Texas · Unclaimed property · Updated Oct 2026
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, Unclaimed Property Division holds money that businesses could not return to its owners. Here is how to search, what proof you need and how long it takes.
Search Texas's official list of unclaimed property by name.
Search in TexasSearch your last name (or business name) and first name on ClaimItTexas.gov. If you got a notice in the mail, you can type in the Property ID instead.
Click CLAIM on each property that is yours, then file the claim online. Give your current mailing address, an email address, and your relationship to the owner for each property.
Submit the claim and save your Claim ID. If documents are needed, your confirmation email or letter lists them.
Upload your documents through the secure online portal, or mail them to the Claims Section in Austin. Send copies, not originals, unless originals are requested (then use certified mail).
Check your claim status online with your Claim ID. If you cannot answer a request within 30 days, the claim is reactivated when you send the documents.
State law (Tex. Prop. Code § 74.503) lets the Comptroller pay a reported owner directly, with no claim, when the property is worth less than $5,000 and the office reasonably believes the person is entitled to it. We found no official page on how often this is used. When you do file a claim, the minimum the state asks for is the signed claim form and a photo ID.
Heirs can claim under a will accepted into probate, through an executor with current letters testamentary, through a court-appointed administrator, or with a judge's determination-of-heirship order. If a valid will was never probated, the people named in it may still claim if the amount is under $10,000 and they are the same people who would inherit without a will. For a claim of $10,000 or less with no probate, ClaimItTexas provides an Affidavit of Heirship form.
A finder may not charge more than 10% of the value recovered (plus reasonable attorney's fees needed to pursue the claim), and the Comptroller says this includes all expenses. The agreement must be signed by you, describe the property and services, and show the expected amount before and after the fee. A finder paid a percentage may not file the claim form for you, and heir finders must be licensed by the Texas DPS Private Security Bureau. No waiting period was found in the statute.
Watch out: You do not have to sign a contract with a private company to claim your money; searching and claiming through the Comptroller is free.
Search every other state where you lived or worked. Some money, like old savings bonds and IRS refunds, is held by federal agencies.
Money that businesses could not return to you and had to hand over to a state, such as old bank accounts and insurance policies. USA.gov says state governments hold most unclaimed money.
Official siteOld paper or electronic U.S. savings bonds that were never cashed, including bonds that have matured and stopped earning interest (EE and I bonds earn interest for up to 30 years), plus lost, stolen or destroyed bonds.
Official siteTax refunds owed to people who never filed a federal tax return for a year, often because they earned little and were not required to file. The IRS says taxpayers usually have three years to file and claim a refund; after that the money becomes the property of the U.S. Treasury.
Official siteSearch the official database run by the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, Unclaimed Property Division. Searching is free. Search every name you have used and every address where you lived in Texas.
No. The state does not charge a fee to claim. A finder may not charge more than 10% of the value recovered (plus reasonable attorney's fees needed to pursue the claim), and the Comptroller says this includes all expenses. The agreement must be signed by you, describe the property and services, and show the expected amount before and after the fee. A finder paid a percentage may not file the claim form for you, and heir finders must be licensed by the Texas DPS Private Security Bureau. No waiting period was found in the statute.
Heirs can claim under a will accepted into probate, through an executor with current letters testamentary, through a court-appointed administrator, or with a judge's determination-of-heirship order. If a valid will was never probated, the people named in it may still claim if the amount is under $10,000 and they are the same people who would inherit without a will. For a claim of $10,000 or less with no probate, ClaimItTexas provides an Affidavit of Heirship form.
Last checked: Oct 2026.