Free Money! Ohio Has Billions To Give Out And Some Of It Could Be Yours

Every state keeps a “lost and found” of unclaimed money and property.

One resource to check is missingmoney.com, which is free and endorsed by the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators.

Citizens can also go to a state website to claim the money or property owed to them.

For Ohio, that’s the Ohio Department of Commerce Division of Unclaimed Funds.

Here’s how it works:

“A bank account, rent or utility deposit, uncashed check, undelivered stock certificate or uncashed insurance policy are some of the unclaimed funds can come to the Ohio Department of Commerce Division of Unclaimed Funds. If there is no activity in the account for a period of time and the company cannot reach the account owner, the funds are reported to the Division for safekeeping. The Division works aggressively to track down the rightful owner and reunite that Ohioan with their hard-earned, but forgotten money.”

In fact, the department recently told News 5 Cleveland that Ohio is sitting on $3 billion in unclaimed money.

"It can be a bank account, stock or bond, utility deposit, last check from your previous employer," Akil Hardy, the Superintendent of the Ohio Division of Unclaimed Funds, told the station.

"There's no expiration date," he added. "By law, that money will stay with us until the rightful owner, or the heirs of those funds come to claim the money."

Think some of that money could be yours?

To find out if the state is holding onto any forgotten money for you, search your name on the Division of Unclaimed Funds website. The site will also walk you through filing a claim if a result pops up.

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the office will not accept walk-in customers and the process to review claims and mail checks could take longer than usual, the division noted on its website. Ohioans should plan to contact the office at 614-466-4433 or at unfdclaims.unfdclaims@com.state.oh.us.

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