The expiration of any period of time specified by law, during which an action or proceeding may be commenced or enforced to secure payment of a claim for money or recovery of property, shall not prevent any such money or other property from being deemed abandoned property, nor affect any duty to file a report required by this title or to deliver to the Treasurer or Controller any such abandoned property; and shall not serve as a defense in any action or proceeding brought under the provisions of this article to compel the filing of any report or the delivery of any abandoned property required by this article or to enforce or collect any penalty provided by this article.
§ 1476.Generally
Title 10. Unclaimed Property · Chapter 6. Disposition of Unclaimed Property · Article 2. Abandoned Property · Enacted 1708 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 29, 2026
In one sentenceSection 1476 provides that the expiration of a statute of limitations on collecting a debt or recovering property doesn't stop that money or property from being deemed abandoned, doesn't excuse the holder's duty to report or deliver it to the state, and can't be used as a defense to an action enforcing that duty or collecting a penalty.
Full Text of § 1476
Plain-English Summary
A debtor might assume that once the statute of limitations runs on a debt, the underlying money disappears from anyone's obligation to account for it. This section says otherwise for unclaimed property purposes. The fact that the time to sue on a claim for money, or to recover property, has expired doesn't stop that money or property from still counting as abandoned property under this title.
It follows that a holder can't use an expired limitations period as an excuse. The holder's duty to report the property and to deliver it to the Treasurer or Controller survives the running of that period, and if the state has to bring an action or proceeding under this article to compel a report, force delivery, or collect a penalty, the holder can't raise the expired statute of limitations as a defense to that enforcement action.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does an expired statute of limitations mean unclaimed money no longer counts as abandoned property?
No. Section 1476 provides that the expiration of the period for suing on the claim doesn't prevent the money or property from being deemed abandoned.
Can a holder refuse to report or deliver property because the underlying claim is time-barred?
No. The duty to report and deliver the property to the Treasurer or Controller isn't affected by the expiration of that period.
Can a holder raise the expired limitations period as a defense if the state sues to enforce this article?
No. It can't be used as a defense in an action or proceeding to compel a report, compel delivery of abandoned property, or collect a penalty under this article.
Amendment History
Added by Stats. 1951, Ch. 1708.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the Deering's California Codes Annotated / vLex. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 29, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: statute of limitations does not bar abandoned propertyabandoned property duty to report survives