ANNAPOLIS — Some Southern Maryland residents may have found a check from the state in their mailbox this past year without ever asking for it. Others may still have money waiting.
The Comptroller of Maryland returned more than $103 million in unclaimed property in the first year of its modernized system, which launched in October 2025, Comptroller Brooke E. Lierman announced Oct. 15. That is up from $79 million in the year before the new system went live.
Unclaimed property is money owed to someone that a business or institution could not deliver, such as uncashed checks, insurance proceeds, forgotten dividends and dormant bank accounts. After a period of inactivity, holders turn it over to the state, which keeps it until the owner claims it.
“Marylanders should not have to jump through hoops to get money that belongs to them,” Lierman said.
Checks without a claim
The biggest change for residents is Quick Pay. For unclaimed property worth less than $5,000, the agency now verifies an owner’s mailing address and sends a check automatically, with no claim form required.
In the system’s first year, the comptroller’s office paid:
- 32,254 automatic Quick Pay checks, totaling $11.6 million
- 68,571 regular claims, totaling $91.5 million
- 100,825 paid claims in all, more than double the 43,606 paid in the same period before the new system
The new Kelmar Abandoned Property System replaced a decades-old database with an online portal where people can submit documents electronically and check the status of a claim at any hour. Filing is free. The Chronicle reported on the faster claims process in February.
Since Lierman took office in 2023, the agency has returned more than $264 million in unclaimed property, her office said. The release did not break down payouts by county.
How to check
Residents can search their name, and the names of family members or a business, at ClaimItMD.gov and file a claim online. Claiming property through the state is free, so residents do not need to pay a third-party “finder” to recover it.
