Unclaimed Money in California

The California State Controller Unclaimed Property Division maintains a public, searchable database of all unclaimed property currently held by the state. Searching is free. You do not need to create an account. You only need your name — and ideally any former names, cities you've lived in, and the names of deceased relatives you may be heir to.

1. Go directly to the official state search. Always start at www.sco.ca.gov. Any third-party site charging for this is charging you for a free government service.
2. Search by your last name first, alone. Don't add a first name initially — many records are incomplete and you may miss a match.
3. Search all cities you've ever lived in. Unclaimed property is often listed under the address the holder had on file, which may be old.
4. Search your maiden name, former names, and middle-name variations. Many claims go unclaimed because records were filed under names no longer in use.
5. Search deceased relatives. If a parent, grandparent, spouse, or sibling passed away — especially if their estate was informal or small — there may be unclaimed funds held in their name that you are legally entitled to claim as next of kin.
6. California does NOT participate in MissingMoney.com. The national portal does not include California's database. You must search California's state portal directly, even if you've already searched MissingMoney.

California caps recovery firm fees at 10% of the amount recovered. Any firm attempting to charge more than this is violating state law. You can — and almost always should — file the claim yourself at no cost. Recovery firms are most useful only for complex estate claims or multi-generation heir searches.

Every year, scammers send official-looking letters claiming to have located unclaimed money on your behalf, asking for upfront fees or personal information. The state never charges you to search, and never demands Social Security numbers by email. When in doubt, go directly to www.sco.ca.gov.