How to Become a Surplus Funds Recovery Agent in 2026: State Rules, Fee Caps and Real Startup Costs
About this article: “Marcus” is TaxLienSimple's educational narrator. First-person stories and dollar examples are illustrative scenarios written to explain real tax-sale concepts, they are not the personal trading history of a specific investor. Rate and legal information is sourced separately to official statutes and government records (see About and each guide's citations).
TL;DR
- →A surplus funds recovery agent finds former owners whose property sold at a tax or foreclosure sale for more than was owed, explains the money to them, and helps them claim it for an agreed fee.
- →No state issues a general surplus recovery license, but the rules differ a lot. Texas lets only attorneys charge for recovering tax sale excess proceeds. Indiana and Nevada cap the fee at 10 percent. Florida caps mortgage foreclosure surplus at 12 percent. Colorado makes paid agreements for foreclosure overbids unenforceable.
- →The money is smaller than most course ads suggest. Across 30,573 county records TaxLienSimple tracks, the median surplus is $2,913, and 7,770 records are above $10,000.
- →Every owner can claim from the county or court for free. A good agent earns the fee by finding the owner, sorting out heirs and lienholders, and handling the paperwork, and says so in writing.
- →Startup costs are modest: a business entity, a lead source, skip tracing, mail, and a way to track deadlines. The expensive mistakes are legal ones, so read your state's statute before your first letter.
What a surplus funds recovery agent actually does
When a county sells a property for unpaid taxes, or a lender forecloses, the sale sometimes brings in more than the debt and costs. That difference is called surplus funds, excess proceeds, excess funds or overages, depending on the state. It belongs to the former owner, or to lienholders who rank ahead of the owner, and someone has to file a claim to get it paid out.
Most former owners never claim it. The notice goes to the address of the property they lost, they have moved, or the owner has died and the family does not know the money exists. A recovery agent closes that gap. The work is mostly research and patience: find a record worth working, check who is ahead of the owner, locate the owner or heirs, explain the money honestly, sign an agreement that follows the state's rules, file the claim, and follow it until the county or court pays.
If you want the full background on what overages are and who they belong to, start with our explainer, Overages Meaning: What Tax Sale Overages Are. This article is about the business side.
Do you need a license to recover surplus funds?
No state we have reviewed issues a general surplus funds recovery license. That does not mean anyone can do anything anywhere. Several states control who may charge a fee, how much, and what the agreement must say, and a few make the business impossible or pointless.
The pattern from the statutes we have read:
Attorney only. Texas does not let a person who is not an attorney charge a fee to recover tax sale excess proceeds for an owner, and caps the attorney fee at 25 percent or $1,000, whichever is less (Tex. Tax Code 34.04(i)).
Fee caps. Indiana allows a recovery agreement only if the fee is no more than 10 percent, the agreement is in writing and signed, and it states the surplus amount and the owner's share (Ind. Code 6-1.1-24-7.5). Nevada caps the fee at 10 percent of what remains (NRS 361.610). Florida caps fees on mortgage foreclosure surplus at 12 percent (Fla. Stat. 45.033). Utah bars any finder's fee until the money has been with the state for 24 months, then caps it at 20 percent and requires a private investigator license for contingent fees (Utah Code 59-2-1351.1(7)).
Disclosure rules. California requires anyone filing for an owner to show the owner was told they can claim free of charge, and an assignment must be in writing and disclose the value of the claim (Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code 4675).
Agreements that do not hold. Oklahoma voids any assignment of the right to excess proceeds made on or after the day the county resale began (68 O.S. 3131(D)). Colorado makes paid agreements to recover a foreclosure overbid from the public trustee unenforceable, and inducing someone to sign one is a misdemeanor (C.R.S. 38-38-111). Arkansas lets only the former owner or a parent, child or sibling claim (Ark. Code 26-37-205).
No published lists. Washington does not allow public lists of individuals to be used for commercial purposes (RCW 42.56.070(8)), so TaxLienSimple does not publish Washington surplus at all.
Every surplus record on TaxLienSimple shows its state's rules, with the statute and the date we last checked it. Rules change. Read the statute yourself before you sign anyone, and talk to a local attorney if your state is unclear.
| State | Who can charge a fee | Fee rule | Claim window | Statute |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | Attorneys only | 25% or $1,000, whichever is less | 2 years | Tex. Tax Code 34.04(i) |
| Indiana | Agents allowed | Max 10%, written and signed | 3 years after the county receives it | Ind. Code 6-1.1-24-7.5 |
| Nevada | Agents allowed | Max 10% of what remains | 1 year after the deed is recorded | NRS 361.610 |
| Florida (foreclosure) | Agents allowed | Max 12%, filed with the court | Clerk holds it 1 year, then state unclaimed property | Fla. Stat. 45.032, 45.033 |
| Florida (tax deed) | Agents allowed | No cap found | Lienholders 120 days; owner not barred | Fla. Stat. 197.582 |
| California | Agents allowed | Written assignment disclosing the claim's value | 1 year after the deed is recorded | Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code 4675 |
| Georgia | Agents allowed | No cap in the statute | 5 years after the sale | O.C.G.A. 48-4-5 |
| Ohio | Agents allowed | No fee rule found | 3 years from deposit | Ohio Rev. Code 5721.20 |
| Utah | PI license for contingent fees | None until 24 months with the state, then max 20% | No fixed end date for the owner | Utah Code 59-2-1351.1(7) |
| Oklahoma | Limited | Assignments after the resale starts are void | 1 year from the resale | 68 O.S. 3131(D) |
| Colorado (foreclosure) | Owner only | Paid agreements unenforceable | 6 months, then state treasurer | C.R.S. 38-38-111 |
| Washington | Not published | Commercial use of the lists barred | n/a | RCW 42.56.070(8) |
What the money really looks like
Course ads tend to lead with six-figure checks. Those exist, but they are rare, and building a plan around them is how people lose money in this business.
