For surplus recovery agents

The fair recovery kit

Owners who get a letter about money they didn't know they had are right to be suspicious. The agents who do well are the ones who tell the whole truth up front: how much, where it is, that the owner can claim it free, and what the help costs. This kit gives you a first letter that does that, a checklist for your agreement, and each state's rules as we read them from the statute.

1. A first letter to the former owner

Fill in the brackets. Keep the line about claiming for free; in California it is required, and everywhere else it is what makes owners trust you.

Dear [Owner name], My name is [your name], and I work with [company]. Public records from [County] County show that your former property at [property address] was sold at a [tax / foreclosure] sale on [sale date], and that about [amount] was left over after the debt was paid. This money is called surplus funds, or excess proceeds, and it may belong to you. You can claim this money yourself, for free. The office that holds it is the [office name], at [phone] or [address]. You do not need to hire anyone to file a claim. If you would like help with the paperwork, we can handle the claim for you. Our fee is [fee]% of what the county pays out, which on [amount] would be about [dollar estimate]. You pay nothing up front and nothing at all if the county does not pay you. [Add any disclosure your state requires. See the state rules below.] Before you sign anything, you are welcome to call the county and confirm the amount yourself. Sincerely, [your name] [company], [phone], [email]

2. Agreement checklist

✓The agreement is in writing and signed by the owner or heir, never agreed by phone only.
✓It states the amount on the county's list and names the county office holding it.
✓It tells the owner, in plain words, that they can claim the money from the county themselves at no cost.
✓The fee is written as a percentage and as an estimated dollar amount, within any state cap.
✓Nothing is charged up front, and nothing is owed if the county pays nothing.
✓It says how the owner can cancel, and by when.
✓Any disclosure your state requires is included, and you keep proof that you gave it.
✓In Texas, only a licensed attorney may charge a fee to recover excess proceeds, so non-attorneys should not offer paid help there.

3. State rules

Claim windows, fee caps, attorney requirements and required disclosures, with the statute and when we last checked it. Where we could not confirm a rule, we say so.

Arizona surplus rules

Claim window: Not confirmed yet
Fees and assignments: Not confirmed yet
Law: A.R.S. 42-18303Read the statute

Partly confirmed. Some points still need checking with the county or an attorney. Last reviewed Oct 23, 2026. This is general information, not legal advice.

Arkansas surplus rules

Claim window: Held by the Commissioner of State Lands for 1 year after the Limited Warranty Deed, then the former owner has 2 years to apply (sales after July 1, 2018). Unclaimed money goes back to the county.
Fees and assignments: The Commissioner keeps 10 percent of the remainder, up to $500. County personal property taxes, state tax certificates of indebtedness and solid waste assessments are paid out of the excess first.
Required disclosure: Only the former owner of record at the time of sale, or a parent, child or sibling of that owner, can claim Arkansas excess proceeds. Debts owed to the county or the state come out first, so the amount paid can be less than the amount listed.
Law: Ark. Code 26-37-205; 135-01-23 Ark. Code R. 001, Title 4Read the statute (1)Read the statute (2)

Partly confirmed. Some points still need checking with the county or an attorney. Last reviewed Oct 24, 2026. This is general information, not legal advice.

California surplus rules

Claim window: 1 year after the tax deed is recorded.
Fees and assignments: An assignment must be in writing and disclose the value of the claim.
Required disclosure: Anyone filing for an owner must show they told the owner they can claim the funds free of charge.
Law: Cal. Rev. & Tax. Code 4675Read the statute

Summarised from the statute. Last reviewed Oct 22, 2026. This is general information, not legal advice.

Florida surplus rules

Claim window: Lienholders and other interested parties must file a notarized claim within 120 days of the clerk's surplus notice or are barred. The former owner is not barred: the clerk holds unclaimed surplus about one year after the notice, then reports it to the state's unclaimed property program in the owner's name, where it can still be claimed.
Fees and assignments: Mortgage foreclosure surplus: assignee fees capped at 12% (s. 45.033). No cap found for tax deed surplus.
Law: Fla. Stat. 197.582; 717.113Read the statute (1)Read the statute (2)

Summarised from the statute. Last reviewed Oct 24, 2026. This is general information, not legal advice.

Georgia surplus rules

Claim window: 5 years after the sale, then the funds go to the state. The tax commissioner must notify the owner within 30 days of the sale.
Fees and assignments: No fee cap in the statute. Courts have allowed owners to assign the right to the funds (Barrett v. Marathon).
Law: O.C.G.A. 48-4-5Read the statute

Summarised from the statute. Last reviewed Oct 22, 2026. This is general information, not legal advice.

