How to search for an unclaimed bank balance
An unused account can leave the bank and sit with a government office. In Canada that office is the Bank of Canada, after 10 years. In the United States each state runs its own unclaimed property program. Searching on the official site is free. A company that offers to find the money for a cut is optional.
Last updated: October 18, 2026
Last checked: Oct 2026
Canada
The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada says that if you do not use certain financial products for 10 years, a federally regulated institution treats the balance as unclaimed and must transfer it to the Bank of Canada. Before that, the institution must write to the last address on file after 2 years, 5 years, and 9 years of inactivity. The notices go out in January after each of those periods. FCAC's example is an account unused for 2 years as of July. The first notice goes out the following January.
The notice after 9 years says the balance will go to the Bank of Canada. FCAC says the transfer happens the next January if you do not contact the institution or use the product by the end of the year. The Bank of Canada holds an unclaimed balance under $1,000 for 30 years. It holds a balance of $1,000 or more for 100 years.
Search at the Bank of Canada's unclaimed property site. The search is for unclaimed bank balances, accounts, deposits, and negotiable instruments. Canada Savings Bonds and provincial bonds are not in that same search. The resources page says you must be the claimant: an owner, a signing officer, an estate representative, or someone the owner authorized. After you submit a request, you get an email with a claim form and the documents they want. If those documents are not in within 12 months of that email, the request is closed. The same page says the average processing time is 120 days, and that a claim over $5,000 is submitted online or by mail. A fee the bank charged while the account was only inactive is a different line, on dormant account fees at Canadian banks.
United States
The National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators says each state keeps its own database, and that a search on the official state site is free. It also says most states participate in MissingMoney.com, a site NAUPA sponsors, where one search can show a match and then link you to that state's claim process. Unclaimed property is reported to the state where the company is, so a person who has moved can have property in more than one state. Check each state you have lived in or done business in.
NAUPA's relaunch note from 1 November 2022 says MissingMoney.com has no advertisements and no fee to search. A later count on that note was 48 departments. Treat the count as that day's figure, not a promise that every state is in the database today. If a state is missing, use the state link on unclaimed.org.
NAUPA also says some companies, called finders, will search for a fee, often a percentage. That is not required. Some states limit the fee and require the finder to register. NAUPA says to contact the state unclaimed property office before you sign a contract. A finder invoice is not a bank fee. The bank's own inactivity charge, where a bank prints one, is on inactivity fees at US banks.
What the statement still shows
A dormant fee, a final statement, and the later transfer are three different events. The fee is the bank's charge. The transfer is the balance leaving the bank. The search is how you ask for the balance back from the office that holds it. Keep the old statement if you still have it. It shows the account name and the amount.
Upload the statement on Expenvo. The PDF stays on your device. Expenvo lists the lines. It does not sign in to the bank or the company, and it does not cancel a membership. How to read a statement PDF is the page for the lines on a file you still have. How long to keep statements is the tax retention rule, which is separate from the 10 year transfer in Canada.
Questions
- When does a Canadian bank balance go to the Bank of Canada?
- FCAC says federally regulated institutions transfer an unused balance after 10 years. They must write to you after 2, 5, and 9 years. The Bank of Canada holds under $1,000 for 30 years and $1,000 or more for 100 years.
- Does it cost money to search?
- NAUPA says the official state search is free, and MissingMoney.com does not charge a search fee. A finder who offers to do it for a percentage is optional. Ask the state before you sign.
- Are Canada Savings Bonds in the bank balance search?
- No. The Bank of Canada's bank balance search page says those bonds, and provincial bonds, are not in that search.
Sources
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