Unclaimed Property

The documentation required to complete a claim varies, depending on who is claiming the property (the owner or a legal representative of the owner) and the type of property being claimed. There will be instructions specific to your claim on your claim forms. However, if additional information is required to process your claim, a return team member will contact you. Your claim cannot be processed until we receive all the necessary information. Please remember to sign your claim forms.

To receive assistance from a claims representative, call 1.800.222.2046 from 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM, Monday – Friday, or e-mail tupmail@patreasury.gov.

The Bureau of Unclaimed Property will honor personal Powers of Attorney as long as we receive a certified copy of the POA, signed by the owner. The POA may execute the claim forms on behalf of the owner. Please note, the Bureau of Unclaimed Property requires all powers of attorney submitted to comply with 20 Pa C.S.A. Section 5601. Therefore, each power of attorney will need the required notice signed by the principal and required acknowledgement executed by the agent.

If you initiated a claim on Treasury’s Web site, you are issued a webinquiry ID with your personal email address that allows you to follow the progress of your claim online here.

If you initiated your claim over the phone or by mail, you can speak with one of our claims representatives by calling 1.800.222.2046 from 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM, Monday – Friday, or e-mail tupmail@patreasury.gov.

Proof of ownership is usually established by address or Social Security verification, or, in some cases, presentation of the original property. Sometimes, the claimant is not able to verify that he or she lived at the last known address that was reported to the Bureau of Unclaimed Property. In these cases, the Bureau of Unclaimed Property will do everything we can to assist you in establishing ownership. If the Bureau of Unclaimed Property is not successful in finding a connection to an old address, you may be asked to do further research, such as contacting a former school district, tax bureau, or church. When all efforts have been exhausted and ownership cannot be proven, you may be required to obtain a letter of verification from the company that reported the property. The Bureau of Unclaimed Property takes into consideration other factors that may lead to payment of the claim. In most instances, claims of this nature are reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

Personal identification information relating to unclaimed property claimants, including Social Security numbers, is confidential. The Treasury Department does not make such information available to the public or to third parties engaged in business as “finders” of unclaimed, lost, or abandoned property.

Treasury makes available publicly advertised lists of owners of unclaimed property. These lists do not contain the amounts of the property or the Social Security numbers of owners.

Treasury is required by the Disposition of Abandoned and Unclaimed Property Act to sell all shares after being reported by a holder. According to Section 1301.17(e) of the DAUPA, “The State Treasurer shall be required to sell all stocks, bonds and other negotiable financial instruments upon receipt of such items. The State Treasurer shall not be held liable for any loss or gain in the value that the financial instrument would have obtained had the financial instrument been held instead of being sold.”

If the owner of the property is deceased, unclaimed property claims can be paid under certain conditions.

If the unclaimed property is valued at $11,000 or less and it has been at least five (5) years since a personal representative to the estate was appointed, the property may be paid to the surviving spouse, child, parent, or sibling of the decedent (preference given in that order), provided the owner died a resident of Pennsylvania, 20 Pa. C.S.A. Section 3101 (e).

The person claiming the property must be appointed personal representative to the estate by the court (and will be required to present a short certificate) under any the following conditions: If the property is valued at over $11,000, it has been less than five (5) years since the appointment of a personal representative, or no estate exists and you are a niece, nephew, grandchild, or other relative.

If the owner died intestate (without a will), an administrator may be appointed by the Register of Wills office in the county where the decedent resided. A claimant may petition the Register of Wills to be appointed as the administrator. The administrator is responsible for distributing the decedent’s estate according to 20 Pa. C.S.A. Section 3101 (e). The Register of Wills may grant Letters of Administration (sometimes called a short certificate) which BUP may use to validate the appointed administrator.

If the owner died testate (with a will), the executor must place the will on file with the Register of Wills, who will in turn grant Letters Testamentary (sometimes called a short certificate). The decedent’s estate is distributed by the executor according to the will.

Please contact the Bureau of Unclaimed Property by calling 1.800.222.2046 from 8:00 AM - 5:00 PM, Monday – Friday, or e-mail tupmail@patreasury.gov to obtain information specific to the deceased owner. 

If the owner’s estate is still open or the property is over $11,000, a short certificate is required. A short certificate (sometimes called Letters of Administration or Letters Testamentary) is a certification that an estate proceeding is on record in the Register of Wills office in the county where the decedent was legally domiciled at the time of death. A short certificate can only be issued if the estate exists.  The decedent’s will must be probated or an administrator appointed by the Register of Wills.

If the decedent properly completed the claim prior to his death, BUP will issue the check to the decedent, as long as the bank will allow it to be deposited into the estate account. If the decedent died intestate (without a will), then a personal representative must be appointed and file a claim with BUP. (Please refer to the question/answer above “What if the deceased owner died without a will?”).

A short certificate is a certification that an estate proceeding is on record in the Register of Wills office. This document can also be referred to as Letters of Administration or Letters Testamentary.

A Relationship by Entitlement to Decedent Owner Affidavit is a document that is sometimes used by the Bureau of Unclaimed Property to transfer unclaimed property to a decedent’s heir. It can be used when:

• The owner died without an estate or the estate has been closed for more than five years since the estate was opened.

• The total value of the property is less than $11,000

• The owner was a legal resident of Pennsylvania at the time of death.

• The claimant is the surviving spouse, child, parent, or sibling (preference given in that order). If the claimant is not the surviving spouse, child, parent, or sibling, a short certificate is required.

The Decedents, Estates and Fiduciaries Code, 20 Pa. C.S.A. Section 3101 (e)(2)(i), requires that a certified death certificate must be presented.  In addition, the Pennsylvania Department of Health prohibits the copying of certified death certificates.