Missouri handed back nearly $61 million in unclaimed property during fiscal 2026, the most the state treasurer’s office has ever returned in one year. The office still holds more than $1.5 billion in more than 10 million accounts that nobody has claimed. State Treasurer Vivek Malek says about 1 in 10 Missourians has money waiting, according to the treasurer’s announcement.
Third straight record year
The $61 million tops the $57.8 million returned in fiscal 2025. It is the third year in a row of record returns since Malek took office in 2023, the treasurer’s office says. Malek called the office “an office of giving” and said many Missourians do not know they have unclaimed property, so returning it is part of the office’s duty.
The money comes from the places where cash gets forgotten. The office lists uncashed checks, dormant bank accounts, stocks and bonds, safe deposit box contents, insurance benefits, government refunds, utility deposits and past wages. It also holds more than 100 military medals and insignia.
What sits in the $1.5 billion
The state keeps the money until the owner or an heir asks for it. The treasurer’s homepage lists the pile at $1.5 billion. The announcement puts the average return close to $300, so the typical claim is modest, not a windfall.
The treasurer’s August auction shows the other end of the pile. The 2026 unclaimed property auction in Columbia on Aug. 27 and 28 brought in $674,342, breaking the previous sales record of $319,712, Howell County News reported. The items come from about 1,000 safe deposit boxes a year that banks hand to the treasurer after five years of inactivity. The sale money stays with the office, and the owner or an heir can claim it at any time.
For a Missouri household, the practical question is whether one of those 10 million accounts carries a family name, an old address or a late relative’s name.
Missouri’s $1.5 billion is one state’s share, and anyone who has lived, worked or banked elsewhere may have a balance in another state’s unclaimed property office. The Settlement & Refund Recovery System includes a 5-tab Excel tracker pre-filled with all 51 state unclaimed-property offices, so each search and claim gets recorded in one place.
Get the 51-office unclaimed-property tracker in the Recovery System →
How a Missouri search works
Treasurer Malek’s office says to search and file claims online at ShowMeMoney.com. The treasurer’s unclaimed property page has a search tool, a claim status page called Track Your Claim, and a claimant login. It also links annual county lists of account owners and a “Saw Your Name In The Paper” feature.
The page says the office “never charges to return Unclaimed Property.” That matters, because a number of outside companies advertise help finding the same money for a cut. The state does the return itself at no charge.
Questions go to the office by phone at (573) 751-0123, between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m., or by mail to P.O. Box 210, Jefferson City, MO 65102.
Claims for a relative who has died
Heirs can claim money that belonged to a person who has died. The state’s page links a Table of Heirship, which the page offers for heir claims, along with a W-9 tax form and a corporate affidavit for company claims. The page does not say when each form is needed, and the office phone line is the way to ask.
The same rule applies to safe deposit box items. The announcement mentions box contents among the types of property held, and the Howell County News report says the owner or an heir can claim sale proceeds at any time.
Searching for money in the state’s name
The state treasurer’s site is the free place to start, and a claim that is approved is paid without a fee. A search works best with every spelling of a name in the household, including maiden names, nicknames and the names of late parents or spouses, and with each address where the person has lived.
A hit shows the holder of the money, such as a bank or insurer, the type of property and a reported amount. Before starting a claim, it helps to gather a photo ID, the old address that matches the listing, and for an heir, a death certificate and papers showing the relationship.
After a claim is filed, the Track Your Claim page on the treasurer’s site shows its status. Households that moved to Missouri from another state, or moved away, can repeat the same search with the treasurer or comptroller in that state, since each state keeps its own list.
Missouri’s list covers only Missouri’s $1.5 billion
A name that came up empty in Missouri can still be on a list in the state where a paycheck, utility deposit or bank account once sat. The Settlement & Refund Recovery System has the source vault of 12 official places money sits, and its tracker is pre-filled with all 51 state unclaimed-property offices, across a 50-page system.
Search the other 50 state lists with the source vault and tracker →
This article was produced with AI assistance and edited for accuracy against the sources linked above.
