§ 1513.Property Held Or Owing By Business Association

Title 10. Unclaimed Property · Chapter 7. Unclaimed Property Law · Article 2. Escheat of Unclaimed Personal Property · Last amended 2017 · Last verified July 29, 2026

In one sentenceSection 1513 sets the specific dormancy periods for the most common kinds of property held by business associations, ranging from three years for ordinary bank and financial-organization deposits, IRAs, and other written instruments, to seven years for money orders, fifteen years for traveler's checks, and one year for unpaid wages.

Full Text of § 1513

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(a) Subject to Sections 1510 and 1511, the following property held or owing by a business association escheats to this state:

(1)

(A) Except as provided in paragraph (6), any demand, savings, or matured time deposit, or account subject to a negotiable order of withdrawal, made with a banking organization, together with any interest or dividends thereon, excluding, from demand deposits and accounts subject to a negotiable order of withdrawal only, any reasonable service charges that may lawfully be withheld and that do not, where made in this state, exceed those set forth in schedules filed by the banking organization from time to time with the Controller, if the owner, for more than three years, has not done any of the following:

(i) Increased or decreased the amount of the deposit, cashed an interest check, or presented the passbook or other similar evidence of the deposit for the crediting of interest.

(ii) Corresponded electronically or in writing with the banking organization concerning the deposit.

(iii) Otherwise indicated an interest in the deposit as evidenced by a memorandum or other record on file with the banking organization.

(B) A deposit or account shall not, however, escheat to the state if, during the previous three years, the owner has owned another deposit or account with the banking organization or the owner has owned an individual retirement account or funds held by the banking organization under a retirement plan for self-employed individuals or a similar account or plan established pursuant to the internal revenue laws of the United States or the laws of this state, as described in paragraph (6), and, with respect to that deposit, account, or plan, the owner has done any of the acts described in clause (i), (ii), or (iii) of subparagraph (A), and the banking organization has communicated electronically or in writing with the owner, at the address to which communications regarding that deposit, account, or plan are regularly sent, with regard to the deposit or account that would otherwise escheat under subparagraph (A). For purposes of this subparagraph, "communications" includes account statements or statements required under the internal revenue laws of the United States.

(C) No banking organization may discontinue any interest or dividends on any savings deposit because of the inactivity contemplated by this section.

(2)

(A) Except as provided in paragraph (6), any demand, savings, or matured time deposit, or matured investment certificate, or account subject to a negotiable order of withdrawal, or other interest in a financial organization or any deposit made therewith, and any interest or dividends thereon, excluding, from demand deposits and accounts subject to a negotiable order of withdrawal only, any reasonable service charges that may lawfully be withheld and that do not, where made in this state, exceed those set forth in schedules filed by the financial organization from time to time with the Controller, if the owner, for more than three years, has not done any of the following:

(i) Increased or decreased the amount of the funds or deposit, cashed an interest check, or presented an appropriate record for the crediting of interest or dividends.

(ii) Corresponded electronically or in writing with the financial organization concerning the funds or deposit.

(iii) Otherwise indicated an interest in the funds or deposit as evidenced by a memorandum or other record on file with the financial organization.

(B) A deposit or account shall not, however, escheat to the state if, during the previous three years, the owner has owned another deposit or account with the financial organization or the owner has owned an individual retirement account or funds held by the financial organization under a retirement plan for self-employed individuals or a similar account or plan established pursuant to the internal revenue laws of the United States or the laws of this state, as described in paragraph (6), and, with respect to that deposit, account, or plan, the owner has done any of the acts described in clause (i), (ii), or (iii) of subparagraph (A), and the financial organization has communicated electronically or in writing with the owner, at the address to which communications regarding that deposit, account, or plan are regularly sent, with regard to the deposit or account that would otherwise escheat under subparagraph (A). For purposes of this subparagraph, "communications" includes account statements or statements required under the internal revenue laws of the United States.

(C) No financial organization may discontinue any interest or dividends on any funds paid toward purchase of shares or other interest, or on any deposit, because of the inactivity contemplated by this section.

(3) Any sum payable on a traveler's check issued by a business association that has been outstanding for more than 15 years from the date of its issuance, if the owner, for more than 15 years, has not corresponded in writing with the business association concerning it, or otherwise indicated an interest as evidenced by a memorandum or other record on file with the association.

(4) Any sum payable on any other written instrument on which a banking or financial organization is directly liable, including, by way of illustration but not of limitation, any draft, cashier's check, teller's check, or certified check, that has been outstanding for more than three years from the date it was payable, or from the date of its issuance if payable on demand, if the owner, for more than three years, has not corresponded electronically or in writing with the banking or financial organization concerning it, or otherwise indicated an interest as evidenced by a memorandum or other record on file with the banking or financial organization.

(5) Any sum payable on a money order issued by a business association, including a banking or financial organization, that has been outstanding for more than seven years from the date it was payable, or from the date of its issuance if payable on demand, excluding any reasonable service charges that may lawfully be withheld and that do not, when made in this state, exceed those set forth in schedules filed by the business association from time to time with the Controller, if the owner, for more than seven years, has not corresponded electronically or in writing with the business association, banking, or financial organization concerning it, or otherwise indicated an interest as evidenced by a memorandum or other record on file with the business association. For the purposes of this subdivision, "reasonable service charge" means a service charge that meets all of the following requirements:

(A) It is uniformly applied to all of the issuer's money orders.

