The Tennessee Department of Treasury, Unclaimed Property Division returned a record $125 million of missing cash money to the rightful owners or their heirs during fiscal year 2025. This milestone is double the $62.5 million paid out last year, and exceeds the previous record of $68.7 million by more than 80%.
The Division also processed an unprecedented number of individual claims. From July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025, over 168,000 claims were paid, more than doubling the previous high of 78,305 in FY 2024.
Unclaimed property is money that has been turned over to the State by businesses and organizations unable to locate the rightful owners, such as utility refunds, uncashed paychecks, credit balances for overpayments, rental deposit refunds, gift certificates, securities, and abandoned bank accounts. The Unclaimed Property program, authorized by the Tennessee General Assembly, is a consumer protection program of the Department of Treasury that works to reunite this missing money with its rightful owner.
“This fiscal year has been extraordinary for our Unclaimed Property Division, and it highlights the dedication and hard work of our team, and the innovative methods they have found to get more missing money back into Tennesseans’ bank accounts,” State Treasurer David H. Lillard, Jr. said. “Achieving these historic benchmarks is truly rewarding and a testament to our unwavering commitment to reuniting the rightful owners with their lost funds.”
Tennesseans will soon have a chance to check for missing money in-person. The Unclaimed Property Division has added one of its largest outreach events ever to this year’s schedule. We’ll have a tent at The University of Tennessee, Knoxville football game against East Tennessee State University (ETSU) on Saturday, Sept. 6, in Vol Village tailgate area outside Neyland Stadium.
It only takes a minute to search your name, and Tennesseans have located hundreds, and even thousands of dollars in missing money at past events. With millions of dollars available to claim, anyone attending the game is encouraged to stop by the Unclaimed Property tent to search ClaimItTN.gov for missing money. If property is found, the owner can file a claim on the spot. About 70% of claims are paid in as little as two weeks, on average.
• What: Unclaimed Property Division representatives will be on-hand at the UT vs. ETSU game to help reunite Tennesseans with their missing money, and assist with the claims process.
• When: Noon – 3:30 p.m. ET (Game starts at 3:30 p.m. ET) Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025
• Where: Vol Village public tailgate area at Neyland Stadium, located at Humanities Plaza on Volunteer Boulevard, across from the Torchbearer statue.
Outreach events are among the many methods the Division uses to locate owners of unclaimed property, including mailing letters to the address provided when the property was turned over from the business (holder), sending letters to employers of potential claimants whose Social Security Number has been matched with records from the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development, and automatically sending missing funds to rightful owners the Division has been able to independently verify. On average, the Unclaimed Property Division sends hundreds of thousands of letters each year to potential claimants. If you have received a letter, you can verify the information by searching the portal at ClaimItTN.gov.