Forty million dollars of Unclaimed Property was returned to its rightful owners in FY 2015, a 53% increase from the year prior. Unclaimed property is money that has been turned over to the State by businesses and organizations who cannot locate the rightful owners. Every year, millions of missing dollars are turned over, and the Tennessee Treasury Department works to get that money back to where it belongs. In Tennessee, there is currently $725 Million in unclaimed property still waiting to be returned.
The types of unclaimed funds that may be held include stocks, bonds, gift certificates, checks, unclaimed wages, refunds from utility or other companies, life insurance annuities that could not reach the beneficiary, and more. In Tennessee, the Unclaimed Property Division does not include land or physical items.
There is no time limit in Tennessee to claim unclaimed property. It is held for the rightful owner or their legal beneficiaries until it is claimed. Treasury’s Unclaimed Property Division throughout the year to track down the owners of these monies, and also provides a variety of ways for citizens to search for missing funds.
Treasury credits the significant increase returns this missing money to the Unclaimed Property’s website: www.ClaimItTN.gov. This searchable online database contains all unclaimed property in Tennessee dating to the beginning of the program. You can visit www.ClaimItTN.gov to search for your name, and can file your claim online. Treasury recommends searching for common misspellings of your name and addresses as well.
Claims can take 8-10 weeks to fully process, as the Unclaimed Property Division dutifully verifies the funds are truly going to the correct person. The division expedites claims filed through www.ClaimItTN.gov.
If you do not have internet access, you may call the Unclaimed Property Division at 615-741-6499 and we will start the claims process for you, and mail you a form to be completed. The appropriate documentation requested on the claim form will need to be mailed to the Unclaimed Property Division located in Nashville.
The Tennessee Treasury Department provides the unclaimed property service to citizens completely free of charge and will never ask you to pay a fee to claim money that belongs to you. If you are asked to make a payment to process your claim for unclaimed property, be aware you are working with a company that is not affiliated with the Tennessee Treasury Department.