What California’s 10 Per Cent Finder-Fee Cap Covers
California's Code of Civil Procedure §1582 caps a recovery firm's fee at 10 per cent, but only for property reported under §1530, such as dormant bank accounts and insurance proceeds. Estates that reach the State through county probate arrive under the Probate Code instead, and the Controller states no fee cap applies to those claims.
The short answer
California's Code of Civil Procedure §1582 caps a recovery firm's fee at 10 per cent, but only for property reported under §1530, such as dormant bank accounts and insurance proceeds. Estates that reach the State through county probate arrive under the Probate Code instead, and the Controller states no fee cap applies to those claims.
- The 10 per cent cap in CCP §1582 applies only to property reported under §1530, such as dormant bank accounts and insurance payouts.
- County-probated estates reach the State under the Probate Code, and the State Controller states no fee restriction applies to claims filed for those estates.
- An owner may challenge any recovery fee as excessive or unjust at any time, regardless of which route the property took.
- A fee cannot be collected before the Controller approves and pays a claim, whether or not a percentage cap applies.
- There is no waiting period after a holder reports property to the State before a recovery agreement can be signed; that rule was repealed effective 1 January 2023.
Why one number doesn't cover every case
Someone reads that California caps finder fees at 10 per cent and assumes it settles the question for every dollar the State holds. It does not. The cap sits in Code of Civil Procedure §1582(a)(2)(C), and by its own terms it reaches only property reported under §1530: the bank accounts, insurance proceeds, uncashed checks and similar holdings that businesses report directly to the State Controller. A great deal of unclaimed property fits that description. A great deal does not.
If you are trying to work out whether a 10 per cent ceiling protects you, the first question is not the dollar amount. It is which door the property came through.
What §1530 reporting actually covers
Section 1530 is the ordinary holder-reporting statute. Banks, insurers and other businesses use it to report checking and savings accounts, cashier’s checks, policy benefits, stock certificates and dozens of other categories once the property has gone dormant for the statutory period. Across the records we index, categories like checking accounts, cashier’s checks and individual policy benefits each run into the hundreds of thousands of entries and hundreds of millions of dollars. This is the property the 10 per cent cap was written for, and it is also where the bulk of unclaimed property sits. If your name turns up on a bank’s or insurer’s reported list, §1582’s cap is almost certainly the one that governs any recovery agreement you sign.
Why probated estates sit outside the cap
Estates work differently. When someone dies owning property that never gets distributed, and the matter goes through county probate, the balance that eventually escheats to the State does so under the Probate Code, not under §1530. CCP §1582(a)(1) draws that line explicitly, and the Controller’s own investigators page confirms it in plain terms: there are no fee restrictions for investigators filing claims on behalf of the owners or heirs of county-probated estates.
We track 37,166 such estates, of which 4,438 remain claimable, holding a combined $59,038,273. None of that figure is touched by the 10 per cent ceiling. That does not mean a fee on a probate estate recovery is unregulated in every sense, but it does mean the specific cap that applies to a reported bank account has no application here. Anyone comparing fee quotes for a probate-estate claim against the 10 per cent figure is comparing against a rule that does not reach the case.
The protection that applies no matter which route the property took
Even where the percentage cap does not reach, the statute keeps one safeguard available to every owner: under CCP §1582(a)(3), an owner may assert at any time that a recovery agreement is based on an excessive or unjust consideration. That right exists whether the underlying property was reported under §1530 or arrived through probate. It does not set a number, and it is not a substitute for the 10 per cent cap where that cap applies, but it means a fee on an uncapped recovery is not simply whatever a firm chooses to write into a contract.
Two further protections apply across both categories. No agreement may require payment before the Controller has approved the claim and paid the owner, under CCP §1582(a)(1)(B). And an agreement signed between the date a holder files its §1530(d) report and the date it pays or delivers the property to the Controller under §1532 is invalid outright. There is no 24-month waiting period attached to that rule; that version of the law was repealed, and the current text has applied since 1 January 2023 under AB 2280.
What this means for reading your own agreement
A recovery agreement must be in writing, must disclose the nature and value of the property, must confirm the Controller holds it, and must give the address where the owner could claim it directly. You should expect to see all of that before you sign anything, on either a §1530 claim or a probate-estate claim. What differs is the fee structure itself: on a reported bank account or insurance payout, the agreement should not exceed 10 per cent of what is recovered. On a probate-estate claim, that specific ceiling does not apply, and the fee is a matter for the agreement and, if disputed, for the excessive-consideration protection described above.
Where to go from here
If you are not sure which category your situation falls into, that is the first thing worth resolving before comparing fee percentages. A search of the State’s reported holdings will tell you whether a bank or insurer filed something in your name under §1530. A separate check against the estates file will tell you whether a probate balance is sitting unclaimed in a county proceeding tied to a relative. We index both: search our records, or look specifically at probate estates and the second State file. If you are stepping in as an heir or executor, our page on claiming as an heir or executor walks through what that process involves, and what the law says about finder fees covers the statute in more depth than fits here.
Questions People Ask
Does the 10 per cent cap apply to everything the State holds?
No. It applies only to property reported under CCP §1530, such as dormant bank accounts, insurance proceeds and uncashed checks. Estates that reach the State through county probate are governed by the Probate Code instead, and the State Controller states no fee cap applies to those claims.
If the cap doesn't apply to a probate estate, is any fee allowed?
The specific 10 per cent ceiling does not reach probate-estate claims, but an owner may still assert at any time that a fee is based on excessive or unjust consideration under CCP §1582(a)(3). That protection exists regardless of which route the property took.
How do I know whether my property was reported under §1530 or came through probate?
Property reported by a bank, insurer or employer under §1530 shows up in the State's standard holder-reported records. Probate-estate balances appear in a separate file listing the decedent, heirs on record, county and probate case number. Checking both is the only reliable way to tell which rule applies.
Can a recovery firm charge me before my claim is paid?
No. Under CCP §1582(a)(1)(B), an agreement is invalid if it requires payment before the Controller has approved the claim and paid the owner. This rule applies whether or not the 10 per cent cap also applies to the underlying property.
Is there a waiting period after a company reports my property before I can sign a recovery agreement?
No. The 24-month waiting period some people remember was repealed. Since 1 January 2023, the only timing restriction is that an agreement cannot be signed between the holder's §1530(d) report date and the date the property is actually paid or delivered to the Controller.
Does the cap apply to safe deposit box contents?
Safe deposit box contents are sold at auction before they reach the State, so what the State holds is the sale proceeds, reported under §1530. The 10 per cent cap applies to that reported value, though all safe deposit box claims also require notarization regardless of amount.
Is there a deadline to claim either type of property?
No. California holds unclaimed property indefinitely until the owner or heir claims it, with one exception: estates that have been permanently escheated have had title taken by the State and are no longer recoverable.
Sources
Figures on this page are from our copy of the State Controller’s published file as it stood on 18 October 2026. The State republishes the file weekly, so current totals will differ. Search is always against the latest copy.
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.
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