How do you claim unclaimed money?

To claim unclaimed money, you must search through multiple government websites to find if you are eligible, and you must prove that you are the person to whom the money is owed. As of 2015, there is no comprehensive database listing all unclaimed accounts.

The first place to check for unclaimed money is with your current state of residence and with any other states where you have lived. States require different types of identification, including a Social Security number, proof of your connection to the organization that reported the unclaimed income and official documentation that shows you lived at the address the state has on record for the account. Once the claim paperwork is filed, approval can take several weeks.

Another source of unclaimed income is the Internal Revenue Service, which retains tax refunds when they are unclaimed. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation maintains a database of checking and savings accounts that were unclaimed when a bank failed, and the National Credit Union Administration operates a similar database for those institutions.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development tracks unclaimed refunds of FHA insurance for homeowners who had that type of coverage on their mortgages. The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation tracks unclaimed pensions from failed companies.