Inactive account or savings account: deadlines, Caisse des dépôts and Ciclade

A current account is declared inactive after 12 months without any transactions or contact from the account holder. A savings account (Livret A, LDDS, LEP, Livret Jeune), a fixed-term deposit, a securities account, a PEA (equity savings plan), or employee savings plans are declared inactive after 5 years. The bank holds the funds for 10 years from the last transaction or the last contact with the account holder, then closes the account and transfers them to the Caisse des Dépôts (French Deposits and Consignments Fund), which holds them for 20 years from the date of deposit. To retrieve funds already transferred, the service is called Ciclade and is free. After the Caisse des Dépôts' holding period, the funds revert to the State and can no longer be recovered.

This page deals with bank accounts, savings accounts, home savings plans, and employee savings plans. It does not cover unclaimed assurance-vie policies (see our page on AGIRA and Ciclade), safe deposit boxes, or the situation of a policyholder residing outside of France: the official information sheet does not describe a procedure for this case, and we are not inventing one.

When is an account declared inactive?

An account is considered inactive when its holder no longer makes any transactions and no longer contacts the institution. According to the French government's public service website, two conditions must be met: the account holder has not made any transactions on their account and has not contacted their bank. The information sheet details these conditions for each type of account: read it for your specific product. Banks, employee savings plan managers, and insurers are required to register these accounts annually.

The section on time limits in the information sheet does not specify an inactivity period for the PEL (Home Savings Plan). We do not indicate one.

The steps after inactivity

For a deceased account holder, the bank holds the funds for 3 years from the date of death. For employee savings plans, the information sheet indicates that, for a living account holder: 10 years with the asset manager, then 20 years with the Caisse des Dépôts; for a deceased account holder: 3 years with the asset manager, then 27 years with the Caisse des Dépôts.

The PEL (Home Savings Plan) has its own specific term. The information sheet indicates 10 years from the last deposit, extended to 20 years if the account holder has no other accounts at the same bank. At the Caisse des Dépôts (French Deposits and Consignments Fund), it specifies 10 years for a PEL where the account holder had no other accounts at the bank. Read the information sheet for your plan before calculating a term.

Some details from the information sheet:

• The institution informs the holder every year, until the year preceding the transfer to the Caisse des dépôts.
• For a securities account, the securities are sold and the proceeds are transferred.
• For the Livret A savings account, the dedicated information sheet indicates that at the end of the holding period, the bank must close the account and transfer the funds to the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations (French Deposits and Consignments Fund). For the LEP (People's Savings Account), the bank must close it automatically when it is considered inactive.

Costs during storage

According to the information sheet, the bank may charge fees and commissions during the period the account remains inactive, but these are regulated:

• Regulated savings accounts and home savings plans: No fees or commissions.
• Deposit account: The total amount of fees charged annually per account cannot exceed €30.
• PEA and securities account: the fees do not exceed those of an active account.

Recovering funds: the bank or Ciclade

It all depends on where the funds are located. According to the French government's public service website, "Ciclade only lists sums already transferred to the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations (French public sector financial institution)." As long as the bank still holds the funds, they are not included.

Ciclade is open to anyone searching for a former account opened in their own name or in someone else's name. The service is free. The Ciclade listing includes, among others, the Livret A, LEP, LDDS, Livret Jeune, and PEL accounts; this list is not exhaustive. The exact scope of the service, particularly depending on where the account was opened, should be verified with the official source before initiating a search.

Useful information for your search: name, first names, date and place of birth, last known address, date and place of death if necessary, and if you have them, the IBAN or account details.

The steps:

1. You are performing the search.
2. You are viewing the result.
3. If the search is positive, you make a request for restitution from a personal space to be created on Ciclade.
4. If the application is approved, the funds are paid by bank transfer.

The official government websites do not specify the required supporting documents or the response time. The Ciclade service itself indicates that legible and complete supporting documents are required. We do not provide a detailed list or timeframe: please verify these details on the service's website before initiating the process.

The holder has died

Beneficiaries can claim the assets of a bank account or employee savings plan within 12 months of the death. If no claim is made within this period, the account is declared inactive. The bank then holds the funds for 3 years before transferring them to the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations (French Deposits and Consignments Fund), which holds them for 27 years. As long as the funds are held by the Caisse des Dépôts, the account holder or their beneficiaries can claim them.

After the deadline: the funds go to the State

Once the funds are held by the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations (French Deposits and Consignments Fund), they are transferred to the State or the overseas territories. The information sheet is explicit: the account holder or their beneficiaries can no longer recover them.

Numerical example (fictitious profile)

Situation. Hélène, 61, lives in Lyon. In October 2026, she discovers a savings account (Livret A) opened at a bank where she no longer has any other accounts. The last transaction dates back to March 14, 2019. Her father passed away on June 2, 2025: a deposit account in his name has not been claimed. She begins the process of claiming it on October 19, 2026.

Issue. Where are the funds, and how much time is left to act?

Strategy. The time limits outlined in the service-public information sheet are applied to each account. Assumptions of the profile: the transfer to the Caisse des dépôts takes place at the end of the bank's retention period; the 10-year retention period runs from the last transaction, including the period of inactivity (literal reading of the information sheet, legal text not reviewed); Hélène has had no further contact with her bank.

Result.

• Savings account A. The 5-year inactivity period ended on March 14, 2024, 949 days before the transfer. The bank's 10-year holding period runs until March 14, 2029, leaving 877 days. According to this timeline, the funds are still with the bank; Ciclade does not record them. No fees are charged on a regulated savings account. If the transfer takes place on March 14, 2029, the Caisse des Dépôts will hold the funds for 20 years, until March 14, 2049. Any contact Hélène has with her bank, or any transaction, would change these dates: the record retains the last transaction, the last contact, or the end of the inactivity period.
• Father's deposit account. The 12-month holding period following the death ended on June 2, 2026, which is 139 days before the transfer. The bank holds the funds for 3 years from the date of death, until June 2, 2028: 592 days remain. The policy caps the fees for an inactive deposit account at €30 per year. Assuming this cap applies from June 2, 2026 (account declared inactive) and the bank deducts it annually, the total over 2 years (June 2, 2026 to June 2, 2028) does not exceed €60. If the transfer takes place on June 2, 2028, the Caisse des Dépôts will hold the funds for 27 years, until June 2, 2055.

Assumptions of the fictitious profile: dates, no other account at the bank, no subsequent contact with the bank, 10-year retention period calculated from the last transaction (including periods of inactivity), transfer deposited at the end of the retention period, fees charged at the maximum rate each year from the date of the declaration of inactivity. None of these assumptions are legally binding. Balance amounts are not specified.

What changes depending on your situation

• The product. Each product has its inactivity period, and the PEL has its own retention periods.
• The date of the last transaction or last contact. It sets the starting point for the bank's custody; subsequent contact with the bank changes the date.
• The fate of the holder. Whether alive or deceased at the time of transfer, the retention period at the Caisse des dépôts is not the same.
• Your place of residence. The information sheet does not describe the procedure for a holder established outside of France.
• The nature of the asset. The securities in a securities account are sold before the transfer.

These points are examined on a case-by-case basis. No results are promised.