California’s ‘Misc Intangible Prop’ Unclaimed Funds Explained

• Misc Intangible Prop (NAUPA code MS17) holds $282,958,064 across 511,000 records in our index, averaging $554 per record.
• PayPal, Pathward, Continental Exchange Solutions, MoneyGram and Metabank filings account for the largest share of this category.
• 2,293 records in this category are worth $10,000 or more, though most individual entries are small.
• Because this property is reported under Code of Civil Procedure §1530, a recovery fee for it is capped at 10 per cent of what is recovered.
• Claims of $1,000 or more in cash must be notarized, which applies to a meaningful share of records in this category.

What is 'Misc Intangible Prop' in California's unclaimed property file?

Misc Intangible Prop is the label the California State Controller’s Office applies to intangible property that does not fit one of its more specific categories, such as wages, dividends or insurance benefits. The Controller assigns every category a national NAUPA code, and this one is MS17. In our index it covers 511,000 records worth a combined $282,958,064, averaging $554 per record.

In practice, most of what lands in MS17 is money held by payment and money-transfer businesses: balances left in online payment accounts, funds tied to prepaid or stored-value cards, and proceeds from money orders or transfers that were never picked up by the intended recipient. It is a catch-all classification, not a description of one product, and the holder that reported the property chooses this code when a more specific one does not apply.

How does an online payment or prepaid card balance end up with the State?

Under California law, a business that owes money to a customer it has lost contact with must eventually report that property to the Controller and pay it over. This is called escheatment. Businesses other than life insurers must file their notice report before 1 November and remit the property between 1 and 15 June of the following year; life insurers file before 1 May and remit between 1 and 15 December (Source: State Controller, holder reporting).

A holder that misses its filing deadline without reasonable cause owes the Controller interest at 12 per cent a year on the property, calculated from the date it should have been reported. The Controller waives that interest for holders that complete the California Voluntary Compliance Program, which runs year-round. None of this changes what the owner is owed; it only affects the holder that was late.

Which companies reported the most Misc Intangible Property?

Within this category, our index shows a small number of large filers account for most of the value:

• Paypal — 104,999 records, $47,297,418
• Paypal Inc. — 101,800 records, $44,581,794
• Pathward — 75,001 records, $36,456,296
• Continental Exchange Solutions Inc. — 37,980 records, $10,337,513
• Metabank Na — 17,623 records, $8,609,784
• Moneygram Payment Systems Inc. — 23,673 records, $6,539,855

PayPal appears under two separate filer names, which is common when a company’s reporting entity has changed over time. Pathward and Metabank are banks that sit behind prepaid card programs, and Continental Exchange Solutions and MoneyGram are money-transfer operators. If you have used any of these services in California and later lost track of a balance, it is worth checking whether a record exists in your name.

What does claiming this property actually involve?

A recovery agreement for property in this category must be in writing, must disclose the nature and value of the property, must state that the Controller holds it, and must give the address where the owner could claim it directly. The owner must sign only after receiving that disclosure. No fee may be collected before the Controller approves the claim and pays the owner, and an agreement is invalid if it was signed between the date the holder filed its report and the date the property reached the Controller.

Because Misc Intangible Prop is reported under Code of Civil Procedure §1530, a recovery fee for it is capped at 10 per cent of the amount recovered. That cap does not reach estates that arrive through county probate, but it applies squarely to the kind of holder-reported balances described here. Claims of $1,000 or more in cash must be notarized, and a California notary may charge at most $15 per signature for the jurat. There is no deadline to claim this property; California holds it until the owner or their heirs come forward.

Is a $554 average claim worth pursuing?

The $554 average across 511,000 records reflects a large number of modest balances, the kind of amount left behind when a payment account or prepaid card was closed or abandoned. But averages hide range: 2,293 records in this category are worth $10,000 or more. The only way to know what a specific record is worth is to look it up, not to guess from the category average.

Because our fee is owed only after the State pays a claim, there is no cost to finding out first what a record shows and deciding from there whether it is worth pursuing yourself or with help.

How do I claim Misc Intangible Property?

Start by searching our index of 14,613,528 State Controller records to see whether a record in this category, or any other, matches your name or a business you own. If you find one, the next step depends on whether you are claiming in your own name, as an heir or executor, or on behalf of a business. Each path has its own document requirements, and the State’s own guidance sets out what proof of identity or entitlement it expects before it releases funds.

If you would rather not manage the paperwork, correspondence and notarization requirements yourself, our full-service recovery handles the claim from the disclosure agreement through to payment, and we are owed nothing unless the claim is paid.

Questions People Ask

Figures on this page are from our copy of the State Controller’s published file as it stood on 6 October 2026. The State republishes the file weekly, so current totals will differ. Search is always against the latest copy.