Do I Have Unclaimed Money in Florida? How to Check

About one in five Floridians has unclaimed money in Florida waiting to be collected, and finding out whether you’re one of them takes a few minutes and costs nothing. Search your name at FLTreasureHunt.gov, the official free portal run by the Florida Department of Financial Services.¹ Under Chapter 717 of the Florida Statutes, the state holds these funds indefinitely until the rightful owner or their heirs claim them, and there is no filing fee.²

How to Search the State Database

The FL Treasure Hunt database is open around the clock. You can search by individual name or business name, and the results show matching accounts along with the company or agency that reported each one.

Run the search more than once. Try variations of your name, including maiden names, previous married names, nicknames, and the version with your middle initial. Property gets reported under whatever name the holder had on file at the moment contact was lost, which may be years or decades out of date. Searching under former addresses helps too, because it can connect you with accounts opened long ago at a place you’ve since moved from.² If you recognize an account as yours, you can begin the claim directly from the search results; the portal generates the right form and tells you what to upload.

What Kinds of Money End Up Here

Most unclaimed property in Florida falls into a few familiar categories: dormant checking and savings accounts, uncashed paychecks and refund checks, forgotten insurance proceeds, stock dividends, utility deposits, credit balances, and the contents of abandoned safe deposit boxes.² A final paycheck from a job you left, a security deposit a landlord never returned, or an old pension check that never reached you can all land in the state’s custody once the business or agency holding it loses touch with you for long enough.

What You Need to File a Claim

Every claim requires a legible copy of a valid driver’s license or other government-issued photo ID. If you don’t have a driver’s license, any photographic ID issued by the United States, a state, or a foreign government works. As a last resort, you can submit a notarized sworn statement affirming your identity, but the notary must verify your identity using one of those same forms of photo ID and include their full address on the statement.³ You may also be asked to verify your Social Security number or show a past connection to the company that reported the account.

Upload the completed form and supporting documents through the FL Treasure Hunt portal; that’s the fastest route. Once the department has a complete claim, it has 90 days to decide. If it asks for additional information, the 90-day clock restarts when your response arrives.⁴

Watch the mail carefully after you file. If the department requests more information and you don’t respond within 60 days, your claim is treated as withdrawn.³ That’s how most legitimate claimants lose out: they file, get a letter asking for one more document, and miss the deadline. Approved claims are paid by check or direct deposit for the full reported amount.

Claiming Property for a Deceased Relative

When the original owner has died, you’ll need a certified death certificate along with your own identification and a signed claim form. If the owner left a will, include a copy of it. Florida offers a simplified claim process that avoids full probate when no probate proceeding is open and the total unclaimed property held for that owner is $20,000 or less.⁵ The $20,000 cap is based on the aggregate value of all unclaimed accounts belonging to the deceased, not each account separately.

Above $20,000, heirs typically need to go through probate and provide court documentation establishing their entitlement. When the account had multiple owners and only one has died, the surviving co-owner can claim with a certified death certificate for the deceased owner and their own identification.²

Should You Use a Finder Company?

Companies called “finders” or “locators” send letters offering to recover unclaimed property for a cut of the proceeds. Florida caps that fee at 30 percent of the claimed amount, including all costs.⁶ If an agreement charges more, the department automatically reduces the fee to 30 percent and sends you the difference.

Most people don’t need a finder. The claim process is free and the portal was built so individuals can complete it in roughly 15 minutes. Paying someone $150 to file paperwork on a $500 refund is money you don’t need to spend. Finders earn their fee when the situation is genuinely complicated, such as a deceased relative’s estate with multiple heirs, or when the claimant can’t manage the paperwork themselves.

Spotting Scams

Not every letter or call about unclaimed money is real. The Florida Department of Financial Services has specifically warned that it will never contact you by text message about a claim.¹ Red flags to watch for:

Any request for an upfront fee. Florida’s claim process is free, and legitimate finders are paid out of the recovered funds, not before.
Urgency or deadline pressure. Unclaimed property in Florida is held indefinitely, so any message warning that “time is running out” is false.
Requests for bank credentials. The state pays claims through its own system; no third party needs your login.
Links in emails or texts claiming to be the state. Verify by typing FLTreasureHunt.gov into your browser instead of clicking.

If a finder letter looks legitimate, check that the company is registered with the department before signing anything.

Will You Owe Taxes on What You Recover?

Getting back the principal of your own money, such as a forgotten bank balance or an old paycheck, is generally not a taxable event; you’re receiving what was already yours. Interest the state paid while holding the property, however, counts as taxable income in the year you receive it.⁷ You may receive a Form 1099-INT if the interest portion reaches $10 or more.⁸

Larger or more complex recoveries, such as uncollected stock dividends or insurance proceeds, follow the tax treatment of the underlying asset. Dividends may be taxable as ordinary income in the year received. A tax professional can sort out what belongs on your return if you’re unsure.

Checking Other States and Federal Sources

If you’ve lived or worked outside Florida, money could be sitting in another state’s treasury. MissingMoney.com, managed by the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators, lets you search most participating states in one place.⁹ Not every state participates, so for full coverage, check the individual portal for each state you’ve had a connection to.

Federal money is tracked separately. The IRS “Where’s My Refund?” tool covers lost tax refunds, TreasuryHunt.gov searches matured U.S. savings bonds that have stopped earning interest, and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation runs a search tool for unclaimed pension benefits from former employers.¹⁰ Running the full set takes about 20 minutes and gives you a complete picture of what may be waiting.

1
Florida’s Unclaimed Property. Florida’s Unclaimed Property FLTreasureHunt.Gov
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Florida’s Unclaimed Property. FAQs
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The Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 717.124 – Unclaimed Property Claims
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Florida Senate. Florida Code 717.124 – Unclaimed Property Claims
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The Florida Legislature. Florida Statutes 717.1243
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Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 717.135 – Recovery Agreements and Purchase Agreements
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Internal Revenue Service. Publication 525 (2025), Taxable and Nontaxable Income
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Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Forms 1099-INT and 1099-OID
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National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators. National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators
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USAGov. How to Find Unclaimed Money From the Government