Unclaimed money in Pennsylvania: how to find and claim it

How to claim in Pennsylvania

1. Search your name at searchandclaimpa.gov. Amounts over $500 are shown; call for exact values.

2. Select your property and file the claim online. Enter your Social Security number so the claim can qualify for online approval.

3. If the site gives you a PDF claim form, sign it. Claims of $5,000 or more must be notarized.

4. Upload the form and documents on the site, or mail them. Copies are fine; don't send originals unless asked.

5. Check your claim status online or call 800-222-2046 (8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday).

Many online claims are approved without a claim form if you give your SSN, and you get a check in weeks instead of months. Through Money Match, Treasury also mails checks automatically, with no claim needed, for single-owner property worth less than $500; you get a letter first and the check about 45 days later.

Official instructions for claims

Documents you may need

• Signed claim form, if one is required
• Photo ID for claims over $5,000
• Proof of ownership, usually your Social Security number or proof you lived at the reported address
• Notarized signature for claims of $5,000 or more
• If you can't prove the old address, you may need a letter from the company that reported the property

Money owed to a relative who died

1. Check that you qualify: the money is $20,000 or less, the owner died a Pennsylvania resident, and there is no estate (or at least 5 years have passed since a personal representative was appointed).

2. Check your place in line. Relatives qualify in this order: surviving spouse; children, grandchildren or great-grandchildren; parents; brothers and sisters and their children; grandparents.

3. File the claim and use the Relationship Affidavit; Treasury can help at 800-222-2046. If you don't qualify, the estate's court-appointed representative files instead, with a short certificate from the Register of Wills.

Contact the program

Program

Pennsylvania Treasury Department, Bureau of Unclaimed Property

Phone

800-222-2046

Claims by mail

Bureau of Unclaimed Property, P.O. Box 1837, Harrisburg, PA 17105-1837

Processing time

Claims that qualify for online approval are paid in weeks instead of months; no general timeframe is stated.

Finder fees in Pennsylvania

A finder may charge no more than 15% of the property's value. The agreement must be in writing, signed and acknowledged by you, list the property's nature and value, and include the finder's Pennsylvania registration number. Finders must be registered with Treasury. Treasury pays only you, never the finder. We found no waiting period that voids finder agreements.

Law: 72 P.S. § 1301.11(g); registration at 72 P.S. § 1301.11a

Good to know

• Pennsylvania won't answer claims or questions it identifies as coming from a bot or AI tool, so file yourself.
• Money Match returned nearly $50 million in its first year.
• Military medals from abandoned safe deposit boxes are never auctioned; they're kept until the veteran or family is found.

Also check outside Pennsylvania

Search every other state where you lived or worked. Some money, like old savings bonds and IRS refunds, is held by federal agencies.

Questions about Pennsylvania

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