notarization In-house
Cash claims of $1,000 or more, all securities and every safe deposit box claim must be notarized. Most services send you out to find a notary. We are one.
Notary service →Paid Only After You Are
The State Controller pays you directly and we invoice afterwards. §1582 prohibits collecting a fee before your claim is approved and paid.
How we get paid →What is held
What Counts as Unclaimed Property
The kinds of property the State holds
If a business held money for you, lost contact and could not reach you, it was turned over to the State Controller. It is still yours.
Talk to a person
Ask Us Anything About Your Situation
Tell us what you know and we will tell you what it looks like — including when the honest answer is that you should file it yourself and keep all of it.
What Happens When You Send This
- A person reads it. Not an autoresponder deciding whether you are worth a reply.
- We search properly. Every spelling of the name, plus the separate probate-estates file the State’s own search does not cover.
- We write back within one business day with what we found, including nothing.
No obligation. A phone consultation is free, and nothing is owed unless the State Controller pays you.
Our fee never comes out of your pocket — it comes out of money already recovered for you. We will never ask for your Social Security number by email.
We are a private asset recovery firm, not the State Controller’s Office.
From the knowledge base
How This Actually Works
- 16 Oct 2026 Joint Ownership and an Unclaimed Property Claim When a California unclaimed property record lists more than one owner, each named person's status must be established before the State will…
- 16 Oct 2026 Unclaimed Property Records: What Holders Must Keep California does not state a fixed retention period in the statute text we rely on, but a holder that cannot produce the…
- 15 Oct 2026 When Your Company’s EIN Changed: Finding Property Under the Old Name When a company is acquired, the State Controller's unclaimed property records stay filed under the legal name reported at the time, not…
- 15 Oct 2026 Why California Requires Notarized Unclaimed Property Claims California requires notarization for any cash claim of $1,000 or more, and for every securities or safe deposit box claim regardless of…
- 14 Oct 2026 The Two-Sided Business Audit for Unclaimed Property A California business can turn up twice in the State's unclaimed property records: once as the rightful owner of old refunds, dividends…
- 14 Oct 2026 Suspended California Corporations and Unclaimed Property A suspended California corporation may still appear on the State Controller's unclaimed property file, but the Controller will not release payment until…
- 13 Oct 2026 Owner of Record vs. Actual Owner: What the Name Really Means Owner of record is the name a company or bank reported when it handed unclaimed property to California, not a verified current…
- 13 Oct 2026 The Unclaimed Property Liability You Inherit in an Acquisition When a company acquires another, it also acquires that company's unclaimed property history: uncashed checks, dormant accounts, and any unreported liability now…
- 12 Oct 2026 California’s Two Unclaimed Property Reporting Calendars California holders follow one of two reporting calendars. Life insurance companies file their notice report before 1 May and remit property between…
- 12 Oct 2026 Table of Heirship: What It Is and When You Need One A Table of Heirship lists each heir's relationship to a deceased owner and their proportional share of an estate. It matters most…
Find out in About Thirty Seconds
Give us a name and we will check the State Controller’s records under every reasonable variant of it. Asking costs nothing and commits you to nothing.