Updated: September 2026 · Applies to Powerball, Mega Millions and state draw games.
Unclaimed prizes run into the hundreds of millions of dollars a year in the United States, and almost none of them are jackpots. They are $500 and $50,000 tickets sitting in glove boxes because somebody checked only the top line, or checked a week late, or trusted a screenshot on social media. Checking properly takes about ninety seconds.
Step 1: Know Exactly Which Drawing Your Ticket Is For
Read the ticket, not your memory. Every ticket prints the game, the drawing date or dates, and whether you bought multiple draws. A multi-draw ticket stays live for every listed date, so a ticket bought on Monday may still be worth checking two weeks later. Advance-play tickets are the most commonly thrown-away winners for exactly this reason.
Also check the time. Powerball drawings are held Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 10:59 p.m. Eastern; Mega Millions is Tuesday and Friday at 11:00 p.m. Eastern. If you bought a ticket minutes before a drawing, sales had probably already closed for that draw and your ticket is for the next one — the printed date settles it.
Step 2: Check Against a Source That Cannot Be Edited
Use the state lottery's own site or app, the terminal at a licensed retailer, or a site that publishes the source of its data. Do not trust a screenshot, a text message, or a video — fake "winning numbers" posts are a standard scam setup, and altered ticket photos circulate every time a jackpot gets big.
Our own results page serves Powerball and Mega Millions draws that have been fetched from the New York State open-data feed, validated for the correct count and range of numbers, and stored — and it tells you plainly when its last successful update was, so you can see for yourself whether it is current. Even so, for anything you intend to claim, the official state result is the only thing that counts.
Step 3: Compare Numbers the Right Way
The order of the main numbers never matters. A ticket reading 7-12-33-41-58 matches a draw of 58-12-7-41-33 completely. Lotteries publish results in ascending order to make comparison easy, so sort your own line the same way before you look.
The bonus ball is different and this is where people misread tickets. The Powerball, the Mega Ball, the Florida Lotto extra ball and California's Mega number are drawn from a separate pool, and a number only counts as the bonus if it is in the bonus position. Matching the number 12 among your main picks does not help you if 12 was drawn as the Powerball.
- Sort your five or six main numbers low to high.
- Tick off each match against the drawn main numbers.
- Check the bonus ball separately, on its own.
- Count the two totals — for example "3 main + bonus" — and read the prize from the game's tier table.
Every line on a multi-line ticket is independent, so work through each one. If you added a multiplier such as Power Play or Megaplier, apply it to non-jackpot prizes only.
Step 4: Do Not Stop at the Jackpot
Nine of the nine Powerball prize tiers pay something, and eight of them do not require the jackpot. Matching one single number — the Powerball itself — pays $4. Three main numbers pays $7. Four main numbers pays $100. These are the prizes that go unclaimed, because people scan the five main numbers, see no jackpot, and bin the ticket. See our full tier breakdown for Powerball and the Mega Millions prize tiers.
Step 5: Scan, but Verify
Most state lottery apps let you scan the barcode on your ticket. It is fast and it catches prizes you would have missed. Two cautions. First, scanners occasionally show "not a winner" for tickets that need manual validation at a claim centre, particularly large prizes and damaged barcodes — if the printed numbers say you won, trust the numbers and take it to a retailer. Second, never let anyone else scan your ticket for you, and never hand it over unsigned.
If You Are Holding a Winner
- Sign the back immediately. In most states an unsigned ticket is a bearer instrument: whoever holds it can claim it.
- Photograph both sides and store the ticket somewhere dry and dark. Thermal print fades in heat and sunlight; a faded ticket is a fight you do not want.
- Check the claim deadline. Deadlines vary by state, typically from 90 days to a year after the drawing, and there is no discretion once the date passes. The deadline is printed on the ticket or on the state lottery site.
- Know where to claim. Small prizes are paid at retailers; mid-size prizes at district offices; large prizes at the state headquarters, usually by appointment and with identification and a tax form.
- For a life-changing prize, get advice before you claim. Publicity rules differ by state, and some allow a trust or legal entity to claim on your behalf. Our lump sum vs annuity guide covers the decision that follows.
Mistakes That Cost People Real Money
Checking the wrong game. Powerball and Mega Millions results sit side by side on most result pages, and the layouts look almost identical. Confirm the game name at the top.
Reading last week's page. Search engines happily serve a cached results page from a previous drawing. Check the date on the page against the date on your ticket, every time.
Assuming an old ticket is dead. Until the printed claim deadline passes, it is not. Go through drawer tickets before you throw them out.
Paying to check. Checking numbers is always free, on official sites, at retailers and here. Anyone charging for results, or asking for a fee or bank details to "release" a prize, is running a scam. Legitimate lotteries never contact you first to tell you that you won a drawing you did not enter.
A Simple Routine
Keep tickets in one place. Check the morning after each drawing, when official results are settled and published. Compare against the state lottery site or scan in its app. Work every line, main numbers first and bonus ball second. Sign anything that wins before you leave the house. Then, if you want a fresh set for the next draw, our number generator builds one against real draw history in a couple of clicks.
For entertainment purposes only. Official state lottery results always take precedence over any figure shown on this site. Must be 18+. If gambling stops being fun, call 1-800-GAMBLER.