U.S. Bank Unclaimed Property Held by California

• U.S. Bank has reported 110,623 unclaimed property records worth a combined $165,172,104 to the California State Controller.
• The largest categories are checking accounts, pension and profit-sharing funds, cashier's checks, savings accounts, drafts and escrow accounts.
• The average record is worth $1,493, but 2,564 records are worth $10,000 or more.
• There is no deadline to claim this money; the State holds it until the owner or an heir comes forward.
• A recovery fee for property reported this way cannot exceed 10 per cent of what is recovered, and nothing is owed unless the claim is paid.

Why would U.S. Bank have sent my money to the State?

California law requires banks, insurers and many other businesses to report money and property that has gone dormant, meaning the owner has not made contact for a set number of years. This is called escheatment, and it is routine. It does not mean a mistake was made, and it does not mean the money is gone.

Most businesses, including banks, must file their notice report with the State Controller before 1 November each year and remit the actual funds between 1 and 15 June (State Controller, Report Unclaimed Property). Once U.S. Bank remits an account, the bank no longer holds it. The State Controller does, and the owner’s claim is against the State, not the bank.

What kinds of U.S. Bank property show up most often?

Across the 110,623 records U.S. Bank has reported, the largest categories are:

• Checking accounts: 13,782 records, $38,352,407
• Savings accounts: 5,765 records, $29,055,707
• Pension and profit sharing: 41,258 records, $24,627,492
• Cashier’s checks: 13,157 records, $15,056,952
• Drafts: 5,990 records, $5,562,334
• Escrow accounts: 5,335 records, $4,270,016

Pension and profit-sharing property is the largest category by record count, which suggests many of these accounts trace back to former employees or retirement plan participants rather than retail banking customers. Checking and savings accounts remain the largest categories by combined value.

How much money is typically involved?

The average U.S. Bank record held by the State is worth $1,493. That figure covers a wide range: 2,564 of the 110,623 records are worth $10,000 or more. A small balance left in a closed checking account and a forgotten pension distribution can both end up in the same file, filed under the same company name.

There is no way to know which figure applies to a given name without checking the record itself. The amount reported is what the bank remitted at the time; it does not include any later interest the State itself pays, and California generally does not owe the owner interest on property it holds.

Is there a deadline to claim money U.S. Bank reported?

No. California places no time limit on claiming unclaimed property. The State holds reported funds indefinitely until the owner, or their heir, files a claim (State Controller, Unclaimed Property). The only exception is an estate that has been permanently escheated to the State, meaning title has already passed and nothing is paid; that situation does not apply to ordinary bank property such as the categories listed above.

In practice, this means there is no urgency created by a clock running out. The decision to search, and to pursue a claim, can be made on the owner’s own timeline.

What would it cost to recover U.S. Bank funds through your firm?

Property reported under Code of Civil Procedure §1530, which includes the bank accounts and related property described here, is subject to a statutory cap: a recovery fee may not exceed 10 per cent of the amount recovered (CCP §1582(a)(2)(C)). That cap does not reach county-probated estates, which arrive through the Probate Code and carry no statutory fee restriction, but it does govern the U.S. Bank records on this page.

No fee can be collected before the State Controller approves the claim and pays the owner (CCP §1582(a)(1)(B)). California Unclaimed Property Services charges 10 per cent of what is recovered, and nothing if nothing is recovered. An owner may also challenge any recovery agreement at any time as based on excessive or unjust consideration (CCP §1582(a)(3)).

How do I check if my name is on U.S. Bank's list?

We index 14,639,722 State Controller property records, including the U.S. Bank entries described here, alongside a separate file of probate estates. The fastest way to find out whether a U.S. Bank record matches your name is to run a search rather than guess from the categories above.

If a match turns up, the next question is usually what documents the State will want and how a claim involving U.S. Bank differs from one filed in your own name versus as an heir or executor of someone else’s estate. We can walk through either path and handle the filing.

Questions People Ask

Figures on this page are from our copy of the State Controller’s published file as it stood on 2 October 2026. The State republishes the file weekly, so current totals will differ. Search is always against the latest copy.