FAQS for Unclaimed Money and Assets

If you think that a government agency has money, property, or another asset that belongs to you, you need to have this information to claim it:

what specific money, property, or asset you want to claim
the date on which you expected to get it
how you expected to get it
which government agency has it

Each agency keeps its own records. There is no governmentwide, centralized source for unclaimed money or other assets.

If you know the agency, contact them

The agency should be able to help you figure out the current status of a payment. (For example, the IRS has a link on its website to help you find out about a refund you expected.)

You can find contact information for all federal agencies at www.usa.gov/federal-agencies.

We return unused funds to the agencies

We, the Bureau of the Fiscal Service, issue payments on behalf of many federal agencies. (For example, if you get a veteran's benefit check every month, the VA tells us to pay it and we issue the payment.)

When the Treasury center that issued the payment learns that the payment can't be delivered or isn't cashed in the allotted time or is returned for another reason, we cancel the payment and return the money to the relevant agency.

If you are missing a payment, you must go to the agency to have them tell us to issue it again.

If you are not sure about unclaimed money

You may search in these databases for unclaimed money that might be owed to you:

Also look at www.unclaimed.org

www.unclaimed.org is the website of the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators. This is a legitimate site created by state officials to help people search for funds that may belong to you or your relatives. Searches are free.

If you get a letter saying that a company can help you if you pay them

Some companies (also called "locator services") are in the business of helping people get unclaimed money. They charge a fee for their service.

Here's how they help: They use the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) to get information on checks that government agencies (federal, state, and local) issue that have not been cashed. If they can match a check in the list they get through FOIA to you, they try to find you and offer to try to collect the money from the agency for you. You pay them a "finder's fee" for helping you.

Related web pages

Unpaid foreign claims – If you suffered certain, specific types of loss in a foreign country, you may be able to claim money from the U.S. government.

Reports of unclaimed money – This page has lists of unclaimed money in different categories.

Report of receivables from unclaimed money – This page, which is mainly for government agencies, includes a table of how much unclaimed money different federal agencies report.