TaxLienSimple reads surplus lists from 342 counties in 21 states. Right now that is 30,573 published records worth about $414.2 million. The median record is $2,913. 7,770 records are above $10,000. 15,184 still have a claim deadline in the future; many others come from county reports that print no deadline at all, so only the county can say whether they can still be claimed.
Two things follow. First, at a 10 percent fee the median record pays about $291, which does not cover the time to find an owner who has moved twice. Most agents filter to records above $10,000 or $20,000. Second, the big records attract competition. If you are the fifth agent to mail an owner, your letter needs to be the clearest and most honest one in the pile.
You can see the open amounts for every state and county on our free surplus funds list.
Watch the lesson: TaxLienSimple Academy
Ethics and surplus funds
Responsible investing means understanding surplus funds, notice requirements, current law, and the human impact behind every auction record.
How the work goes, step by step
1. Pick your states. Start with one or two states where agents are allowed, the rules are clear and the lists are current. Georgia, Ohio, Florida tax deed surplus and California are common starting points. Leave Texas to attorneys and skip Colorado foreclosure overbids.
2. Get the lists. Every county publishes its own list, usually as a PDF on the clerk, treasurer or tax commissioner's site, and the formats change without notice. You can collect them yourself or use a service. TaxLienSimple checks every list it tracks at least every 48 hours.
3. Check each record before you spend money on it. Is the deadline still ahead? Who is ahead of the owner? Mortgage holders, government liens and judgment creditors can take part or all of the surplus. Is the owner an estate? Estate claims take longer and need probate or an heirship affidavit.
4. Find the owner. Skip tracing is the core skill. Watch out for the auction buyer: their name sits on the same case and is the wrong person to contact.
5. Make first contact honestly. Tell the owner what the money is, where it is held, and that they can claim it themselves for free. Our Fair Recovery Kit has a first letter written that way.
6. Sign a compliant agreement. Use your state's fee limit and required disclosures. In some states the agreement must be filed with the court.
7. File and follow up. Claims take weeks to many months. Some counties pay on an affidavit; others need a court motion. Track every deadline and every call.
8. Get paid and record it. Keep a clean record of what the county paid and what you earned. It protects you if anyone asks later.
What it costs to start
The business is cheap to start and expensive to get wrong. A realistic first-year budget looks like this:
Business setup: an LLC or similar entity and a business bank account, usually a few hundred dollars depending on the state.
Lists and research: free if you collect county PDFs yourself, which costs time. A data subscription saves that time.
Skip tracing: pay-per-search services typically charge cents to a few dollars per lookup. Budget more for estates, where you trace several heirs.
Mail and phone: printed letters with tracking, plus a business phone line.
Legal review: an hour with a local attorney to review your agreement in each state you work. This is the line people skip and later regret.
You do not need an expensive course to start. You need current lists, a clear understanding of your state's statute, an honest first letter, and a system that never lets a deadline pass. If you are comparing courses, read what you would still need to buy after the course before you pay for it.
Red flags that end recovery businesses
Most problems in this business come from a handful of habits. Avoid them from day one.
- Never tell an owner they must use you to get their money. They can claim it themselves for free, and in several states you are required to say so.
- Never charge more than the state allows, and never use an agreement written for another state.
- Never take an upfront fee to search a public list. Charge only when the money is paid.
- Never contact the auction buyer, and check probate before you contact family members of a deceased owner.
- Never work Washington surplus from public lists, Colorado foreclosure overbids for a fee, or Texas tax sale excess proceeds without an attorney.
If you would not be comfortable reading your letter out loud to a judge, rewrite it.
How TaxLienSimple fits in
TaxLienSimple publishes surplus funds lists from county reports, checks them at least every 48 hours, and shows each state's rules on every record. The surplus search filters by state, county, amount, deadline and grade. Members can open the owner and party detail for a record, and Surplus Pro adds a claims workspace with deadlines, a contact log, fee limits by state, and letters and agreements that print the state's required disclosures.
We are a research platform. We do not file claims, we do not represent owners, and nothing on our site means money is owed to anyone. The county or court that holds the money is always the final word.
Watch how it works
A narrated walkthrough: what surplus funds are and how recovery agents earn a fee, then find open surplus funds from county lists, check the parties and state rules, and track the claim to payout.
