The State's own pages
Check everything at the source
What we say about claiming, fees and the law can be checked on the State's own sites. Every link below goes there directly; none of these pages are ours, and we are not the State.
Search and claim, free
- claimit.ca.govThe State Controller's search and claim site. Searching and claiming cost nothing.
- How to submit a claimThe State's step-by-step guide to filing online and sending documents.
- Claim statusCheck a claim you have filed, by its claim number.
- Claim questionsThe State's answers on documents, processing time and payment.
The State's written instructions
- Property owner claim instructions (PDF)What an owner may be asked to send, and when a notary is needed.
- Heir claim instructions (PDF)For claiming money that belonged to someone who has died.
- Claim formsThe State's forms page, including its estate declarations.
The laws that apply to us
- Code of Civil Procedure §1582Caps a recovery firm's fee at 10% and sets what its agreement must disclose.
- Code of Civil Procedure §1540How claims are filed, and the Controller's 180 days to consider one.
- Code of Civil Procedure §1541What a claimant can do after a denial.
Suspicious letters
- The Controller's fraud alertsThe State's own warnings about unclaimed property solicitations.
Talk to the State
The State Controller's Unclaimed Property line: (800) 992-4647, Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pacific. To report a letter that looks wrong, forward it to CSUResearch@sco.ca.gov.