Pennsylvania · Unclaimed property · Updated Oct 2026
Pennsylvania Treasury Department, Bureau of Unclaimed Property holds money that businesses could not return to its owners. Here is how to search, what proof you need and how long it takes.
Search Pennsylvania's official list of unclaimed property by name.
Search in PennsylvaniaSearch your name at searchandclaimpa.gov. Amounts over $500 are shown; call for exact values.
Select your property and file the claim online. Enter your Social Security number so the claim can qualify for online approval.
If the site gives you a PDF claim form, sign it. Claims of $5,000 or more must be notarized.
Upload the form and documents on the site, or mail them. Copies are fine; don't send originals unless asked.
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.
Family members can use a Relationship Affidavit if the property is $20,000 or less, the owner died a Pennsylvania resident, and there's no estate (or at least 5 years have passed since a personal representative was appointed). Eligible relatives, in order: surviving spouse, children/grandchildren/great-grandchildren, parents, siblings and their children, grandparents. Otherwise, the estate's court-appointed representative must claim with a short certificate from the Register of Wills.
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
Watch out: You can claim for free on your own; Treasury makes every payment to the claimant, never to a third-party finder.
Search every other state where you lived or worked. Some money, like old savings bonds and IRS refunds, is held by federal agencies.
Money that businesses could not return to you and had to hand over to a state, such as old bank accounts and insurance policies. USA.gov says state governments hold most unclaimed money.
Official siteOld paper or electronic U.S. savings bonds that were never cashed, including bonds that have matured and stopped earning interest (EE and I bonds earn interest for up to 30 years), plus lost, stolen or destroyed bonds.
Official siteTax refunds owed to people who never filed a federal tax return for a year, often because they earned little and were not required to file. The IRS says taxpayers usually have three years to file and claim a refund; after that the money becomes the property of the U.S. Treasury.
Official siteSearch the official database run by the Pennsylvania Treasury Department, Bureau of Unclaimed Property. Searching is free. Search every name you have used and every address where you lived in Pennsylvania.
No. The state does not charge a fee to claim. 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.
Family members can use a Relationship Affidavit if the property is $20,000 or less, the owner died a Pennsylvania resident, and there's no estate (or at least 5 years have passed since a personal representative was appointed). Eligible relatives, in order: surviving spouse, children/grandchildren/great-grandchildren, parents, siblings and their children, grandparents. Otherwise, the estate's court-appointed representative must claim with a short certificate from the Register of Wills.
Claims that qualify for online approval are paid in weeks instead of months; no general timeframe is stated.
Last checked: Oct 2026.