Read the transcript
Before I show you the dashboard, here's what surplus funds are, and why people make a living from them.
When someone falls behind on property taxes, the county can sell the property at auction.
Say the owner owed eight thousand dollars, and the home sold for ninety-five thousand.
The county keeps what it's owed. The other eighty-seven thousand is surplus, and by law, it belongs to the former owner.
Most owners never find out. They've moved, or they don't know the money exists. And if nobody claims it in time, it can go to the state.
That's where you come in. You find the owner, check that no one is owed ahead of them, and help them file the claim. They get their money, and you earn an agreed fee.
Owners can always claim for free on their own, and many states limit your fee. So the work is finding them, and making it easy.
TaxLienSimple tracks over one hundred and ninety million dollars of it across eighteen states, updated every day. Here's how to find a record, and work it all the way to payout.
This is TaxLienSimple. In the next few minutes, I'll find a surplus fund, check that it's worth working, and track it all the way to payout.
Start in County Data, on the Surplus funds tab. Every number here comes from the county's own list, and you can see how much is still open.
Open a state to see each county: the total, what's still open, the largest record, and the nearest deadline.
Search records takes you straight to those records.
Here in Research, you can narrow it down. I'll keep the open records, set a deadline within ninety days, and sort by the largest amount.
Open a record to see the detail.
Here's the amount, the claim deadline, and the former owner. Below that is everyone on the case. Lienholders and government claims can be paid before the owner, so check them first.
Every record shows the state's rules: how long the claim window is, any limit on your fee, and what you must tell the owner.
If it's worth working, add it to My claims.
Your claims live on one board, by stage. The top shows what you're working, your expected fees, and what's due this week.
Open the claim. The deadline countdown sits at the top.
From here you can search for the former owner by name and mailing address. Anyone matching the auction buyer is left out, because that's the wrong person.
Note who you're working with, and set a follow-up date. You'll get a reminder email that morning.
Every call, email, and letter goes in the contact log, so you never lose track.
Enter the fee you agreed. TaxLienSimple holds it to the state's limit, and shows what you'll earn.
Print a first letter in one click. Every letter tells the owner they can claim from the county for free.
The recovery agreement prints the state's fee limit and the required disclosure, and it won't print a fee above that limit.
Keep the paperwork here: photo ID, death certificates, the signed agreement. Only you can see it.
Move the claim along as it progresses. When the county pays, record the amount and your fee.
That's the whole workflow, from finding the money to getting paid, in one place.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about becoming a surplus funds recovery agent.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is surplus funds recovery a legitimate business?↓
Yes, when it is done honestly and within each state's rules. Agents who find owners, explain that they can claim for free, charge only on success and stay within the state's fee limit are providing a real service. Agents who hide the free option, charge upfront or exceed fee caps are the reason several states now regulate the business.
How much can a surplus recovery agent charge?↓
It depends on the state. Indiana and Nevada cap fees at 10 percent, Florida caps mortgage foreclosure surplus at 12 percent, Utah allows 20 percent only after the money has been with the state for 24 months, and Texas allows only attorneys to charge, with a cap of 25 percent or $1,000. Many states set no cap, but courts can still refuse agreements they find unfair.
Do I need a license to be a surplus funds recovery agent?↓
There is no general surplus recovery license. Some states add their own requirements, such as an attorney in Texas or a private investigator license for contingent fees in Utah. Check the statute for every state you work in.
Where do surplus funds lists come from?↓
Each county publishes its own list, usually on the website of the clerk of court, treasurer or tax commissioner. TaxLienSimple collects those lists in one place and links every record to its source.
How long does it take to get paid?↓
From a few weeks to many months. It depends on the county, whether a court order is needed, whether lienholders also claim, and whether the owner has died. Estate cases take the longest.
Can I recover surplus funds in any state?↓
No. Texas tax sale excess proceeds are attorney only, Colorado foreclosure overbids cannot be recovered for a fee, Oklahoma voids assignments made after the resale starts, and Washington does not allow public lists to be used commercially.
Keywords this article targets
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More in Surplus Funds
- How to Claim Surplus Funds After a Foreclosure: A Step-by-Step Guide for Former Owners →
- Surplus Funds Courses Compared: Overages Blueprint vs Surplus Funds Profit System (2026) →
- Is Surplus Funds Recovery Legit? Red Flags, Scams and the Fee Caps in Every State →
- How Long Does It Take to Get Surplus Funds? Claim Windows and Payout Times by State →
- Tyler v. Hennepin County, Three Years On: What It Means for Surplus Funds and Home Equity →
- Tax Sale Overages vs Foreclosure Surplus Funds: Who Holds the Money and Who Can Claim It →
- Surplus Funds When the Owner Has Died: How Heirs Claim, and What Agents Need to Know →
- California Excess Proceeds: How the Claim Works in Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange and Every County →
- Georgia Excess Funds: How Tax Sale Claims Work Under O.C.G.A. 48-4-5 →
- Texas Excess Proceeds: How Tax Sale Claims Work, and Why Only Attorneys Can Charge →
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