Loom resources
How to Check the Bona Vacantia List — And Work Out Whether Someone Could Be Related to You
How to search the official Unclaimed Estates List for free, which family names actually matter, and what a familiar surname does and doesn’t tell you.
Yes — you can check the Bona Vacantia list yourself, for free.
The official Unclaimed Estates List is published on GOV.UK by the Bona Vacantia Division (BVD). Download the current list, search for names connected to your family, and investigate anything that looks interesting.
Simple enough.
Except knowing which names to search is where it gets a bit more complicated.
Use the Unclaimed Estates List on GOV.UK.
As of 21 September 2026, the list was last updated on 18 September 2026 and shows:
- the person’s name
- date of death
- area of death
- BVD case reference
It’s supplied as a CSV, which you can open in Excel, Google Sheets or similar.
That’s the boring technical bit dealt with.
Now, who are we looking for?
New to all of this? Start with what bona vacantia actually means.
Put the tree to work
Your family tree shouldn’t just sit there.
Put it to work.
Put my family tree to workLoom identifies potential connections. It does not establish legal entitlement, guarantee inheritance, file claims or prove a relationship.
Official sources