How to Find Old Accounts and Unclaimed Money

You can find old accounts and unclaimed money by searching a handful of free government databases under every name and address you have used, then filing a claim with the agency that holds the property. The search costs nothing, and in most states the money waits for you indefinitely. What follows is where to look, what to have ready, and how to actually get the funds back.

What to Gather Before You Search

Databases match on exact information, so a few minutes of prep saves a lot of missed hits. Write down:

Every name you have used, including maiden names, prior married names, and any legal name changes.
Your Social Security number or ITIN. This is the primary identifier reporting companies use.
Previous addresses, going back as far as you can remember. Unclaimed property is usually reported to the state where the account was opened or where you last lived.
For a deceased relative: full legal name, date of birth, date of death, and Social Security number.

Keep this list in one place. A single typo or forgotten variation is often the reason a real match doesn’t surface.

Where to Search

No one database covers everything. Which sources you check depends on what you think might be out there.

State Unclaimed Property Databases

Every state runs a program covering bank accounts, uncashed checks, utility deposits, insurance payments, and more. The National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (NAUPA) runs MissingMoney.com, a free search that covers most participating states at once.¹² For any state not included, go directly to that state’s treasurer or controller website and use its own database.

Search every state where you have lived, worked, or done business. A paycheck from a summer job two decades ago could still be sitting in that state’s treasury.

Pension Benefits From a Former Employer

If you earned a retirement benefit from a private-sector employer whose pension plan later ended, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation may be holding the money. PBGC takes over benefits when a defined benefit plan terminates and the employer can no longer pay, and it maintains a free searchable database of people owed benefits.³

Federal Tax Refunds

Undelivered IRS refunds do not go to state unclaimed property programs. The IRS keeps them. Check status with the “Where’s My Refund?” tool on IRS.gov or the IRS2Go app.⁴ If a refund was issued but never arrived, request a refund trace through the online tool or by calling the IRS Refund Hotline at 800-829-1954.⁵

There is a hard deadline here. You generally have three years from the original due date of the return to claim a refund. After that, the IRS can no longer pay it.⁶

Savings Bonds

For matured or unredeemed U.S. savings bonds in Series E, EE, I, H, and HH, the Treasury Department’s free Treasury Hunt tool at TreasuryDirect.gov lets you search by Social Security number or name.⁷

Life Insurance and Annuities

If a family member has passed away and you suspect a life insurance policy or annuity, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners runs a free Life Insurance Policy Locator. You submit the deceased person’s name, Social Security number, date of birth, and date of death, and participating insurers check their records. If there’s a match and you’re the beneficiary, the insurer contacts you directly.⁸ The tool works only for deceased individuals, not for policies on living people.

Brokerage Accounts and Stocks

Investment accounts follow the same dormancy rules as bank accounts. If a brokerage cannot reach you after the dormancy period, your securities may be turned over to the state, which may sell the shares and hold the cash. When you later claim, you receive what the state collected at the time of sale, not the current market value—any later dividends, interest, and price appreciation are gone.⁹ That makes searching sooner rather than later worth it if you suspect an old brokerage account is out there.

How to File a Claim

When you find a match, you file the claim through whichever agency holds the property, usually the state treasurer or controller, or the relevant federal agency. Most states let you start online; a few still require a paper form by mail.

For a straightforward claim on property in your own name, expect to provide:

A government-issued photo ID such as a driver’s license, state ID card, or passport.
Proof of your Social Security number: a Social Security card, tax return, or military ID.
Something linking your name to the address on record for the account: an old utility bill, bank statement, tax record, or prior driver’s license.
Proof of any name change since the account was opened: a marriage certificate, divorce decree, or court order.

Simple claims with matching documentation are often paid within a few weeks to 90 days. Anything involving estates, multiple heirs, or missing paperwork can stretch to six months or more. Government agencies do not charge to search for or return your property. If anyone asks for an upfront payment to release your funds, that is a scam.

Claiming a Deceased Relative’s Property

Claims filed on behalf of someone who has died need more paperwork. Along with your own ID, you’ll typically need:

A certified death certificate for the account owner.
Proof of your legal authority: court-issued letters of administration or letters testamentary if the estate went through probate, or a small estate affidavit if it did not.¹⁰
Proof of relationship: birth certificates, marriage licenses, or a copy of the will or trust showing you as a beneficiary.

