82 Million Unclaimed Property Records: Is California Holding Your Money?

Right now, the State of California is holding over $10 billion in unclaimed property — forgotten bank accounts, uncashed checks, insurance payouts, security deposits, stock dividends, and other financial assets that have been turned over to the state because their rightful owners couldn't be located. CAUnclaimedProperty.com indexes 82 million+ records from the California State Controller's Office, making it dramatically easier to search for property that might belong to you or your family.

How Property Becomes "Unclaimed"

The concept of unclaimed property is straightforward but poorly understood by most Americans. When a financial institution — a bank, insurance company, brokerage, employer, or utility — holds money or assets that the owner hasn't interacted with for a specified dormancy period (typically three to five years in California), the institution is required by law to turn that property over to the state through a process called escheatment.

The state then holds the property indefinitely, waiting for the rightful owner or their heirs to claim it. The most common types of unclaimed property include:

• Bank accounts: Savings and checking accounts that became dormant after the owner moved, forgot about the account, or passed away without the heirs knowing the account existed
• Insurance payments: Life insurance proceeds, refund checks, and policy payouts that were never claimed by beneficiaries who didn't know the policy existed
• Payroll and wages: Final paychecks, uncashed commission checks, and expense reimbursements from former employers
• Securities: Stock certificates, dividends, and mutual fund distributions for investors who lost track of their holdings, often through mergers and name changes
• Utility deposits: Security deposits from apartments, utilities, and telecommunications providers that were never returned after the customer moved

Why 82 Million Records?

The sheer volume of unclaimed property records in California reflects both the state's massive population and the accumulation of decades of escheatment. Every year, thousands of financial institutions report new dormant accounts to the State Controller, adding millions of records to the database. Many records are for small amounts — a $15 utility deposit, a $50 uncashed check — but others represent substantial sums: forgotten retirement accounts, life insurance policies worth tens of thousands of dollars, and stock portfolios that appreciated significantly while sitting unclaimed.

The 82 million figure also reflects the fact that a single individual may have multiple records — one for each separate account, policy, or asset that was escheated. Searching for a common name might return hundreds of results across different holders and property types, so the platform includes filtering tools to help users narrow results by location and property type.

The Search Process

CAUnclaimedProperty.com provides a fast, user-friendly search interface for the State Controller's unclaimed property database. Users can search by name — including maiden names, former names, and business names — to find potential matches. The search results show the reported owner name, property type, the company that reported the property, and the amount (when available).

The platform is designed to be the fastest and most accessible way to search California's unclaimed property records. While the State Controller's office maintains its own search tool, CAUnclaimedProperty.com offers enhanced search capabilities, faster results for common queries, and a cleaner interface that makes it easier for users to identify potential matches and understand what they're looking at.

It's worth noting that finding a potential match is just the first step. To actually claim property, owners must file a claim through the State Controller's official process, which may require documentation proving identity and ownership. CAUnclaimedProperty.com helps with the discovery phase — finding property you didn't know existed — and then directs users to the official claims process.

A Family Research Tool

Unclaimed property searches are especially valuable for families dealing with the estate of a deceased relative. When a parent or grandparent passes away, surviving family members often don't have a complete picture of their financial accounts. Insurance policies may have been purchased decades ago, bank accounts at institutions that have since merged may have been forgotten, and stock certificates may be sitting in a drawer without any indication of their current value.

Searching for a deceased relative's name in the unclaimed property database can surface assets that the estate would otherwise never recover. Life insurance policies are a particularly common find — a policy purchased in the 1970s may have been paid up and forgotten, with the benefits escheating to the state after the insured person's death when the insurance company couldn't locate the beneficiary.

Beware of Scams

The unclaimed property space has unfortunately attracted a cottage industry of "finders" and "heir hunters" who charge fees — often 10% to 35% of the recovered amount — to locate and claim property on behalf of owners. While some of these services are legitimate, many exploit the fact that most people don't know they can search for and claim unclaimed property themselves at no cost.

CAUnclaimedProperty.com is free to search and always will be. We believe that helping people find their own property shouldn't come with a price tag. The state holds this money in trust for its rightful owners, and accessing information about it should be as simple as typing a name into a search box.

Start Your Search

Visit CAUnclaimedProperty.com to search your name, your family members' names, and any former names you or your relatives may have used. With 82 million records in the database, the odds are surprisingly good that the State of California is holding something that belongs to you.

CAUnclaimedProperty is one of the public records platforms built by TheDataProject.AI — making government-held data free, searchable, and accessible to everyone.