(B) It is clearly disclosed to the purchaser at the time of purchase and to the recipient of the money order.

(C) It does not begin to accrue until three years after the purchase date, and it stops accruing after the value of the money order escheats.

(D) It is permitted by contract between the issuer and the purchaser.

(E) It does not exceed 25 cents ($0.25) per month or the aggregate amount of twenty-one dollars ($21).

(6)

(A) Any funds held by a business association in an individual retirement account or under a retirement plan for self-employed individuals or similar account or plan established pursuant to the internal revenue laws of the United States or of this state, if the owner, for more than three years after the funds become payable or distributable, has not done any of the following:

(i) Increased or decreased the principal.

(ii) Accepted payment of principal or income.

(iii) Corresponded electronically or in writing concerning the property or otherwise indicated an interest.

(B) Funds held by a business association in an individual retirement account or under a retirement plan for self-employed individuals or a similar account or plan created pursuant to the internal revenue laws of the United States or the laws of this state shall not escheat to the state if, during the previous three years, the owner has owned another such account, plan, or any other deposit or account with the business association and, with respect to that deposit, account, or plan, the owner has done any of the acts described in clause (i), (ii), or (iii) of subparagraph (A), and the business association has communicated electronically or in writing with the owner, at the address to which communications regarding that deposit, account, or plan are regularly sent, with regard to the account or plan that would otherwise escheat under subparagraph (A). For purposes of this subparagraph, "communications" includes account statements or statements required under the internal revenue laws of the United States.

(C) These funds are not payable or distributable within the meaning of this subdivision unless either of the following is true:

(i) Under the terms of the account or plan, distribution of all or a part of the funds would then be mandatory.

(ii) For an account or plan not subject to mandatory distribution requirement under the internal revenue laws of the United States or the laws of this state, the owner has attained 701/2 years of age.

(7) Any wages or salaries that have remained unclaimed by the owner for more than one year after the wages or salaries become payable.

(b) For purposes of this section, "service charges" means service charges imposed because of the inactivity contemplated by this section.

(c) A holder shall, commencing on or before January 1, 2018, regard the following transactions that are initiated electronically and are reflected in the books and records of the banking or financial organization as evidence that an owner has increased or decreased the amount of the funds or deposit in an account, for purposes of paragraphs (1) and (2) of subdivision (a):

(1) A single or recurring debit transaction authorized by the owner.

(2) A single or recurring credit transaction authorized by the owner

(3) Recurring transactions authorized by the owner that represent payroll deposits or deductions.

(4) Recurring credits authorized by the owner or a responsible party that represent the deposit of any federal benefits, including social security benefits, veterans' benefits, and pension payments.

Plain-English Summary

This is the workhorse section of the chapter, the one that supplies the actual holding periods most people mean when they ask how long a bank has to wait before an account escheats. For an ordinary demand, savings, or matured time deposit at a banking or financial organization, or a similar account at a financial organization such as a credit union or savings and loan, the period is three years of owner inactivity, measured by whether the owner adjusted the balance, cashed an interest check, or otherwise showed continuing interest in the deposit. An owner's activity on one account with the same institution, paired with the institution's own communication about a second, dormant account, keeps that second account from escheating, and no institution may cut off interest or dividends because this section's inactivity clock is running.

Other categories of property get different timelines built around how they get used. Traveler's checks run fifteen years before they escheat, reflecting how long people sometimes hold onto them unused. Drafts, cashier's checks, and similar instruments on which a bank or financial organization is directly liable run three years, while money orders run seven, with a detailed definition of the modest, disclosed service charges an issuer may deduct along the way. Individual retirement accounts and self-employed retirement plans also use a three-year period, but only after the funds become payable or distributable, which the section defines by reference to mandatory distribution rules or the owner reaching age seventy and a half. Unpaid wages or salaries escheat after just one year, reflecting how much more urgently people need access to earned pay than to a dormant savings account. A 2016 amendment updated the statute to recognize that electronic debit and credit transactions, payroll deposits, and recurring federal benefit payments count as owner activity that keeps an account from going dormant in the first place.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long can a bank account sit inactive in California before it escheats?

Three years, measured from the owner's last deposit, withdrawal, interest collection, or other indication of interest in the account.

How long does an unredeemed traveler's check have to be outstanding before it escheats?

Fifteen years from the date of issuance, so long as the owner has not corresponded about it or otherwise shown interest during that period.

What about a money order that was never cashed?

Seven years from when it became payable, subject to a modest, disclosed service charge the issuer may deduct under the conditions this section spells out.

How quickly can unpaid wages escheat to the state?

After just one year of remaining unclaimed by the employee, far sooner than most other categories of property this chapter covers.

Does using a debit card or having payroll direct-deposited count as activity that prevents an account from escheating?

Yes. A 2016 update to this section recognizes electronic debit and credit transactions, payroll deposits, and recurring federal benefit deposits as owner activity.

Amendment History

Amended by Stats 2016 ch 463 (AB 2258),s 1, eff. 1/1/2017. Amended by Stats 2011 ch 305 (SB 495),s 1, eff. 1/1/2012. Amended by Stats 2009 ch 522 (AB 1291),s 1, eff. 1/1/2010. Amended by Stats 2003 ch 304 (AB 378),s 1, eff. 1/1/2004. Amended October 10, 1999 (Bill Number: AB 777) (Chapter 835).

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

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