Idaho surplus rules

Claim window: The county must notify parties in interest within 30 days of the sale. They then have 60 days from that notice to claim, and claims postmarked or received after the 60th day are refused. What is left after they are paid goes to the owner of record at the time the tax deed issued. With the state treasurer's consent the county can move the money to the state, where it is handled as unclaimed property.
Fees and assignments: Idaho Code 31-808 sets no cap on fees for recovering excess proceeds. If the county has moved the money to the state treasurer, the state's unclaimed property rules govern the claim.
Required disclosure: Lienholders and other parties in interest are paid before the former owner. The county returns the balance to the owner of record directly, so the owner can receive it without an agent.
Law: Idaho Code 31-808(2)Read the statute

Partly confirmed. Some points still need checking with the county or an attorney. Last reviewed Oct 24, 2026. This is general information, not legal advice.

Indiana surplus rules

Claim window: A claim must be filed within 3 years after the county receives the surplus; after that the auditor moves it to the county general fund. The owner of record (before a tax deed issues) can file a verified claim with the auditor. If the owner redeems, the surplus goes back to the tax sale buyer, so money on a certificate still in its redemption period is not yet owner money.
Fees and assignments: An agreement to recover tax sale surplus is valid only if the fee is no more than 10% of the amount collected (unless $50 or less), it is in writing, signed by the owner, and states the surplus amount and the owner's share after the fee. Enforced by the Attorney General.
Required disclosure: Anyone acting for the owner (agent under contract, attorney-in-fact, executor or guardian) can only be paid on a court order from the court that handled the tax sale, petitioned within 3 years of the sale.
Law: Ind. Code 6-1.1-24-7; 6-1.1-24-7.5Read the statute (1)Read the statute (2)

Summarised from the statute. Last reviewed Oct 24, 2026. This is general information, not legal advice.

Maryland surplus rules

Claim window: Counties set the claim process. Owner notified within 90 days; funds unclaimed after 3 years can be forfeited.
Fees and assignments: No fee rule found.
Law: Md. Tax-Prop. 14-818, 14-819Read the statute

Summarised from the statute. Last reviewed Oct 22, 2026. This is general information, not legal advice.

Minnesota surplus rules

Claim window: Within 60 days of the sale the county auditor mails notice and a claim form to interested parties. A claim must be filed within six months of the date that notice is first mailed; after that, interested parties are no longer eligible.
Fees and assignments: Not confirmed yet. Section 282.005 sets the claim process; check it for any limit on paid recovery before charging a fee.
Required disclosure: In Minnesota, surplus from a tax-forfeited land sale goes to interested parties, including the former owner and lienholders, who file a claim with the county within six months of the first notice.
Law: Minn. Stat. 282.005Read the statute

Summarised from the statute. Last reviewed Oct 24, 2026. This is general information, not legal advice.

Missouri surplus rules

Claim window: A written claim must be filed with the county commission within 90 days after the redemption period ends (one year after an annual first or second offering sale). Money not claimed within three years goes to the county school fund.
Fees and assignments: Section 140.230 sets no fee cap. Claimants must give the county commission satisfactory proof, and the county pays no interest.
Required disclosure: In Missouri, lienholders of record are paid from the surplus before the former owner, in order of lien priority. A claim must be filed in writing with the county commission, citing the recorded lien or deed, within 90 days after the redemption period ends.
Law: RSMo 140.230Read the statute

Summarised from the statute. Last reviewed Oct 24, 2026. This is general information, not legal advice.

Nevada surplus rules

Claim window: 1 year after the county treasurer's deed is recorded. Unclaimed money then goes to the county and is never refunded.
Fees and assignments: A recovery agreement must be in writing and signed by the claimant, and an individual may not be charged more than 10 percent of the remaining excess proceeds. The same 10 percent cap applies to anyone collecting under a power of attorney or assignment.
Required disclosure: Nevada caps the fee for recovering excess proceeds at 10 percent of what remains, and the agreement must be in writing and signed by the person entitled to the money. Lienholders recorded before the sale are paid ahead of the former owner.
Law: NRS 361.610Read the statute

Summarised from the statute. Last reviewed Oct 24, 2026. This is general information, not legal advice.

