France — comptes inactifs et contrats en déshérence (loi Eckert; Ciclade)

The clocks it starts

• Your right to this property is extinguished if you do not claim in timeFatal if missedThe Caisse des Dépôts holds the sums for twenty years, during which the holder, their representative or their heirs can reclaim them through Ciclade. At the end of those twenty years the money is definitively acquired by the State. Because the transfer itself only happens after ten years of inactivity, the total run is thirty years from the day the account went quiet — and thirteen years where the holder has died. The clock runs from the date the sums were transferred to the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations. We cannot date it for you because the information you have given us does not include when the property became dormant — ask the administrator for that date in writing as the first thing you do. (Period: 20 years. We need the start date to work out your exact deadline.)Code monétaire et financier, art. L. 312-20 — art. L. 312-20 (comptes inactifs: transfer to the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations after ten years of inactivity, or three years after the holder's death; the sums are acquired by the State twenty years after that transfer)Limitation period

What it entitles you to, beyond money

• A route for heirs and estatesHeirs search Ciclade under the deceased's name and then prove the succession — the acte de notoriété drawn up by a notaire is the document the Caisse des Dépôts works from. Where a notaire is already handling the estate, ask them to run the Ciclade search as part of the inventory: it is routine and it is often skipped.art. L. 312-20 (comptes inactifs: transfer to the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations after ten years of inactivity, or three years after the holder's death; the sums are acquired by the State twenty years after that transfer)
• A free search of the official registerSearching Ciclade costs nothing and requires no account, no fee and no intermediary. Search under every name you have used.

What the other side will say

Each of these is a refusal this regime lets a counterparty attempt, paired with the answer to it. Reading them before you write is worth more than any amount of polish on the letter itself.

Where to take it next

1. 01Search Ciclade yourselfStart here, before anything else. Search every version of your name, former names, common misspellings, and the names of deceased relatives whose estate you may share in. Note the record reference for anything that matches.Claim direct·typically 1 days·official page
2. 02Ask the holder directly for anything not yet reportedProperty only reaches the register after the dormancy period, so the most recent money is still with the bank, insurer, employer or company that owes it. Write to them as well as searching the register, and ask specifically whether they hold any balance, dividend, refund or benefit in your name and whether it has been reported as unclaimed.Claim direct·typically 30 days
3. 03File a claim with the Caisse des Dépôts et ConsignationsThe claim form is free. Send it with proof of identity and proof of the connection between you and the address the holder reported. Keep a copy of everything you send and note the claim reference.Regulator·typically 90 days·official page
4. 04Challenge a refusalBinding on themA refusal is an administrative decision, and administrative decisions can be reviewed. Ask in writing for the reason and for the internal review or appeal route, in that order. Only a very small number of unclaimed-property claims ever need a court, and almost all of those are disputes between rival claimants to the same estate rather than fights with the administrator.Court