Skip to content
Ten Copies

Clerk's desk/September 10, 2026

Search unclaimed property while you wait

State treasurers hold dormant accounts, uncashed checks, and old insurance. Official searches are free. This is not a substitute for the certified copies banks still want.

While you wait on certified copies, you can search for money a business or government never paid out. USA.gov is the starting index. There is no single national pile. Most of it sits with the state unclaimed-property office in each state where the person lived or worked.

Where to look

  • State unclaimed property offices, linked from usa.gov/unclaimed-money. Search every state the person lived, not only the state of death.
  • unclaimed.org, the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators directory of those state offices.
  • Federal pockets USA.gov lists separately: tax refunds (IRS), savings bonds (Treasury Hunt), VA insurance, pensions (PBGC), failed banks (FDIC).
  • Official searches do not charge a locator fee. A company that wants a percentage to search the same databases is not the treasurer.

USA.gov says a legal heir may be able to claim funds owed to a deceased relative. This desk does not decide heirship and does not give legal advice. A hit in a search is not a certified death certificate. Banks, insurers, and title offices still want the paper from the vital records office.