General Information

The Comptroller's Office serves as the legal custodian of stocks, bonds, savings accounts and other property (except real property) that are reported to us as unclaimed after three years by banks and other financial institutions. We have records on hundreds of thousands of accounts worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

We try to locate the owners through newspaper advertising, news media campaigns, mass mailings, outreach programs and our free online search service. Some unclaimed property items from abandoned safe deposit boxes in our custody are also being auctioned on eBay to obtain the best return in value for the rightful owners.

The owners or their legitimate heirs can claim the funds at any time. There is no statute of limitations. You can find out if the Comptroller's office is holding property for you by checking our website anytime, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can also conduct a nationwide search by state using the NAUPA and MissingMoney websites.

Finders

The state of Maryland does not charge a fee for returning your property to you. Signing an agreement to have someone assist you in recovering unclaimed property may entail the payment of substantial fees. Effective July 1, 1991, such an agreement is unenforceable in Maryland if it covers property which has been in the state's custody for less than two years.