Most people don’t exactly look forward to a trip to the DMV.
The Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) is known for being a place that’s both slow and endlessly frustrating. One can wait for ages to get to the front of the line, only to be told that they don’t have the right forms and need to return another day. Then, if you’re lucky enough to have all of the correct paperwork, you’ll likely end up with a license photo that makes you look less like yourself and more like a ghost.
Sometimes, however, a trip to the DMV can bring some pleasant surprises. TikTok user Sara Tingle (@idksaratingle) experienced one of these surprises after a recent DMV visit—though the surprise wasn’t as nice as she originally expected.
What Happened During This Trip To The DMV?
According to Tingle, she visited the DMV to change her address. When she was there, a worker handed her a sticky note.
“She lowers her voice, and she’s like, ‘Hey, it says you have some unclaimed property,’” Tingle recalls. “And I’m like, ‘What does that mean?’ … And she’s like—real low with her voice—she’s like, ‘Usually, it means that somebody’s left you some money.’”
Tingle says that this reveal caused her “whole mood [to] change.”
“I’m like, ‘I just got rich or something,’” she says.
From here, she began to speculate about who could have left her the money. She also began to fantasize about what she was going to buy with the money, wondering if it would be enough to get her a new house or car.
“Trying to act normal,” she excitedly went to her car and called the number on the sticky note. Once connected, she was informed that she did, in fact, have unclaimed property.
How much unclaimed property? About $14.
“Is this like an old Rib City check from when I worked there when I was, like, 15?” she asks.
She concludes by saying that she’s “still the same person that walked into that DMV.”
What Is ‘Unclaimed Property’?
To put it simply, ‘unclaimed property’ is when money or other financial assets belong to someone but have been forgotten, lost, or left inactive for a long time. If the owner of that money or those assets doesn’t claim it, it is sent to the government. From there, the owner can reclaim it.
As noted by CNBC, this property generally comes from everything from “uncashed paychecks or rebate checks to inactive brokerage accounts and unpaid life insurance benefits.”
Having unclaimed property is fairly common. CNBC estimates that 1 in 7 Americans have unclaimed property, while other estimates put that number at around 1 in 10.
Although Tingle’s payout may have been small, payouts can vary considerably. The National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators states that the median payout for unclaimed property is $100, though some people receive significantly more.
How Can I Get My Unclaimed Property?
To see if you have any unclaimed property, you can use state-specific search tools accessible through the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators website. One can also use the website MissingMoney, which allows a user to search multiple states at once.
If you find that you’re eligible for unclaimed property, you can use the state’s tool for filing a claim in order to get that property back. This generally requires proof of ownership, which typically involves submitting documents proving that you’re eligible for this money.
From there, the claim will be processed. This can take several weeks or even a few months.
After that, one will generally receive their property in the form of a check. However, some states offer direct deposit options.
BroBible reached out to Tingle via Instagram direct message.