Pricing and Fees
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Last reviewed Written from CCP § 1582 Everything here is checkable without asking us.
How We Are Paid, in One Paragraph
Full-service recovery costs a percentage of what is actually recovered, capped at ten per cent by statute, invoiced only after the State Controller has paid you. If we recover nothing, you owe nothing. There is no search fee, no filing fee, no administrative charge, and no retainer.
Why the Fee Is a Percentage
Because it aligns what we want with what you want. An hourly rate pays us for effort whether or not it produces anything, and a flat fee pays us the same on a claim worth four hundred dollars as on one worth forty thousand. A capped percentage means the only way we are paid well is if you are paid well.
It also means we will tell you when a claim is not worth our involvement — which happens more often than you might expect, and which is the honest consequence of being paid this way.
What the Percentage Covers
- Searching the Controller’s records under every variant of the name
- Establishing what the property is and what proves entitlement to it
- Telling you precisely which documents are needed for your situation
- Preparing the claim package the way the Controller wants it
- Notarizing the affirmation where the rules require one
- Filing, and handling everything the Controller comes back with
- Updates at every stage, and a monthly note even when nothing has changed
What Is Never Charged For
- Searching. For anyone, whether or not you go on to hire us.
- A thirty-minute telephone consultation, including one that ends with us telling you to file it yourself.
- Anything at all, if we recover nothing.
The Statutory Position
Code of Civil Procedure section 1582 caps any recovery fee at ten per cent of the property returned, requires the agreement to be in writing, and requires it to disclose the approximate value of the property. It also makes an agreement unenforceable if signed within twenty-four months of the property being paid to the Controller.
We do not charge more than the cap, and we will not ask you to sign an agreement the statute would not enforce.
When You Should Not Pay Us Anything
If the property is straightforward cash in your current name, you still have something showing your old address, and the amount is modest, this is a form, a notary, and an afternoon. We would rather say that on a call than take a percentage of something you could have done yourself.
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.
California Unclaimed Property Services is a private asset recovery firm. We are not the California State Controller’s Office.
Three Ways to Work with Us
DIY Claim Kit
- 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
- 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
Full-service Recovery
- 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
Why 10%, and Why It Cannot Be More
Code of Civil Procedure §1582 caps a recovery fee at ten percent of the property returned. It also requires the agreement to be in writing, to disclose the nature and value of the property, and to be signed after that disclosure — not bundled with it. And it lets an owner challenge an agreement as excessive at any time.
Those are not our terms. They are the statute, and we would rather you knew them before you spoke to anyone in this industry, including us.
What You Get at Each Level
| DIY kit | Consultation | Full service | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Search under name variants | You do it | We advise | We do it |
| Document checklist | Included | Discussed | We assemble it |
| Notarization | Arrange your own | Arrange your own | Included |
| Filing with the Controller | You file | You file | We file |
| Follow-up and denials | You handle | — | We handle |
| Cost | $49 | Free / $150+ | 10%, after payment |
Notary Fees Are Set by the State
Notarial acts are charged at the maximum fee set by California law, not by us. Mobile and travel fees are separate and quoted before we come out.
Sources
This page is written from the public record. Read the originals rather than taking our summary of them.
We are a private firm. We are not the State Controller’s office, not affiliated with it, and not endorsed by it.
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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.