Crucial Texas Law: Can You Legally Keep Money Found on Ground?

I can't be the only one who has felt a smidge of guilt when finding a bill on the ground. The excitement of finding "free" money that slowly fades as you start to think, "is this really up for grabs?"

It's easy to just dismiss it as "finders keepers," but what does Texas law actually say about finding money and other items on the ground?

Is There a Finders Keepers Law in Texas?

Unfortunately, there is no law in Texas explicitly called "finders keepers." Instead, we have to look elsewhere for our answer.

According to Texas lawyer Bryan Wilson in an interview with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, there are three property terms to remember: abandoned, lost, and mislaid.

Abandoned Property

Property in Texas is considered abandoned if nobody has come forward to claim it after three years.

You can always check to make sure you are not missing any unclaimed property, including deposits and insurance refunds, by visiting the Texas Comptroller's website.

Lost Property

Lost items, however, are generally legal to be kept unless the owner later comes forward. For example, finding a cell phone near the curb that clearly fell out of someone's pocket is technically free to keep, but you should always make an effort to return lost property before deciding to keep it.

Mislaid Property

Finally, mislaid items are those that were clearly set aside for a short time but the owner has yet to return. An example of this is seeing someone's wallet or phone at an empty restaurant booth.

In this case, you should return the wallet to the business staff where they will hold on to the property as they attempt to locate the owner.

Is Money on the Ground Free to Take?

Dollar bills and change typically fall under lost or mislaid items. This means that if you find a $100 bill in the bushes at the park, you should still make an effort to locate the owner who lost it, but if you can't find anyone, it's most likely accepted to be yours now.

However, if you find a $100 bill at the downtown bar, the best course of action is to turn it in to the staff. They will hold onto it if someone returns to reclaim their lost bill.

The long story short is that it's generally legal to take money off the ground, UNLESS the true owner is identifiable and reasonable efforts have been made to locate them.

Yes—this includes money as small as one penny. If you physically see money fall out of someone's purse, that's not "lost," it's simply someone else's property that happened to have been momentarily dropped.

Just like much of Texas law, this topic has gray areas. For example, large sums of cash are not allowed to be taken. These must be reported to authorities and can be counted as theft if held onto.