Below you will find the most common California Unclaimed Money Finder FAQ’s:
- Am I required to be licensed?
- Do I need to notify you that I am a California Unclaimed Money Finder or run a Finder Service?
- Do I need to notify you when I hire or terminate the employment or staff?
- Do I need to register my business with the California Secretary of State?
- Does the State Controller’s Office provide training on becoming a Finder?
- Will I receive a letter that identifies me as an “official unclaimed money finder” with the California State Controller’s Office?
- Will the California State Controller’s Office issue me a “finder number”?
- Are there restrictions on what I can charge a client?
- Can I create my own Agreement?
- Does the Standard Finder Agreement form need to be notarized?
Am I required to be licensed?
No. California Law does not require you to be licensed.
Do I need to notify you that I am a California Unclaimed Money Finder or run a Finder Service?
California strongly encourages you to contact the State Controller’s office if you are an unclaimed money finder or run an unclaimed money finder service. When you notify them, they will send you a copy of their
Standard Investigator Agreement which they highly recommend you use, filing instructions, and a supply of unclaimed money finder claim forms. Using their material and following their instructions for unclaimed money finder claims will help ensure that your claims are processed in a timely manner.
Do I need to notify you when I hire or terminate the employment or staff?
Yes. California asks that you notify them of all changes to your business. This includes notifying them of staffing changes and providing them with the identification and contact information of all persons authorized to represent your business.
Do I need to register my business with the California Secretary of State?
Yes. If you are operating under a business name, you need to register with the
California Secretary of State
Does the State Controller’s Office provide training on becoming a Finder?
No. The State Controller’s Office does not offer training for Finders.The
Investigators Handbook
has been prepared by our office for investigators to use as a reference.
Will I receive a letter that identifies me as an “official California unclaimed money finder” with the California State Controller’s Office?
No. California retains your Finder information in their records to allow them to better serve you and your claimant(s). You will receive a letter from them confirming that they received and processed your information.
Will the California State Controller’s Office issue me a “finder number”?
No. The California State Controller’s Office does not issue “finder numbers”
Are there restrictions on what I can charge a client?
Yes. It is against the law for Finders to charge a fee greater than 10% of the value of the property that is returned to the owner or their heirs. This fee includes all services connected to returning property to an owner.
There is no fee restriction for a County Probated Estate claim. For more information, refer to the Estates of Deceased Persons Escheated Funds from County Treasurer Offices in the
Investigator Handbook
Can I create my own Agreement?
California strongly recommend you use their
Standard Investigator Agreement. This agreement is designed to meet all legal requirements. If you create your own agreement, it MUST meet all of the same legal requirements.
California is not able to process claim packages for Finders whose Finder Agreements are not in compliance with the law. Non-standardized agreements cause delays in the evaluation process because they must ensure the non-standardized agreement conforms with the
California Code of Civil Procedure.
If your Finder Agreement does not meet all legal requirements as determined in the law, your investigator agreement will be rejected and the claim packages will be returned to you.
Does the Standard Finder Agreement form need to be notarized?
No. You are not required to notarize the Standard Investigator Agreement. California requires valid signed documentation that your client has agreed to allow you to submit their claim on their behalf.
However, Claim Affirmation Forms may need to be notarized depending on the value and type of property.
Click here if you are interested in becoming a California unclaimed money finder.
Is it possible to help people in California claim money back while living in Colorado? Would I have to register a business in California first to be eligible?
Yes, you can help people in California if you’re living in Colorado. You just need to follow the requirements for California, including using their forms. As for registering a business in CA, this is what they say regarding that:
It depends on the type of business entity.
If the business is a sole proprietorship or a general partnership, you are not required to register with the Secretary of State.All other business entities are required to file with the Secretary of State.
Is there an age requirement in California to being an investigator
None that I am aware of, but you should check with the state.
Do the same rules apply now in 2020??
Do I need to register my business in the state of California even though I am working out of the state of Nevada? Can’t I just register here in Nevada?
Harry,
Yes, you should just be able to register your business in Nevada. You’re not opening an office in California, in which case you would be a “foreign” business entity.
From the Caifornia Secretary of States website:
“Do I have to qualify or register a foreign (out–of–state or out–of–country) business entity?
Before transacting intrastate business in California the business must first qualify/register with the California Secretary of State. (California Corporations Code section 2105, 15909.02, 16959 or 17451.) California Corporations Code sections 191, 15901.02(ai) and 17001(ap) define “transacting intrastate business” as entering into repeated and successive transactions of its business in this state, other than interstate or foreign commerce.”
You will be doing interstate traffic, not intrastate.
However, you do need to register with California’s unclaimed money department as a finder before you can start searching there.
You can read all of the requirements on pages 7 of the California Investigators Handbook:
http://www.unclaimed-money-finder.net/support-files/investigators-handbook.pdf
I hope this makes sense and answers your question. If not, just let me know.
Please clarify, in the FAQ above you have Must register with California Secretary of State, but to this question you said no. Please clarify for me, Thank you.
Angela,
Thanks for the question; I can see where there may be some confusion.
OK, first off, you always need to register as a finder with the State of California when you decide to search for unclaimed funds as a business there, whether as a business or under your own name. That is separate from the question you are referring to, but I want to make that clear.
Regarding registering the business with the California Secretary of State, if your business is located in the State of California, under a business name, then yes, you need to register it. If you are doing business under your own name, and you live in California, then you do not need to register with the state. (However, I recommend registering as a business for protection and also to open a business bank account as well as looking more professional to prospective clients.)
Specifically, regarding the question above, the business was located in another state so they would not have to register with the California Secretary of State.
I hope this clears things up.
Thank you for clarifying.
Is there any way that I search the CD Rom provided by the State of California by the Dollar size of the unclaimed property asset?
Thanks in advance for your reply.
Robert L Smith
Robert,
The DVD contains three search options and one of them lets you search by dollar amount.