New York surplus rules

Claim window: Former owners may claim a share of surplus from an in rem tax foreclosure auction within three years of the sale; the county deposits the surplus with the court or treasurer.
Fees and assignments: Not confirmed yet.
Required disclosure: Under the 2024 amendments to Real Property Tax Law Article 11, surplus from a county tax foreclosure auction is held for former owners and lienholders, who claim it through the county or the court.
Law: N.Y. RPTL 1196-1197Read the statute

Partly confirmed. Some points still need checking with the county or an attorney. Last reviewed Oct 24, 2026. This is general information, not legal advice.

Ohio surplus rules

Claim window: 3 years from deposit of the excess with the county.
Fees and assignments: No fee rule found in the section.
Law: Ohio Rev. Code 5721.20Read the statute

Summarised from the statute. Last reviewed Oct 22, 2026. This is general information, not legal advice.

Oklahoma surplus rules

Claim window: 1 year from the county resale. The money is held for the record owner as of the day the resale began, then goes to the county resale property fund.
Fees and assignments: No fee cap in the section. Any assignment of the right to the excess made on or after the day the county resale began is void.
Required disclosure: 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)). The owner signs the claim and the county pays the owner directly.
Law: 68 O.S. 3131(D)Read the statute (1)Read the statute (2)

Summarised from the statute. Last reviewed Oct 23, 2026. This is general information, not legal advice.

Pennsylvania surplus rules

Claim window: 3 years from the date of the sale, then the balance goes to the taxing districts (section 205(f)). Paid only after the court confirms the schedule of distribution (205(e)).
Fees and assignments: No fee cap in section 205.
Law: 72 P.S. 5860.205 (Real Estate Tax Sale Law sec. 205)Read the statute

Summarised from the statute. Last reviewed Oct 26, 2026. This is general information, not legal advice.

South Carolina surplus rules

Claim window: The overage belongs to the owner of record just before redemption ended and is payable 90 days after the tax deed is executed. If it is not claimed or assigned within five years of the tax sale, it goes to the county general fund.
Fees and assignments: Section 12-51-130 allows the overage to be claimed or assigned according to law and sets no fee cap.
Required disclosure: In South Carolina the overage is first applied to outstanding municipal tax liens on the property; what remains belongs to the owner of record immediately before the end of the redemption period.
Law: S.C. Code 12-51-130Read the statute

Summarised from the statute. Last reviewed Oct 24, 2026. This is general information, not legal advice.

Tennessee surplus rules

Claim window: Claimed by motion to the court.
Fees and assignments: Only court-set attorney fees are mentioned.
Law: Tenn. Code 67-5-2702Read the statute

Partly confirmed. Some points still need checking with the county or an attorney. Last reviewed Oct 22, 2026. This is general information, not legal advice.

Texas surplus rules

In Texas, only a licensed attorney may charge a fee to recover these funds for an owner.

Claim window: 2 years.
Fees and assignments: A person who is not an attorney may not charge a fee to recover excess proceeds for an owner. Attorney fee capped at 25% or $1,000, whichever is less.
Law: Tex. Tax Code 34.04(i)Read the statute

Summarised from the statute. Last reviewed Oct 22, 2026. This is general information, not legal advice.

Utah surplus rules

Claim window: Tax sale money above the delinquent taxes, penalties, interest and costs is treated as unclaimed property under the Revised Uniform Unclaimed Property Act. The owner can claim it from the county while the county holds it and from the state Unclaimed Property Division after it is reported. There is no fixed end date for the owner.
Fees and assignments: No one may charge a fee for finding this money until it has been in the state administrator's custody for at least 24 months, and the fee is then capped at 20 percent of the amount collected. The finder's contract must be signed, dated and notarized and filed with the claim, and a contingent fee requires an active Utah private investigator license. A licensed attorney or CPA with an attorney-client relationship may pursue a claim at any time.
Required disclosure: In Utah no finder's fee is allowed until the money has been held by the state for 24 months, and then no more than 20 percent. The owner can claim it from the county or the state at no cost.
Law: Utah Code 59-2-1351.1(7); Utah Admin. Code R966-1-37Read the statute (1)Read the statute (2)

Partly confirmed. Some points still need checking with the county or an attorney. Last reviewed Oct 24, 2026. This is general information, not legal advice.

This is general information, not legal advice. Rules change, and counties add their own forms and steps, so check with the county office or an attorney before you rely on any of it. Owners can always claim their own surplus from the county at no cost.

Looking for the records themselves? See open surplus funds by state and county.