When multiple heirs exist and only one is filing, many states require each heir to sign a notarized affidavit releasing their interest. Notary fees for these forms generally run from a few dollars up to around $25, depending on where you live.

Why Your Money Is With the State in the First Place

Banks, insurers, employers, and brokerages are required to flag accounts with no owner-initiated activity for an extended period—generally one to five years, depending on the property type. The holder must then try to reach the owner at the last known address. If that outreach fails, the funds are transferred to the state through a legal process called escheatment, and the state holds them as custodian until the owner or an heir comes forward.⁹¹¹ In most states there is no deadline to reclaim it. The IRS three-year window on tax refunds is a notable exception, and a handful of states have set limits on certain property types.

Taxes on Money You Recover

Getting your own money back is generally not a taxable event. Recovering the principal from a forgotten bank account or an uncashed check doesn’t create new income—it was already yours. Life insurance death benefits are typically tax-free to the beneficiary.

Interest is different. If the state or the original institution paid interest on the funds while holding them, that interest is taxable. Anyone who pays you $10 or more in interest in a tax year must report it on Form 1099-INT.¹² Many states pay no interest on unclaimed property at all, so you may simply receive the original balance.

Recovered retirement accounts are treated differently again. When a traditional IRA is escheated, the trustee is required to withhold 10 percent for federal income tax and issue a Form 1099-R, because IRA distributions are generally taxable regardless of the reason. If you recover funds from an escheated retirement plan, talk to a tax professional about how to report the distribution and whether any rollover options remain open.

Heir Finder Fees and Scams to Avoid

Unclaimed property records are public, which is why “heir finders” and “asset locators” reach out by mail, phone, or email offering to recover money for a cut. Some are legitimate but unnecessary, because you can do everything they do for free through official state websites. Others are outright fraud.

Red flags:

Requests for payment before you receive any funds. No government agency charges to return your property.¹³
Requests for your bank login or Social Security number by someone you didn’t contact first. A real locator would never need your bank credentials.
Pressure to keep the matter confidential or to respond immediately.¹³
Unsolicited notices that you’re the heir to a large fortune from an unknown relative, particularly from a foreign law firm.

If you do decide to hire a locator, many states cap the fee, often at 10 percent of the property’s value, and any legitimate service should provide a written contract disclosing the fee before starting work. You are never required to use one. Every claim can be filed directly with the state at no cost.¹

Keeping Accounts From Going Missing Again

Once you’ve recovered what’s out there, a few habits keep new money from slipping away:

Update your address with every bank, brokerage, insurer, former employer, and retirement plan administrator whenever you move. Returned mail is one of the most common triggers for an account being flagged as abandoned.
Log in or make a small transaction periodically. Even a $1 deposit or a single login can reset the dormancy clock. Set a yearly reminder for accounts you rarely touch.
Respond to inactivity notices. Ignoring that letter is often the final step before escheatment.
Keep a master list of every account, policy, and plan you own, and make sure a trusted person knows where to find it.
Deposit checks quickly. Uncashed paychecks, dividend checks, and insurance refunds are among the most common items that end up unclaimed. Switch to direct deposit where you can.

Running a free search on MissingMoney.com once a year is a reasonable habit even if you think everything is accounted for. New matches surface as prior-year reports get loaded.

1
National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators. National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (NAUPA)
2
MissingMoney.com. Search for Unclaimed Property
3
Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. Find Unclaimed Retirement Benefits
4
Internal Revenue Service. Where’s My Refund?
5
Taxpayer Advocate Service. Lost or Stolen Refund
6
Internal Revenue Service. Statutes of Limitations for Assessing, Collecting and Refunding Tax
7
TreasuryDirect. Treasury Hunt
8
National Association of Insurance Commissioners. Learn How to Use the NAIC Life Insurance Policy Locator
9
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Escheatment by Financial Institutions
10
U.S. Courts. Instructions for Filing Application for Payment of Unclaimed Funds
11
Department of Labor. 2019 Permissive Transfers of Uncashed Checks From ERISA Plans to State Unclaimed Property Funds – Berger Written Statement
12
Internal Revenue Service. About Form 1099-INT, Interest Income
13
Federal Trade Commission. Contacted About a Long-Lost Relative’s Inheritance? Hold on a Minute