Los Angeles Unclaimed Property: $1.09 Billion Held

• The State holds 1,136,083 unclaimed property records connected to Los Angeles, totaling $1,093,344,668.
• 13,020 of those records are worth $10,000 or more, though most are smaller: the average is $962.
• MetLife, Wells Fargo, Metropolitan Life, Anthem, Pacific Bell and Citibank are among the largest reporters of Los Angeles property.
• There is no deadline to claim; California holds unclaimed property indefinitely except for estates that have been permanently escheated.
• A recovery firm may charge at most 10 per cent of what is recovered from property reported under §1530, and nothing until the State has paid the claim.

How much unclaimed property is held for people in Los Angeles?

The California State Controller lists 1,136,083 separate unclaimed property records connected to Los Angeles, together worth $1,093,344,668. Most of these are modest: the average record is worth $962. But 13,020 of them are worth $10,000 or more, which means a meaningful share of that total sits in a relatively small number of larger accounts. These figures come from the same public property file the State itself publishes, and they change as new reports come in and old ones are claimed.

A record being listed does not mean it belongs to any one particular reader, and it does not mean it is easy to identify without checking. Names get misspelled, addresses go out of date, and a person can appear under a maiden name, a former employer, or an account they forgot they had. Searching by name and by former address is the only way to know whether one of the 1,136,083 records is actually yours.

Which companies reported the most unclaimed property in Los Angeles?

A handful of large employers, insurers and banks account for a disproportionate share of what has been reported. In Los Angeles, the biggest reporters are:

• Metropolitan Life Insurance Company — 12,468 records, $19,476,988
• Wells Fargo Bank NA (Apecs 1009) — 15,610 records, $17,361,502
• MetLife Inc. — 18,185 records, $16,164,853
• Citibank N A — 10,884 records, $7,915,061
• Anthem Inc. — 11,820 records, $5,080,419
• Pacific Bell Telephone Company — 10,944 records, $2,579,851

These are companies that once held money on someone’s behalf, could not locate the owner, and were required by law to report and eventually remit it to the State. If a reader worked for, banked with, or held insurance through any of these organizations while living in the Los Angeles area, it is worth checking whether their name turns up.

What kinds of property show up most often?

The most common categories reported for Los Angeles are wages and payroll, refunds, premium refunds, outstanding checks, and accounts payable:

• Wages, Payroll, Salaries — 65,453 records, $28,715,303
• Refunds Due — 60,165 records, $26,414,958
• Misc Outstanding Checks — 56,745 records, $27,294,082
• Premium Refunds — 59,417 records, $23,445,918
• Accounts Payable — 49,654 records, $41,287,024

A final paycheck that never reached someone after they left a job, an insurance premium refund mailed to an old address, a vendor payment a small business never cashed. These are ordinary events, not unusual ones, which is part of why the numbers are as large as they are.

Is there a deadline to claim it?

No. California places no deadline on claiming unclaimed property. The Controller holds it indefinitely until the owner or their heirs come forward. The one exception is an estate that has been permanently escheated to the State, meaning the State has taken title outright; that money is no longer recoverable. Short of that, a record reported five years ago or fifteen years ago is just as claimable today as it was the year it was filed.

What does it cost to use a recovery service?

California law caps what a firm may charge to locate, deliver or recover property reported under Code of Civil Procedure §1530 at 10 per cent of what is recovered. That cap does not reach estates that pass through county probate, which arrive under the Probate Code rather than §1530; the State Controller states there is no fee restriction on investigators filing for the owners or heirs of probated estates. No fee, from us or anyone, may be collected before the Controller has approved the claim and paid the owner. Our standard fee is 10 per cent of what is recovered, and we collect nothing if nothing is recovered.

An agreement must be in writing, must disclose the nature and value of the property and where the owner can claim it directly, and must be signed after that disclosure is made. An owner may challenge an agreement at any time on the ground that its fee is excessive or unjust. None of this requires hiring anyone; it is simply what the law requires if you do.

What if the property belongs to someone who died?

Some Los Angeles unclaimed property belongs to estates working their way through county probate rather than the general unclaimed property file. We separately index 37,166 probate estates nationwide, of which 4,438 are still claimable, holding about $59,038,273. The State Controller publishes its own Estates of Deceased Persons File twice a year, listing the decedent, the heirs on record, the county, the case number and the remaining balance. Who is legally entitled to inherit from an estate is a question for an attorney, not for a recovery firm; we can help identify and file a claim, but we do not determine heirship.

What should someone in Los Angeles do next?

Start by searching under every name a reader has used, and under a spouse’s or parent’s name if they have since died. From there, the path depends on what turns up: a claim in your own name looks different from a claim as an heir to an estate, and larger claims may need notarization. If the search turns up a record, the next decision is whether to file it directly or to have it handled for you, including the paperwork, notarization requirements, and correspondence with the Controller’s office.

Questions People Ask

Figures on this page are from our copy of the State Controller’s published file as it stood on 25 September 2026. The State republishes the file weekly, so current totals will differ. Search is always against the latest copy.