The City of Gainesville adheres to the State of Florida Governing Statute – Chapter 717 for Unclaimed Property
Unclaimed Property is a financial asset that has been left inactive, unclaimed or abandoned by its owner; most often consisting of uncashed checks. These unclaimed assets are held by the reporting entity (City of Gainesville) for a set period of time, vendor checks are held for five years and payroll checks are held for a year. If the holder is unable to locate and re-establish contact with the owner, the asset is reported and remitted to the Florida Department of Financial Services, Bureau of Unclaimed Property.
The Bureau keeps record of all information provided by the holder, including the owner name, last known address, Social Security number, dollar amount and any beneficiaries or joint owners. There is no statute of limitations on unclaimed property in Florida. Account owners or their heirs, can claim their funds indefinitely, free of charge.
The official website, www.FLTreasureHunt.org, includes a searchable, interactive database of unclaimed property accounts. The database is available, free of charge, 24 hours a day and allows claimants to print from their own computers claim forms (with instructions) for accounts they believe they are entitled to claim.
The States toll free telephone number is 1-888-258-2253 and is available each workday for citizens within Florida. Callers outside of Florida can call (850) 413-5555.