Most commonly asked questions about locating unclaimed property owners in Georgia

MOST COMMONLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT
LOCATING UNCLAIMED PROPERTY OWNERS IN GEORGIA
Georgia Department of Revenue Unclaimed Property Section 270 Washington St., Room 404 Atlanta, Georgia 30334 (404) 656-4244

DOES GEORGIA HAVE A LIST OF UNCLAIMED PROPERTY OWNERS AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE? Yes. Georgia's list of unclaimed property owners is updated annually in July. The list contains all types of accounts over $ 50.00. Any account that has been paid to the owner or has a pending claim is not on the list. Information currently provided on the list includes the internal tracking number of the account, the owner's name, last known city and state and the company or bank that remitted the account to Georgia. TO PROTECT THE OWNER'S PRIVACY, NEITHER THE LAST KNOWN ADDRESS OR THE VALUE OF EACH OWNER ACCOUNT IS PROVIDED! The list is available on diskette and can be purchased for $ 50.00 from the Georgia Department of Revenue, Unclaimed Property Section. When placing your order, please send a cashier's check or money order payable to Georgia Unclaimed Property Section and to:
Georgia Department of Revenue Unclaimed Property Section 270 Washington St., Room 404 Atlanta, GA 30334 Personal checks are not accepted. Please allow ten working days to process your order. The request for this list does not have to made under Georgia's Open Records Act.
IF I AM INTERESTED PURSUING A CERTAIN ACCOUNT, CAN THE UNCLAIMED PROPERTY SECTION PROVIDE ME WITH THE DOLLAR VALUE, LAST KNOWN ADDRESS AND CLAIM STATUS OF ACCOUNTS THAT I MAY BE INTERESTED IN? No. The property value and the owner's last known address are not provided to protect the owner's privacy. The annually updated list deletes accounts that have been settled.
IF THE LIST IS ONLY UPDATED ONCE A YEAR, HOW WILL I KNOW IF AN ACCOUNT IS STILL AVAILABLE FOR CLAIM? The updated list will be the only source of available accounts. Most individuals will inform you if they have already filed a claim or received their money.
ARE THERE ANY LAWS REGARDING ASSET RECOVERY SERVICES IN GEORGIA? Yes. O.C.G.A. 44-12-224 states: 1. Agreements to pay compensation to assist in the recovery of unclaimed accounts are unenforceable
until the account has been in the state's possession for 24 months. 2. Fees charged to assist in the recovery of an unclaimed account cannot exceed 10%. 3. Payments for unclaimed accounts are made directly to the owner. Powers of Attorney from asset
recovery services are not recognized.

IF I FIND AN OWNER, WHAT IS THE NEXT STEP? You will need to provide the following information to our section: * Name and current mailing address of the claimant. * Name of the owner exactly as it appears on the list. * Owner's filing status (i.e. original owner, heir, trustee, company designee) * Owner identification number. Claim forms are mailed to the listed owner or heirs of a deceased owner. Claims for corporations or businesses are mailed to the company address to the attention of an officer or employee. WHAT INFORMATION WILL I NEED TO COMPLETE THE CLAIM FORM? You will not need to complete any portion of the form. The owner will complete the form and submit supporting documentation proving ownership to our office. WHAT HAPPENS AFTER THE CLAIM FORM IS SUBMITTED TO YOUR OFFICE? When the claimant returns the form and supporting documents, the package is reviewed by a Claims Examiner. If ownership of the account has been proven and the form is completed correctly, the claim is approved and a request for a check to be issued is sent to a designated office in the Department of Revenue. When checks are issued they are delivered to the Unclaimed Property Section and mailed immediately to the owner. This process can take up to ninety days. WILL THE STATE NOTIFY ME WHEN THE CHECK IS MAILED TO THE CLAIMANT? No. You will need to maintain close contact with your claimants to know when they receive their money.
CAN THE CHECK BE MADE PAYABLE TO ME? No. The money belongs to the claimant. WILL THE STATE ISSUE A SEPARATE CHECK TO ME? No. The State's obligation is to the rightful owner.
WHAT ASSURANCES DO I HAVE THAT I WILL GET MY FEE ONCE THE CLAIMANT RECEIVES PAYMENT?

Your rights of recourse are matters you should discuss with your attorney. MUST I OBTAIN A PRIVATE INVESTIGATORS LICENSE TO LOCATE OWNERS IN GEORGIA? It is not a function of our office to verify the need for a private investigators license. You should correspond with the Secretary of State's Private Investigator's Licensing Unit to ensure compliance with Georgia's laws in this area. IF I WANT TO RESEARCH THE NAMES OF FRIENDS AND FAMILY, DO I HAVE TO PURCHASE THE LIST? No. You can search the database for individual names by contacting our web site at http://www2.state.ga.us/departments/dor/ptd.
We hope this information is beneficial to you. If you have additional questions, please contact our section at (404) 656-4244.