When the money goes to the state treasurer

Bottom line first. If an overbid of $25 or more is not claimed within six months of the sale date, the public trustee must send it to the state treasurer as unclaimed property. It is not lost. The state holds it for the owner, and you can file a claim directly. Check whether money is waiting for you, for free, before you sign anything.

If the money has already moved, do not panic and do not pay a stranger to "find" it. The law's own wording is that an owner may file a claim directly with the state treasurer without being charged a fee by the treasurer.

What happens at six months

The public trustee holds the remaining overbid in escrow for six months from the date of the sale. After that the statute splits the money by size (C.R.S. 38-38-111(3)(a)(II)):

• Less than $25: the unclaimed overbid is paid to the general fund of the county and becomes county property.
• $25 or more: it counts as unclaimed property under Colorado's unclaimed property law, and it must be transferred to the administrator. In Colorado the administrator is the state treasurer (C.R.S. 38-13-102(1)).

The unclaimed property law says the same thing from its side: an overbid of $25 or more that remains unclaimed for six months after the sale date is presumed abandoned (C.R.S. 38-13-214). "Presumed abandoned" is a legal label. It does not mean you gave up your right to the money.

Once the money is transferred, the public trustee is discharged from any further responsibility for it (C.R.S. 38-38-111(3)(a)(II)). That is why the trustee can no longer pay you, and you must ask the state instead.

How the money gets to the state

A business or office that holds property presumed abandoned is called a holder. Holders must send a report to the state treasurer. The report must be filed before November 1 of each year and cover the twelve months before July 1 of that year (C.R.S. 38-13-403(1)). When the report is filed, the holder pays the property over (C.R.S. 38-13-603(1)).

That timing suggests the money may not appear in the state's search right away after the six months pass. If a search shows nothing, try again later, and ask the public trustee when and whether your overbid was reported or transferred. We did not find a rule that sets a precise date for the transfer.

The state's job is to keep the money safe. Property the administrator receives is held in custody for the benefit of the owner and is not owned by the state (C.R.S. 38-13-803). The administrator must also keep a public, searchable website or database of the names reported, with instructions for filing a claim and a printable claim form (C.R.S. 38-13-503(3), (4)).

How to claim it from the state

1. Search. Look up your name, and any other names you used, in the state treasurer's unclaimed property search. Try spouses and former names too.
2. File a claim. A person claiming to be the owner files a claim on the form the administrator prescribes (C.R.S. 38-13-903(1)). The administrator may waive the form and pay directly if you are shown to be the apparent owner on a holder's report and it reasonably believes you are entitled (C.R.S. 38-13-903(2)).
3. Prove who you are. The administrator must pay a claimant who gives evidence sufficient to establish ownership (C.R.S. 38-13-904(1)). The sections we read do not list the documents, so follow the claim form's instructions. Evidence of the foreclosure sale, such as the certificate of purchase with your name, is a good start.
4. Wait for a decision. The administrator must allow or deny the claim within 90 days of filing. If it does not act in 90 days, the claim is deemed denied (C.R.S. 38-13-904(2), (3)).
5. If denied, the administrator must give the reason and say what more evidence is needed. You may file an amended claim, which is treated as a new claim, or sue (C.R.S. 38-13-904(2)).
6. Get paid. No later than 30 days after a claim is allowed, the administrator pays the owner (C.R.S. 38-13-905(1)). Before paying, the administrator first applies the money to certain debts owed to state agencies (C.R.S. 38-13-905(2)).

A lawsuit against a denied claim may be filed in the district court for the city and county of Denver, and it must be filed not later than one year after you filed the claim (C.R.S. 38-13-906).

Heirs and representatives: the unclaimed property law defines an "owner" to include the person's legal representative acting on the owner's behalf (C.R.S. 38-13-102(21)). If the borrower has died, ask the state treasurer which papers it needs to show you can act for the owner or the estate.

Paying someone to help: the short version

The state treasurer's claim process costs you nothing. Any agreement that says otherwise must state that you may file a claim yourself with no fee from the administrator (C.R.S. 38-13-1301(1)(d)). For overbids that were sent to the state, a locator's fee deal is not enforceable unless it was signed at least two years after the transfer, and even then it has a pay cap, now 10 percent of the overbid (HB25-1224, 2025), and other requirements (C.R.S. 38-13-1304). Lesson fs-05 covers this in detail. Until then: do not sign.

Example with real numbers

All people and numbers are made up.

1. Priya's home sold at auction. After the deficiency and the qualified lienors were paid, the remaining overbid for the borrower was $18,500.
2. Priya never saw the trustee's notice because she had moved. Six months passed from the sale date with no claim.
3. Because $18,500 is more than $25, the trustee had to transfer it to the state treasurer. The trustee was discharged from further responsibility.
4. A year later, Priya's sister searches the treasurer's unclaimed property database and finds Priya's name. She prints the claim form.
5. Priya files the claim with proof of identity and the certificate of purchase listing her as the original grantor. The state decides within 90 days, then pays within 30 days after approval. If it is allowed, she receives $18,500 and pays no fee to the state.

Compare with a paid locator. Say a company contacts Priya 14 months after the transfer and offers to "recover" the money. Because less than two years have passed, a fee agreement signed then is not enforceable (C.R.S. 38-13-1304(1)(a)). If it were signed 2.5 years after transfer, the most the company could be paid is 10 percent: $18,500 x 0.10 = $1,850, leaving Priya $16,650. Signing later changes nothing: since June 4, 2025 the cap is 10 percent whenever the agreement is signed, so 4 years after transfer it is still $1,850. Some statute websites still show the older 20 and 30 percent caps. Priya filing her own claim keeps all $18,500.

A small overbid. If the remaining overbid were only $20, it is under $25. Six months after the sale it would go to the county's general fund and become county property, not to the state.

Checklist

• Search the state treasurer's unclaimed property database yourself, today.
• Ask the public trustee whether your overbid was transferred and when.
• File the claim directly. There is no fee to the state.
• Keep copies of everything. If denied, read the reason and fix the gap, or ask a lawyer.

General education, not legal advice. We did not find a deadline for an owner to claim in the sections we read; confirm with the state treasurer.