NAUPA Codes Explained: What MS16 or IN05 Means

• NAUPA codes are a standardized two-letter, two-digit classification used across states, not a California invention.
• California's published files carry 134 property categories with 500 or more records each, from Checking Accounts to Individual Policy Benefit/Claim.
• The code tells you the type of property, never the dollar value and never whether the holding is still open to claim.
• Probate estates are listed by decedent and case number in a separate State file, not by a NAUPA property code.
• Reading the plain-English description attached to a record is more useful than decoding the letters yourself.

Why does a record say MS16 instead of just naming the property?

You searched a name, found a line that might be money owed to you, and next to it sits something like MS16 or IN05. No explanation, no dollar context, just a code. That reaction is the normal one. The code is not there to tell the reader anything directly; it is there because the State’s internal systems need a consistent way to sort fourteen million, seven hundred and seventy-five thousand, one hundred and fifty-three records into categories that software can process.

The format itself is simple once you see the pattern: two letters, then two digits. The letters mark a broad family of property. The digits mark a specific kind of holding within that family. A code beginning MS generally sits in the securities family, covering things like shares, dividends, or underlying certificates. A code beginning IN generally sits in the insurance family, covering policy benefits and claims. The scheme is standardized so that a securities firm reporting to California and a securities firm reporting to another state use the same shorthand.

What are the actual categories behind the codes?

California’s published property file breaks down into 134 categories that each hold 500 or more records, and the six largest by value show how wide the range is. Checking Accounts account for 396,236 records worth $1,075,997,337. Underlying Shares and Outstanding Certificates total 330,537 records worth $1,027,501,436. Proceeds Due Beneficiaries run to 233,994 records worth $944,161,281. Cashier’s Checks make up 688,548 records worth $797,643,439. Savings Accounts total 350,480 records worth $698,548,019. Individual Policy Benefit and Claim records number 496,159, worth $465,908,281.

Each of those plain names corresponds to a NAUPA code somewhere in the underlying file. A bank’s checking account sits under one letter-pair, a life insurer’s policy benefit under another, a brokerage’s share certificate under a third. The description is what a person reads. The code is what a database sorts by.

Does the code tell you whether the property is still claimable?

No. The code describes a type of property, not its status. California holds unclaimed property indefinitely, with one narrow exception: estates that have been permanently escheated to the State, where title has already passed and no claim will be paid. Outside that exception, there is no deadline, and a record carrying a particular code can sit unclaimed for a long time without any change to its legal status.

Nor does the code tell you the amount, who holds it, or whether a claim has already been filed. For that, you need the full record, which is why a search by name is worth more than any attempt to decode the letters yourself. Our free property search returns the plain description alongside the figures that matter.

Do probate estates use the same codes?

No, and this is where the two systems are easy to confuse. Property reported under Code of Civil Procedure §1530, the kind that carries a NAUPA code, comes from banks, insurers, brokerages and similar holders. Estates that pass through county probate arrive by a different route entirely, listed by decedent name, heirs on record, county and probate case number in the State’s separate Estates of Deceased Persons File, refreshed each April and October. California currently lists 37,166 such estates, of which 4,438 remain claimable, holding about $59,038,273 combined (Source: State Controller — Estates of Deceased Persons File).

This distinction also affects fees. A recovery fee on property reported under §1530 cannot exceed 10 per cent of what is recovered. Probate estates reach the State under the Probate Code instead, and the Controller states there are no fee restrictions for investigators filing on behalf of the owners or heirs of county probated estates (Source: Code of Civil Procedure §1582). The code system and the fee rules both trace back to which statute the property arrived under. See our page on probate estates and the second State file for how that file works.

What should you actually do with a code you don't recognize?

Ignore the code and read the description next to it. If a record names a checking account, a cashier’s check, or a policy benefit in your name or a family member’s, that description tells you what you need to know. The code itself is a filing convenience, not a message meant for the reader.

From there, the practical question is whether to file the claim yourself or have someone else manage the paperwork, the notarization where required, and the correspondence with the Controller’s office. Our guide to how claiming works covers the documents and steps either way, and our pricing page sets out what we charge if you’d rather have the filing handled for you.

Questions People Ask

Figures on this page are from our copy of the State Controller’s published file as it stood on 4 November 2026. The State republishes the file weekly, so current totals will differ. Search is always against the latest copy.