Hey, so, who is ready for some good news?

You might have free money. Chloé here, and yes, I said free money.

You might have free money. Chloé here, and yes, I said free money.

Gif by Giphy

Anyone with a last-known address in Tennessee may have unclaimed money that the state is holding. It could be an old utility deposit you forgot about or an old payroll check that didn’t make it to an address before you moved.

If a company tries to send the money but it doesn’t make it, that money goes to The Tennessee Department of Treasury’s Unclaimed Property Division.

Then, the state tries to find the rightful owner.

If that person has died, the appropriate family member can claim it. There is no time limit for residents to make claims.

Officials with the Unclaimed Property Division are taking a road trip across the state to raise awareness about the program. They aren’t coming to Chattanooga (what are we, chopped liver?), but now that you know about the program, all you have to do is go online and check.

Click here for the state’s unclaimed money search, and from there, click the blue rectangular button that says, “Search for your unclaimed property online.” 💰
For an individual, enter your last name where it says, “Owner name.”
Prove you aren’t a robot. 🤖
Next, pick the city you want to search.
Search the list of names to see if your name is there. If it is, click your name and see how much you are owed. If it’s not, you can try to search for another city or last name. 🕵️
Once you find your money, there’s a short form that asks you for your social security + driver’s license number, along with a bit more basic information.
Type that info in to make your claim.
From there, state officials go through a due diligence process to make sure the right person is claiming the money. Claims can take about eight to 10 weeks to process. ⌚

Although I didn’t find any this year, I have found unclaimed money in my name several times, including last year.

This is an example of the state’s search tool that allows people to see if they are owed unclaimed money. | Screenshot