Unclaimed Property in San Bernardino, California

• San Bernardino has 59,717 unclaimed property records with the State Controller, totaling $42,833,058.
• 463 of those records are worth $10,000 or more; the average record is $717.
• Metlife Inc., Wells Fargo Bank NA, and Southern California Edison are among the top holders reporting San Bernardino property.
• There is no deadline to claim California unclaimed property, but permanently escheated estates cannot be recovered.
• A recovery fee, where one applies, is capped at 10 per cent of property reported under §1530; probated estates are not covered by that cap.

How much unclaimed property is there for San Bernardino?

The State Controller’s office currently lists 59,717 property records connected to San Bernardino, with a combined value of $42,833,058. Most of these are modest: the average record is worth $717. But 463 records are worth $10,000 or more, and some of those belong to people who have no idea the money exists.

Unclaimed property accumulates when a business, bank, insurer or government agency loses contact with the person it owes money to. After a statutory dormancy period, the holder is required to report and remit the funds to the State Controller rather than keep them. The property does not disappear. It sits with the State, under the original owner’s name, until it is claimed.

What kinds of property show up under San Bernardino names?

The categories reported for San Bernardino follow a familiar pattern. Wages, payroll and salary payments account for 5,696 records worth $1,599,595, usually a final paycheck or a payroll adjustment that never reached the employee. Misc Outstanding Checks make up another 3,982 records worth $1,610,906. Premium refunds, refunds due, and cashier’s checks each contribute more than $1 million as well, and ‘Misc Intangible Prop’ — a catch-all for things like stock, dividends, and account balances — totals $1,808,528 across 2,439 records.

The businesses that reported the most San Bernardino property include Metlife Inc. (1,635 records, $1,381,894), Wells Fargo Bank NA under its Apecs 1009 designation (1,556 records, $1,113,446), Southern California Edison (1,171 records, $358,122), Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (851 records, $1,265,618), a second Wells Fargo Bank NA listing (515 records, $484,373), and FedEx Ground Package System Inc. (500 records, $118,491). If you worked for, banked with, or held a policy through any of these, it is worth checking the records against your own name and any past addresses.

Is there a deadline to claim?

No. California places no deadline on claiming unclaimed property, and the State holds it indefinitely until the owner or their heirs come forward. The one exception is an estate that has been permanently escheated, meaning the State has taken final title. That property is no longer recoverable by anyone, so any search result should be checked against current status rather than assumed to be open (State Controller, Unclaimed Property).

What if the property belongs to someone who has died?

Property left by a deceased person can reach the State two ways. If it was reported by a holder under Code of Civil Procedure §1530, it is treated like any other unclaimed property claim. If instead it came through a county probate proceeding, it falls under the Probate Code, and the State Controller publishes it separately in the Estates of Deceased Persons File, refreshed each April and October, listing the decedent, the heirs on record, the county, the case number and the balance remaining (State Controller, Estates of Deceased Persons File). We index 37,166 of these estates, of which 4,438 remain claimable, holding about $59,038,273 combined. Filing as an heir or an executor involves different documentation than an individual claim; see claiming as an heir or executor and probate estates and the second State file for how that process differs. Questions about who is legally entitled to inherit are a matter for an attorney, not for us.

What does it cost to have someone else claim it for me?

California law caps recovery fees at 10 per cent of the property recovered, but only for property reported under §1530 (Code of Civil Procedure §1582(a)(2)(C)). That cap does not extend to estates that reach the State through county probate, where the Controller states there are no fee restrictions on investigators filing for owners or heirs. Any recovery agreement must be in writing, must disclose the nature and value of the property, must state that the Controller currently holds it, and must be signed by the owner after receiving that disclosure. An agreement cannot require payment before the Controller approves the claim and pays the owner, and it cannot be entered into during the window between a holder’s report and the State’s receipt of the property. An owner can challenge a fee at any time as excessive or unjust. See what the law says about finder fees for the full text.

California Unclaimed Property Services charges a percentage of what is recovered and nothing if nothing is recovered. You are never billed up front.

Can I just claim it myself?

Nothing in state law requires you to use a recovery firm. Some claims are straightforward: a small individual claim with clear documentation can often be filed directly. Others are not — property tied to a former address, a maiden name, a deceased relative’s estate, or a business that has since merged or dissolved can take real research to trace and document correctly. Claims of $1,000 or more in cash, all securities claims, and all safe deposit box claims must be notarized, and a notary can charge up to $15 per signature under Government Code §8211. If a safe deposit box was involved, note that its contents are inventoried and sold at auction; what the State holds afterward is the sale proceeds, not the original items.

We do the tracing, the document assembly, and the filing, and we are paid only if the claim is approved and paid. See how to claim, start here and what documents the State needs if you would rather understand the process before deciding.

Questions People Ask

Figures on this page are from our copy of the State Controller’s published file as it stood on 28 September 2026. The State republishes the file weekly, so current totals will differ. Search is always against the latest copy.