The Unclaimed Property Unit of the Department of Revenue has the mission of executing Georgia’s Unclaimed Property Act, which protects the rights of owners of abandoned property.

Banks and financial organizations, insurance companies, utilities, and other businesses are required to remit abandoned property to the state when they have held it for a specific length of time.

"Recent media articles indicated that large sums of money are stored at our location. This is simply not true," Kelli Womack, Program Manager of the Unclaimed Property Unit said.

Cash and revenue generated from the periodic auctioning of tangible unclaimed property is immediately deposited in the state’s general treasury. With proper documentation a check is issued from the treasury when the legal owner of the property comes forward to claim the property or is located by personnel in the Unclaimed Property Unit.

The time that must elapse for property to be determined "abandoned" and turned over to the state varies depending on the type of property.

The Unclaimed Property Unit maintains a by name list of unclaimed property owners on the Department of Revenue website. The list is located at http://services.dor.ga.gov/unclaimedproperty/main.aspx.

For more information visit http://www.etax.dor.ga.gov/ptd/ucp/index.shtml or call (404)968-0490.