Unclaimed Property Administration Initiates Campaign to Return Assets to NJ Local Governments

A new initiative by the Treasury aims to reconnect 350 municipal and county governments with their unclaimed properties, boosting local services.

The Unclaimed Property Administration (UPA), an extension of the New Jersey Department of the Treasury, has launched a broad outreach campaign to reunite counties and municipalities in New Jersey with their unclaimed property. As a part of this campaign, UPA plans to proactively contact 350 municipal and county governments whose unclaimed property is currently in the State's safekeeping.

The unclaimed properties include items like vendor checks, credit balances, and other outstanding payments. 

"UPA's new targeted effort to reconnect counties and municipalities with their unclaimed property will benefit all residents who rely on local services provided by their communities," said State Treasurer Elizabeth Maher Muoio. "The Unclaimed Property Administration is on pace to return a record number of claims to their rightful owners this year, and we applaud its ongoing efforts to increase outreach."

Steve Harris, Unclaimed Property Administrator, added that unclaimed property isn't limited to individual bank accounts or unreturned utility deposits. "We also encourage businesses, nonprofits, and local governments to use our free online search tool to check for any unclaimed property," he suggested.

The outreach to local governments supplements the UPA's annual efforts to reunite individuals with their unclaimed property. The UPA employs an Outreach Team dedicated to helping reunite owners with their abandoned properties through a variety of initiatives, such as mass mailings, media campaigns, and public event participation.

Collaboration with legislative district offices allows for further outreach, reaching over 24,000 people last year. A yearly ad published in newspapers across New Jersey includes names of individuals whose property was turned over to the State in the past year, with nearly 225,000 names in the last year's ad.

The unclaimed properties often belong to owners who have moved or passed away, making these outreach efforts and the state database integral in reuniting these properties with their rightful owners. In the Fiscal Year 2023 alone, the UPA has returned $175 million to approximately 66,000 rightful owners. Since the program's inception, it has returned a total of $2.4 billion.

New Jersey's UPA serves as a safeguard for properties that have been abandoned or lost for three years. This can range from bank accounts and utility deposits to insurance payouts and tangible property.

Residents and organizations can search for unclaimed property for free at any time on the UPA's website: unclaimedproperty.nj.gov.