Documents You Will Need
Two questions decide your document list: who is claiming, and what kind of property it is. Everything else follows from those.
Last reviewed Written from State Controller, State Controller data Everything here is checkable without asking us.
By Who Is Claiming
| Claimant | Core documents |
|---|---|
| Individual | Photo ID · proof of SSN where reported · proof of the address on the record |
| Business | Entity filing · EIN · evidence of signing authority |
| Heir | Death certificate · your ID · proof of relationship |
| Executor or trustee | Current Letters, or a certification of trust |
| Under power of attorney | A certified copy of the POA instrument itself |
By Property Type
| Property | Additional proof |
|---|---|
| Bank accounts & checks | Old statements, closing letter or cheque stub |
| Stocks & securities | Certificates or transfer agent statements; dividend history |
| Safe deposit boxes | Rental agreement, bank correspondence, or the key |
| Insurance proceeds | Policy number and beneficiary designation |
After a Name Change
You are proving a chain, not a name. Send every document in the sequence — the marriage certificate, the divorce decree, the court order — not just the one that produced your current name. A gap anywhere in that chain is the gap the Controller will write to you about.
Certified Copies, Not Photocopies
Death certificates and court documents generally need to be certified. Order two — one for the claim and one for the file, because they are slow to replace.
The Two Questions Every Document Answers
The Controller is deciding two things, and every document you send is evidence for one of them. Are you the person named on the record. And were you the person at the address on the record. Nearly every rejected claim fails the second question, not the first.
Proving Who You Are
Photo Identification
A California driver’s licence or state ID, a passport, or a military ID. It must be current. An expired licence is refused, and a notary may not proceed on one either.
Your Social Security Number
Needed where the holder reported one with the property, which is usual for bank accounts, wages and securities. A Social Security card, a W-2, a 1099, or a tax return showing the number all work. If the number on the record is wrong by a digit — which happens — say so rather than hoping nobody notices.
Proving the Address, Which Is the Hard Part
The record carries the address the holder had on file, often from twenty or thirty years ago. You have to show you were there. Anything with your name and that address on it will do, and older is better than newer:
- A utility bill, phone bill or bank statement from the period
- A tax return filed from that address
- A property deed, title policy, or a signed lease
- A voter registration record — county registrars keep these and will produce a certified copy
- A DMV record showing the address history
- An old insurance policy or vehicle registration
If you have genuinely nothing, the Controller will sometimes accept a sworn statement explaining the connection alongside whatever secondary evidence exists. It is not a formality and it is not guaranteed, but it is not a dead end either.
When the Name Does Not Match
Marriage, divorce, adoption, anglicisation, or a bank that simply typed it wrong. You need the document that links the two names: a marriage certificate, a divorce decree, a court order for a name change, or a naturalisation certificate. Where the mismatch is a holder’s typing error rather than a real name change, a sworn statement plus ID usually resolves it.
Documents by Situation
| If you are | Add to the identity documents above |
|---|---|
| Claiming for yourself | Nothing further, unless the name has changed |
| Claiming a former name | Marriage certificate, divorce decree, or court order |
| An heir, estate probated | Certified death certificate; current Letters |
| An heir, small estate | Certified death certificate; affidavit under Probate Code s13100 |
| A trustee | Trust document; proof the prior trustee died |
| A business, still active | Statement of Information; proof you are an officer; EIN |
| A business, dissolved | The dissolution filing; proof of who holds the residual right |
| A business, acquired | The merger or purchase agreement showing the chain to the named entity |
When It Has to Be Notarized
Three cases, and there is no discretion in any of them: cash claims of $1,000 or more, all securities whatever their value, and all safe deposit box contents. The notary is witnessing your signature on the affirmation, not verifying your entitlement — which means turning up with current photo ID is not optional.
How to Send Them
Photographs from a phone are fine, and are what most people send. Two things make the difference between a scan that is accepted and one that is sent back: all four corners of the document visible, and text readable without zooming. Photograph on a dark surface in indirect light. Do not use a flash on anything glossy.
Never email identity documents. Email is not encrypted in transit, and a driver’s licence and a Social Security number together are enough to open credit in someone’s name. Every claim we open has a private upload area for exactly this reason.
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.
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.
From the knowledge base
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