How Do You Claim Unclaimed Property in Georgia?

The Georgia rule in one table

| Official program | Georgia Department of Revenue, Unclaimed Property Program | | Search page | dor.georgia.gov/unclaimed-property-program | | Claim account | Register at gaclaims.unclaimedproperty.com, linked from the Department page | | Fee to search and claim | Free, per the Department search page | | Payment | Paper check mailed to the registered address; claims cannot be paid electronically | | Locator-fee limit | 10 percent, per the Department FAQ | | Processing time | Not stated on the Department pages read for this guide | | Claim deadline | Not stated on the Department pages read for this guide |

What Georgia holds

Unclaimed Property may be wages, savings accounts, customer refunds, insurance payments, shares of stock, US savings bonds, escrow funds, and even the contents of safe deposit boxes. If an owner does not claim an item within a set amount of time, the property must be reported to the state, and the state maintains a database where the owner can search for and claim it. The Unclaimed Property Program does not serve as custodian over real estate; for land ownership, the Department FAQ directs callers to the tax commissioner in the county where the parcel is located.

For US savings bonds, the Department FAQ states that the Department has filed court documents to receive unclaimed US savings bonds as a custodian, that the judicial process is ongoing, and that it suggests visiting the US Treasury's website at treasurydirect.gov to search for unclaimed US savings bonds in the meantime.

The process, step by step

1. Search by name to find unclaimed property. All that is needed to begin is a name; adding the city narrows the search results. To search on behalf of an estate, use the decedent's name and Social Security Number or the estate's Federal Employer Identification Number. To search on behalf of a Georgia business, use the company name and FEIN.
2. Submit a claim. Register for an account: there is no cost to register, and claim status can be viewed online. A claim can be submitted for yourself, a business, or as an heir or executor. To submit a claim on behalf of an estate or business, a printed Claim Form is required, and it may need additional documentation.
3. Receive the claim in the mail. A paper check is mailed to the address the claimant registered when filing the claim. Claims cannot be paid electronically.

Locators and third parties

The Department FAQ states that sending money to a company to assist in locating unclaimed property is not needed: the State of Georgia provides a quick, easy, and free way to locate and collect unclaimed property. It also states that it is not necessary to contract with an asset recovery service, because the accounts will eventually be delivered to the state for safekeeping and the program will hold and return the property at no charge. Fees charged to assist in recovery cannot exceed 10 percent.

Third parties face a further limit. Department staff are legally prevented from communicating with entities who have no interest in a property. Third parties must provide a validly executed Unclaimed Property Power of Attorney, form UP-1061, before staff may discuss another owner's claim or property. The Department also states that only the owner may search online for property in which the owner has an interest, and recommends referring friends and family to the online tool to search for their own property.

Since July 1, 2024, Georgia law allows the use of a registered unclaimed property location service, listed on the Department program page as the Claimant Designated Representative Location Service. Registration does not change the free direct route: the Department program returns property at no charge to an owner who claims directly.

Claiming in the other states

Unclaimed property rules follow the same shape in every state, but the portal, the proof, and the wait change at the state line. See How to Claim Unclaimed Property in Florida and How to Claim Unclaimed Property in New York. For all states side by side, see the Unclaimed Property by State directory.

Source

Sources: Georgia Department of Revenue, Unclaimed Property program page at dor.georgia.gov (property types, holder reporting duty, location-service date); Georgia Department of Revenue, Search for and Claim my Property page at dor.georgia.gov (free search and claim, name and city search, estate and business search needs, claim account, printed Claim Form for estate and business claims, paper-check payment, no electronic payment); Georgia Department of Revenue, Unclaimed Property FAQ at dor.georgia.gov (no need to pay a locator, 10 percent fee limit, UP-1061 third-party rule, no real-estate custody, savings-bond direction to TreasuryDirect). Facts verified 2026-11-03. Open flags: (1) no processing-time figure was verified on Department pages this run, so none is stated; (2) no claim deadline was verified on Department pages this run, so none is stated; (3) no dormancy period was verified on Department pages this run, so none is stated; (4) no document list for an individual owner claim was verified on Department pages this run, so none is stated; (5) the claim-account step numbering on the Department search page leaves one step blank in the page text, so this guide describes the steps without relying on that numbering.

This page explains how the process works and what the official rules say. It is general information, not legal advice. For a dispute about your specific situation, talk to the Georgia Department of Revenue, Unclaimed Property Program.