Unclaimed Property (UCP)

What is UCP?

Unclaimed property means property held by an organization who has not had contact with the owner for an extended period of time. Property is usually considered unclaimed after three years for most businesses or after one year for government entities, at which point it is turned over to the state of Washington. All businesses can be a source of unclaimed property including banks, retailers, credit unions, utilities, corporations, insurance companies, organizations and governmental entities.

The Department of Revenue is the custodian for unclaimed property, and administers an unclaimed property program to find the rightful owners.

Reporting property (holders)

These businesses and others are referred to as holders. Holder reports for most businesses are due annually on October 31st. Annual Reports for Insurance companies are due on April 30th.

Types of unclaimed property

Typical unclaimed property includes:

• Bank accounts.
• Insurance proceeds.
• Stocks, bonds and mutual funds.
• Utility and phone company deposits.
• Uncashed checks, such as payroll, or insurance payments.
• Customer/patient credits.
• Safe deposit box or bank repository contents.

Unclaimed property does not include real estate, vehicles, and most other physical property.

Claiming property (searchers, owners, or claimants)

Any individual or business can search our UCP system for unclaimed property that we are holding in their name.

If funds are located, the person entitled can file a claim. For more information on claiming funds please use our interactive claim tool.