There may be money with your name on it sitting in a state account right now, and it's free to get it back.

Georgia is holding about $3.3 billion in unclaimed property: forgotten bank accounts, final paychecks that were never cashed, utility deposits from old apartments, insurance payments, refunds and more. Some of it belongs to people in Columbus.

How much? An analysis of the state's unclaimed-property file by Reclaim Georgia, a company registered with the Georgia Department of Revenue, found 10,817 records worth more than $500 each, totaling $25.4 million, for people and businesses whose last known address was in Columbus. The typical one is worth about $1,000. That doesn't count the thousands of smaller amounts under $500.

Checking takes about two minutes. Here's how to do it, what you might find, and the mistakes to avoid.

Step 1: Go to the state's official search site

Visit gaclaims.unclaimedproperty.com. That's the Georgia Department of Revenue's official unclaimed property site, linked from the department's website.

Searching is free. Claiming is free. You never have to pay anyone to get your own money back from the state.

Step 2: Search every name you've used, and your family's

Type your last name and first name and search. Then try again with:

• Your maiden name or any earlier last names
• Nicknames or shortened names ("Bob" and "Robert," "Liz" and "Elizabeth")
• Common misspellings. Companies sometimes report names wrong
• Your business name, if you've ever owned or run one
• Your parents, grandparents, spouse and other relatives, especially anyone who has died
• Your church, club, school booster group or nonprofit, if you handle its money

Look at the city on each result. If you've ever lived in Phenix City, on Fort Benning, in Atlanta or anywhere else in Georgia, results listed under those addresses may be yours too.

Step 3: File your claim

When you find something that's yours:

1. Select the property and choose to file a claim.
2. Register. It's free and lets you track your claim online.
3. Upload your documents. The state may ask for a photo ID and proof of your address or Social Security number. What you need depends on the claim. The state says uploading everything up front speeds things up.
4. Download your claim form for your records. The site gives you a copy and emails one to you.
5. Watch your mail. According to the Department of Revenue, most claims are paid within 30 days, though it can take up to 90. Claims are paid by paper check, mailed to the address on your claim.

How Columbus compares

Reclaim Georgia compared 10 Georgia cities using the state's file. Counting only records worth more than $500:

Columbus residents are owed more than people in Augusta, Macon or Athens, by this count.

What kind of money it is

Here's the mix for Columbus addresses, compared with Georgia as a whole, according to Reclaim Georgia's analysis:

Why that matters: insurance money is the biggest category in Columbus, more than the state average. Insurance payouts are often listed under the policyholder's name or the name of the person who died, not the person who should receive the money. So search the names of parents, grandparents and spouses who have passed away, not just your own.

How money ends up with the state

Businesses don't keep unclaimed money forever. Georgia law requires them to turn it over to the state after it sits untouched, with no contact from the owner, for a set amount of time. Then the state holds it until the owner claims it, with no deadline.

How long before it goes to the state in Georgia:

The most common ways money gets lost:

• You moved and the company couldn't find you. A deposit or final bill credit from an old apartment, power company or cable company is a classic example.
• You left a job and your last paycheck or reimbursement never reached you.
• You overpaid a doctor's office, insurer or store, and the refund check went to an old address.
• Your bank merged or closed, and a small account was forgotten.
• A relative died with a life insurance policy, bank account or stock the family didn't know about.

New money arrives every fall

Businesses must report unclaimed property to Georgia by Nov. 1 each year (insurance companies by May 1). That means new money is added to the state's database every year. If you don't find anything today, search again after November and make it a once-a-year habit.

New this year: some checks arrive automatically

Georgia passed a new law this year, Senate Bill 403, sponsored by state Sen. Kay Kirkpatrick. It passed both chambers without a single "no" vote, Gov. Brian Kemp signed it, and it took effect July 1, 2026.

It sets up an "exact match" program: the Department of Revenue compares its unclaimed property records with state tax records. When it finds a sure match, it can send the money automatically for amounts of $500 or less, without the owner filing a claim.

So if you get a check from the Georgia Department of Revenue for unclaimed property, it may be real. But don't wait for one. Automatic payments cover only smaller amounts with an exact match. For anything bigger, or anything under an old name or address, you still have to search and claim.

Watch out for "finders" and scams

You may get a letter from a company offering to find or recover your unclaimed money for a fee. These companies are called claimant designated representatives, or "finders." Since July 2024, they must register with the Department of Revenue, and state rules cap their fee at 30% of the money recovered unless a court approves more.

Finders are legal, but you don't need one. On a $1,000 claim, a 30% fee would cost you $300 to collect money you can claim yourself, free, in minutes.

Red flags that mean scam:

• Someone asks for an upfront fee or a "processing" or "release" fee
• Someone calls or texts asking for your bank account or Social Security number
• A website that isn't a .gov site or the state's official claims site says it's "the state"

When in doubt, go straight to gaclaims.unclaimedproperty.com yourself.

If something goes wrong

The Department of Revenue says:

• You got a notice but can't find the property online: email the Unclaimed Property section at [email protected] with the owner's name, the company that reported it and the amount.
• Your check never arrived or got lost: contact the Unclaimed Property section to ask for a reissue. Include the payee, claim number, check amount and your contact information.
• Helping someone else with their claim: state staff can't discuss another person's property unless you have a signed Unclaimed Property Power of Attorney form.

Check other states, too

If you've ever lived, worked or banked somewhere else, search that state too. MissingMoney.com, endorsed by the national association of state unclaimed-property programs, searches many states at once, and unclaimed.org links to every state's official site.

Nationwide, states returned more than $4.2 billion to owners in the year ending June 30, 2025, according to the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators.

A few other places money hides

• Old savings bonds: the U.S. Treasury's Treasury Hunt tool at treasurydirect.gov
• Life insurance from a relative: the NAIC Life Insurance Policy Locator at naic.org
• Old 401(k)s and pensions: the U.S. Department of Labor's Retirement Savings Lost and Found database

Try it now: gaclaims.unclaimedproperty.com. It takes about two minutes, it's free, and you might be surprised. Then send this to a parent or grandparent, since older relatives are often the ones with forgotten accounts and insurance policies.

Found money? Tell us at columbustimes.com/contact. We may feature reader stories, with your permission.