Vermont is currently holding over $94 million in unclaimed money and property in over 500,000 accounts statewide. Their website offers lots of good information on missing money which seems to be updated regularly. In fiscal year ’19, a record number of claims were paid out with over 18,000 current and former residents getting their money back. The amount was a little lower than the previous year at $6 million returned, which is an average of $334 per claim. The state totals continue to grow year to year with over $12 million turned over to the state in the same period.
Claiming Unclaimed Property in Vermont
Vermont’s unclaimed money searching and claiming process is one of the more challenging. They do offer a searchable database, which is easy to navigate. The search results show basic information such as name of the owner and address. There is some indication of the amount, but it is not very clear. It states if the amount is less than $1 and $10. There is a (*) if the amount is less than $200, which leads us to assume matches with no indication must be more than $200. However it doesn’t state that anywhere on the website we could find.
Filing a claim can also be a bit of a hassle as the website does not allow you to submit claims online. They do allow you to enter information which will be entered into a claim form and mailed to you within a week. We recommend just printing a form here and filling out the information, it will save you a weeks worth of time waiting for a form you will still have to fill out.
For claims less than $200 you need to simply sign and provide copies of ID and proof of residence. If this was an old address and you don’t have proof of residence, you still must submit a letter to that effect with approximate dates you lived at the address on the claim. These lesser amounts are considered express claims and the website says they take just 5 business days to process. For claims more than $200 you will need the form to be notarized.
Phone: (802) 828-2407
Website: https://secure2.vermonttreasurer.gov/unclaimed/ownerSearch.asp