Unclaimed Money in Quebec: How the Biens Non Reclames Register Works

Quebec's unclaimed property register, run by Revenu Quebec, is the broadest program of the four covered in this cluster, and the only one that charges anything to actually claim. Searching the register is free. Retrieving a financial product from it is not.

This article covers Revenu Quebec's register of unclaimed property (biens non reclames). For unclaimed bank balances at federally regulated banks, which apply regardless of province, see unclaimed money in Canada.

What Quebec's Register Covers

Quebec's program, administered by Revenu Quebec in its current form since 2011, casts a wider net than British Columbia's, Alberta's, or New Brunswick's programs by explicitly foregrounding three separate categories rather than treating financial accounts as the whole picture.

Financial assets, dormant bank accounts, cheques, and similar cash-form instruments, form the largest bucket by both file count and dollar value. A second category, described on the register simply as other property, includes safety deposit box contents, securities, and registered pension plan amounts. A third, separate bucket is unclaimed successions, estates where an heir or liquidator has not come forward.

How Long Property Stays on the Register, and How Long You Can Still Claim It

Quebec draws a distinction that does not exist in the other three provincial programs: how long something is publicly listed is not always the same as how long you can still claim it.

Amounts under $500 stay listed on the public register for 10 years from the date the money was remitted to the Minister of Finance, and the right to claim that amount is itself limited to that same 10 years. Once the 10 years passes, both the listing and your ability to claim it are gone.

Amounts of $500 or more stay listed on the public register for 30 years, but the right to claim them is unlimited. Even after 30 years pass and the item drops off the public register, a claimant can still contact Revenu Quebec directly and recover it. Unclaimed successions follow a separate rule: they are retained for 10 years from the date of death.

Fees: Quebec Is the Exception

Every other program described in this cluster, the federal Bank of Canada registry, British Columbia, Alberta, and New Brunswick, is free to both search and claim. Quebec is not, and this should be stated plainly rather than described as "free" the way the others are.

Searching the register itself is free. But actually retrieving a financial product carries a Revenu Quebec administrative fee: 10% of the property's value, with a minimum of $60 and a maximum of $1,211, for the April 1, 2026 to March 31, 2027 tariff period. Liquidating non-cash property costs more: Revenu Quebec’s tariff sets 15%, capped at $6,057, for liquidating safety-deposit-box contents and other property, while the 10%/$1,211 rate applies to financial-asset liquidation. GST and QST apply on top of every fee in the schedule, and successions also carry a $1,211 rendering-of-account line item.

Unclaimed succession, or estate, property is handled under a separate and larger fee structure if Revenu Quebec administers the liquidation on the estate's behalf: a $1,636 file-opening fee, a $5,450 administration fee, and 15% of net proceeds up to a maximum of $6,057. These succession fees were captured as a flat structure at the time of research; whether they scale differently for very large estates was not independently confirmed, so a reader dealing with a Quebec succession claim should confirm the current fee schedule directly with Revenu Quebec.

Put in concrete terms, the 10% retrieval fee on a financial product works out as follows: on a $400 balance, 10% would be $40, but the $60 minimum applies, so the fee is $60. On a $5,000 balance, 10% is $500, above the minimum and below the cap, so the fee is $500. On anything above roughly $12,110, 10% would exceed $1,211, so the fee is capped at $1,211 regardless of how large the balance is. The fee is only ever charged once a claim actually succeeds; searching the register itself never costs anything.

How to Search and Claim

Quebec's register can be searched at revenuquebec.ca's public register page, or through a dedicated search portal at services.mrq.gouv.qc.ca. Searching costs nothing. Secondary reporting attributes to Revenu Quebec a warning that third parties may charge high fees for locating unclaimed property, sometimes demanding payment before providing even preliminary information, and that Revenu Quebec is not responsible for fees paid to such intermediaries. A Quebec resident can claim directly through Revenu Quebec's own forms at any time and never needs to pay an outside locator to do so.

Current Total, Dated

As of August 11, 2026, Revenu Quebec's register held $706,272,604 across 544,701 files: $645,541,501 in financial assets across 531,597 files, $35,963,567 in other property across 9,164 files, and $24,767,536 in unclaimed successions across 3,940 files. That is meaningfully higher than the roughly $477 million reported in Quebec press coverage from 2023, consistent with steady growth over several years rather than a discrepancy. Any figure quoted from this register should always carry its as-of date, since the total changes as new property is remitted and claims are paid out.

Reporting on the program describes Revenu Quebec returning an average of about $32 million per year to rightful owners, though this specific figure was not independently confirmed against a dedicated Revenu Quebec statistics page for this article.

For the federal layer and how the other three provincial programs compare, see unclaimed money in Canada, unclaimed money in British Columbia, and unclaimed money in Alberta, where a paid locator's fee, if you choose to use one, is capped by regulation at 10%, similar in shape to Quebec's own retrieval fee but charged by an outside company rather than the government itself.

Disclaimer

This article provides general information about Revenu Quebec's register of unclaimed property (biens non reclames). It is not legal, financial, or tax advice. Program rules, dormancy periods, fees, and headline totals change, and the figures above were last checked against each program's own published pages on August 14, 2026. Confirm current details directly with the relevant registry or a lawyer or licensed professional before relying on them.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it free to search Quebec's unclaimed property register?

Yes, searching the register at revenuquebec.ca or through services.mrq.gouv.qc.ca is free. A fee applies only if you actually retrieve or claim a financial product listed there.

How much does it cost to claim unclaimed money in Quebec?

Retrieving a financial product carries a Revenu Quebec administrative fee of 10% of its value, with a minimum of 60 dollars and a maximum of 1,211 dollars, for the April 2026 to March 2027 tariff period. This makes Quebec the only one of the four provincial programs in this cluster that charges anything to claim, rather than only to search.

How long can I still claim unclaimed money in Quebec?

It depends on the amount. Amounts under 500 dollars can be claimed for 10 years from the date they were remitted to the Minister of Finance, after which the right to claim expires. Amounts of 500 dollars or more can be claimed at any time, with no expiry, even after they drop off the public register after 30 years.

What does Quebec's register cover besides bank accounts?

Beyond financial assets like dormant accounts and cheques, the register lists safety deposit box contents, securities, and registered pension plan amounts under a general other property category, as well as a separate category for unclaimed successions, estates where no heir or liquidator has come forward.

How much does Quebec's unclaimed property register currently hold?

As of August 11, 2026, the register held 706,272,604 dollars across 544,701 files, split among financial assets (645,541,501 dollars), other property (35,963,567 dollars), and unclaimed successions (24,767,536 dollars).

What happens if Revenu Quebec liquidates an unclaimed estate?

A separate, larger fee structure applies: a 1,636-dollar file-opening fee, a 5,450-dollar administration fee, and 15% of net proceeds up to a maximum of 6,057 dollars, if Revenu Quebec administers the liquidation on the estate's behalf.