Maryland Unclaimed Property Division (Comptroller of Maryland)
Agency directory page. Legal information, not legal advice. Last verified: 2026-06-02.
Agency
Maryland’s unclaimed-property administrator is the Unclaimed Property Unit of the Office of the Comptroller of Maryland. The Comptroller (not the State Treasurer) collects, safeguards, and returns abandoned intangible property, including residual surplus from tax and mortgage foreclosure sales that is reported to the state.
Official claim portal
- Search and file: https://interactive.marylandtaxes.gov/individuals/unclaim/default.aspx (retrieved 2026-06-02).
- Check claim status: https://interactive2.marylandtaxes.gov/UnclaimedStatus/ (retrieved 2026-06-02).
- Program landing page: https://www.marylandcomptroller.gov/ → Individuals → Unclaimed Property (retrieved 2026-06-02).
Searching and filing are free. Phone: 410-767-1700 (Baltimore) / 1-800-782-7383.
How surplus escheats here
When foreclosure or tax-sale surplus in maryland is not claimed from the disbursing court or clerk, the holder must report and remit it to the Comptroller’s Unclaimed Property Unit under the custodial model described in escheat-and-unclaimed-property. Maryland’s Uniform Disposition of Abandoned Property Act sets a general three-year dormancy period for most intangible property before it is presumed abandoned and reportable. (Source: Comptroller of Maryland unclaimed-property program description, https://www.marylandcomptroller.gov/, retrieved 2026-06-02; statutory cite: Md. Code, Commercial Law §§ 17-101 et seq. — needs_verification for the exact dormancy subsection.)
Because the taking is custodial, the owner’s right to reclaim is not extinguished by the dormancy clock; the binding deadlines are the upstream county/clerk surplus deadlines on the maryland page (Module 3).
Claiming
Search by name on the portal, open a claim on any matched property, and submit proof of identity and ownership (government ID, Social Security number, and documents tying the claimant to the reported address or the foreclosed property). Heirs claim through estate documentation. Processing is typically 60–90 business days. Under RUUPA-style offset rules the payment may be reduced by enforceable in-state debts; see escheat-and-unclaimed-property § 905 discussion.
▸ For Former Owners. If your Maryland property sold at a tax or foreclosure sale and a surplus existed, search the Comptroller’s database by your name — the search and claim are free. Title never passed to the state, so the money is reclaimable even years later.
▸ For Investors / Operators. Maryland routes unclaimed foreclosure residue to the state Comptroller fund (custodial, reclaimable), not a county forfeiture fund — so a former-owner surplus claim does not cloud title you acquired or revive redemption. Confirm the county/clerk surplus clock on the maryland page before modeling any surplus-linked strategy.
Sources
- {agency, https://www.marylandcomptroller.gov/, retrieved 2026-06-02} — Comptroller of Maryland, Unclaimed Property Unit; three-year general dormancy; free search/claim.
- {portal, https://interactive.marylandtaxes.gov/individuals/unclaim/default.aspx, retrieved 2026-06-02} — official Maryland unclaimed-property search.
- {portal, https://interactive2.marylandtaxes.gov/UnclaimedStatus/, retrieved 2026-06-02} — claim status search.
- {internal, concepts/escheat-and-unclaimed-property.md, read 2026-06-02} — custodial-taking framework, dormancy and offset rules.
Disclaimer. Legal information, not legal advice. Agency names, URLs, and dormancy periods change; verify against the Comptroller of Maryland’s current official site and Md. Code, Commercial Law Title 17 before acting. Nothing here creates an attorney-client relationship.