New Jersey Unclaimed Funds

New Jersey is currently holding over $4 billion in unclaimed funds!

The Unclaimed Property Administration (UPA) recovers and records abandoned or lost intangible and tangible property.

The UPA’s goal is to return this property to the rightful owner and/or heirs. NJ Unclaimed Property Statute states that property owners never relinquish the right to this property and that the UPA acts as a custodian until the property is returned.

Unclaimed property consists of many types of intangible and tangible properties that have remained unclaimed by its rightful owner for a specific period of time. The abandonment period for each type of property is defined by New Jersey’s Unclaimed Property Statute.


Unclaimed Property statutes were established to protect property owners from businesses, banks, and other financial institutions taking ownership of stale property in the owner’s name.

It is common that in the normal course of business that individuals or businesses lose track of either checks that were issued to them or bank holdings. State Unclaimed Property laws define abandonment periods for these different types of property. Once property reaches the defined abandonment period with no activity the Holder of this property will turn the property over to the State.

After property is escheated to the State the reported property owner never relinquishes ownership. If property is not claimed it remains in the Unclaimed Property Trust Fund in perpetuity or until a valid claim is submitted and processed.

The UPA has an Outreach section whose entire purpose is reuniting abandoned property with their owners through various outreach initiatives. These initiatives include mass mailings, media campaigns, and their presence at state fairs, community centers, and other public locations throughout the year. The UPA also advertises newly abandoned property in newspapers throughout the state twice a year and subscribes a searchable web application that accepts online claim submissions,

A search can be completed by going to the web page missingmoney.com and following the instructions for locating property.

If the property you located on missingmoney.com lists an address that was a previous residence of yours then it is likely property belonging to you. If the address listed is not one of your previous addresses then it does not belong to you. When submitting a claim on property that was a previous address you will be required to provide proof you resided at the address.

If you submitted an electronic claim through missingmoney.com nothing further is needed at this time. Upon the UPA’s review of your claim, you will be sent a claim packet which details the unclaimed property being held as well as a request for documentation to establish ownership/identity. Please read the packet carefully, fill out completely, and follow any instructions that are provided.

The only way to learn the property(s) value is to formally file a claim on the property(s). When the UPA reviews the claim submission and determines that it is valid, a claim packet will be issued to the claimant. The packet will include all the property(s) details including dollar value and origin.

After a claim is submitted to the Unclaimed Property Administration (UPA), the UPA issues a claim packet detailing the property you’re attempting to claim. Proving ownership can be established by providing our office with the detailed documentation that is requested in your claim packet.

Interest is calculated starting from the date the property was escheated to the Unclaimed Property Administration (UPA) and ending on the date the UPA approves the return of the property to the rightful owner(s).

Did you know you can make money finding unclaimed money for other people?

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