Billions of dollars are sitting in state coffers right now, waiting to be claimed — and there’s a decent chance some of it belongs to you.
That’s not a pitch. It’s a statistical reality. The National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (NAUPA) reports that states returned a staggering $4.49 billion in unclaimed property to rightful owners between July 1, 2023, and June 30, 2024. More striking still: approximately 1 in 7 Americans has unclaimed property sitting somewhere in a state database, untouched, often completely forgotten. Forgotten security deposits. Old bank accounts. Dormant stock dividends. The money is real, and most people have no idea it exists.
The Numbers Don’t Lie — But They Are Surprising
The scale of unclaimed property returns has grown considerably over the years. NAUPA’s inaugural annual report showed that states returned $3.14 billion to owners during the 2019 fiscal year, with an average claim amount of $1,780 and a median of $144.30. By fiscal year 2020, that figure had shifted — returns came in at $2.8 billion, with an average claim of $1,609.95 and a median of just $100.00, according to NAUPA’s data.
The gap between average and median tells its own story. A relatively small number of large claims — think forgotten brokerage accounts or sizable estate assets — pull the average up significantly, while the typical person walking away with a recovered check is doing so for a much more modest sum. Still, a hundred dollars you didn’t know you had is a hundred dollars.
What Exactly Counts as “Unclaimed”?
Here’s where it gets interesting. Most people picture a dusty old savings account when they hear “unclaimed property.” But the definition is broader than that. NAUPA explains that unclaimed property includes items like security deposits — say, that $500 you left with a landlord a decade ago — which are turned over to the state after a dormancy period expires. Once that happens, the state holds the funds indefinitely until the rightful owner comes forward and files a claim through official state websites.
That’s the catch. The money doesn’t come looking for you. You have to go looking for it.
Businesses Are on the Hook, Too
It’s not just individuals navigating this landscape. Businesses across the country are required by law to report unclaimed property to state governments — and the rules are anything but uniform. NAUPA notes that laws and reporting deadlines vary significantly from state to state, creating a compliance puzzle that can be genuinely difficult for companies operating across multiple jurisdictions. Several states, for instance, require unclaimed property reporting between March 1 and July 1 during the spring reporting season — a window that catches more than a few finance teams off guard.
State-level administrators bear the weight of enforcement. NAUPA lists contacts across all states, including figures like Will Nagel in Arizona and Danielle Anthony in Nevada, who oversee their respective programs. These aren’t passive offices. They actively work to reunite property with owners — but they can only do so much without public awareness and corporate cooperation.
A New Reporting Standard Is Coming — And It Matters
Behind the scenes, the mechanics of how unclaimed property gets reported are about to change in a meaningful way. NAUPA is currently developing NAUPA III, an updated electronic reporting format that will replace the existing NAUPA 2 standard. Cher Simmons of PwC, who covers abandoned and unclaimed property compliance, has been tracking the transition closely. “The major changes are going to include a three-digit property type coding system,” Simmons explained in a recent briefing — a notable shift from the current two-digit system. “Additionally, NAUPA 3 will introduce entity level reporting enhancements for specific property types.”
NAUPA has already published version 1.2 of the NAUPA III Electronic File Format and is actively soliciting feedback from stakeholders. PwC has flagged the changes as something holders of unclaimed property need to start preparing for now — not later. The shift to a more granular, three-digit coding system may sound like bureaucratic minutiae, but for compliance teams managing thousands of line items, it represents a real operational lift.
So What Should You Do?
If you’ve moved in the last decade, changed banks, closed an old brokerage account, or simply lost track of a former employer’s payroll — it’s worth spending five minutes on a search. The process is free. Most state programs are accessible directly through NAUPA’s umbrella site, and the claims process, while occasionally slow, is straightforward. The average payout of more than $1,600 in recent fiscal years suggests the effort, for many, is well worth it.
As for businesses, the message from compliance professionals is equally direct: the regulatory environment around unclaimed property is tightening, not loosening. With NAUPA III on the horizon and state administrators growing more sophisticated in their auditing capabilities, the cost of non-compliance is rising. Getting ahead of the new reporting format isn’t optional — it’s just good governance.
Billions of dollars returned to their rightful owners every year sounds like a success story. And it is. But the billions still sitting unclaimed? That’s the part of the story that hasn’t been written yet.
