Connecticut Unclaimed Property Division — Office of the State Treasurer

Agency directory page. Legal information, not legal advice. Last verified: 2026-06-02. This page identifies the state agency that ultimately holds escheated tax-sale and mortgage-foreclosure surplus in Connecticut and how a former owner or heir reclaims it. See escheat-and-unclaimed-property for the cross-jurisdiction doctrine and connecticut for the foreclosure/surplus mechanics that route money here.

Agency

Unclaimed Property Division, Office of the Connecticut State Treasurer. The Treasurer is the statutory custodian of abandoned intangible property under the Connecticut General Statutes, Title 3, Chapter 32 (the unclaimed-property act). The Division markets its public database as the “CT Big List.” Owner-services line: (800) 833-7318. (Source: https://portal.ct.gov/ott/unclaimed-property/overview , retrieved 2026-06-02.)

Official claim portal

https://ctbiglist.gov/ — search and claim (“CT Big List”). Direct claim search: https://ctbiglist.gov/app/claim-search. (Source: https://ctbiglist.gov/ , retrieved 2026-06-02; corroborated at https://portal.ct.gov/ott/unclaimed-property/overview , retrieved 2026-06-02.) Searching and claiming are free; the state charges no fee.

How surplus escheats here

When a Connecticut tax or mortgage foreclosure generates a surplus that the disbursing office (clerk, committee, or court) cannot pay out to the owner, the dormant residue is reportable to the Treasurer as abandoned intangible property under Conn. Gen. Stat. ch. 32. The taking is custodial, not a true escheat — the Treasurer holds the money for the owner rather than taking title. The general abandonment (dormancy) period reported by the agency is three to five years, depending on property category, after the holder loses contact with the owner. (Source: https://portal.ct.gov/ott/unclaimed-property/overview , retrieved 2026-06-02. The controlling statutory section and the precise dormancy period for foreclosure surplus specifically are needs_verification against Conn. Gen. Stat. ch. 32 / § 3-56 et seq.)

For the upstream foreclosure timeline — which office disburses surplus, and any earlier clerk/court claim deadline that can forfeit money before it reaches the Treasurer — see the connecticut page, Module 3.

Claiming

1. Search ctbiglist.gov by last/business name; refine by city or property ID.
2. Initiate the claim online; the system may auto-match sole owners under the agency’s “CT Big Match” program (no documentation for low-dollar, address-matched claims).
3. Otherwise submit the claim form with proof of identity and proof of the right to the funds (e.g., the former owner’s link to the foreclosed property; for an estate, letters/personal- representative authority and the chain to the decedent).
4. There is no fee to file. (Source: https://portal.ct.gov/ott/unclaimed-property/overview , retrieved 2026-06-02.)

▸ For Investors / Operators. Surplus reaching the CT Big List is a former-owner asset downstream of your acquisition — it does not revive redemption or cloud the title you bought. The diligence point is upstream: confirm on the connecticut page whether surplus is disbursed by the committee/court or routed to the Treasurer, and on what clock.

▸ For Former Owners. If a Connecticut foreclosure left a surplus you never received, the money may now sit with the State Treasurer’s Unclaimed Property Division. Search your name at ctbiglist.gov — it is free, and a custodial fund has no claim deadline (escheat-and-unclaimed-property).

Sources

• {gov, https://ctbiglist.gov/, retrieved 2026-06-02} — Connecticut “CT Big List” official unclaimed-property search/claim portal.
• {gov, https://ctbiglist.gov/app/claim-search, retrieved 2026-06-02} — direct claim search.
• {gov, https://portal.ct.gov/ott/unclaimed-property/overview, retrieved 2026-06-02} — Office of the State Treasurer, Unclaimed Property Division overview; agency name, three-to-five-year dormancy, (800) 833-7318, references Conn. Gen. Stat. ch. 32 / § 3-56.
• {internal, concepts/escheat-and-unclaimed-property.md, read 2026-06-02} — custodial-taking doctrine, RUUPA framework, no time bar on owner claims.

Disclaimer. Legal information, not legal advice. Agency names, URLs, and dormancy periods change; verify against the official Connecticut Treasurer site and Conn. Gen. Stat. ch. 32 before acting. Nothing here creates an attorney-client relationship.