Claim Money, Property MD Owes You Via Faster Online Form

ANNAPOLIS, MD — Money and the rights to real estate, life insurance policies and other valuables that belong to Marylanders may be sitting in government accounts, and the state comptroller's office has added a digital claim form to help speed the process for filing for assets.

Comptroller Brooke Lierman said residents can now file a claim form digitally via Maryland OneStop, the central hub for Maryland state licenses, forms, certificates, permits, applications, and registrations.

In Maryland, unclaimed money found in old investment accounts, stocks, bonds and forgotten safety deposit boxes eventually makes its way to the Office of the Comptroller. From there, the Unclaimed Property Division works to reunite Marylanders with their money. That list can be searched online via a newly updated website.

“Marylanders who find their name of the Unclaimed Property list can now file their claims faster and more easily on Maryland OneStop,” Lierman said in a news release.

Last year, the office returned more than $80 million in unclaimed money to Marylanders, however, 1.5 million unclaimed property accounts remain. Individuals may claim property that belongs to them, businesses, organizations, decreased owners, estates, joint accounts, or on behalf of another person by submitting the Unclaimed Property Claim for (COT-ST912).

Claimants must provide appropriate documentation to validate their relationship to the original owner.

If a claimant doesn’t have access to Maryland OneStop, they can create an account by doing the following:

Create a OneStop Account

You must register an account with Maryland OneStop in order to access and submit this form. If you have previously created a OneStop account for a different Maryland government program, you may login to that same account.

Make sure to include the Claim Number

All unclaimed property is assigned a claim number by the Comptroller of Maryland. You must include the appropriate claim number from the Online Unclaimed Property Search Tool for your submission to be considered by the agency.

Upload all necessary documents

You will be required to upload scanned copies of your driver's license or government-issued ID as well as your Social Security Card or another identification that shows your social security number. You may also wish to upload additional documents to support your claim. Please make sure to have these documents readily available to include with your submission.

Submit form

Complete all required fields of information on the form and submit for review by the Comptroller of Maryland. If you have any questions about the program or your submission, you may contact unclaim@marylandtaxes.gov or 410-767-1700.

When the claim is received, the Unclaimed Property Division will review the claim and determine if additional information is needed. The processing could take up to eight weeks to complete.

Those who prefer to file a paper claim may download and complete the form and mail it to Comptroller of Maryland, Unclaimed Property Division, 301 W. Preston St., Room 310, Baltimore, MD 21201. The Unclaimed Property Division may be reached by phone at 410-767-1700.

Unclaimed property could include long-forgotten bank accounts, stocks or jewelry left in safety deposit boxes or other items of quality.

Nearly 33 million people in the United States — 1 in every 7 — has unclaimed property: financial accounts or items of value in which the owner has not been active for several years, according to the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators.

The owners or their legitimate heirs can claim the funds at any time. There is no statute of limitations.

You can also conduct a nationwide search by state using the NAUPA and MissingMoney websites.
The U.S. government lacks a central website to find unclaimed funds. To search for unclaimed money that may be lying in a different state's treasury, check this list of treasurer's offices.

If you don't have money lying in the state treasury, the government also suggests checking for unclaimed funds from bank failures or unclaimed deposits from credit union closures. You could also check for unclaimed or undelivered tax refunds or a refund from an FHA-insured mortgage.

Finally, you can check for unclaimed back wages, pension money or life insurance funds. Here is how to find out how to search for these unclaimed funds.