Washington Unclaimed Funds

Washington State is holding hundreds of millions of dollars in unclaimed funds!

Unclaimed funds refers to money being held by an organization that has not had contact with the owner for an extended period of time. Funds are usually considered unclaimed after three years, when it is turned over to the state of Washington.

Banks, retailers, credit unions, utilities, corporations, insurance companies, and governmental entities are some of the many sources of unclaimed property.

Washington’s Department of Revenue administers the States unclaimed property program as a free public service.  Since 1955, more than $1 billion in unclaimed property has been turned over to the Department of Revenue. In fiscal year 2020, the department’s Unclaimed Property Section received property worth more than $185 million. The department returned $74 million of the unclaimed property received to its rightful owners.

Funds that can go unclaimed includes:

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

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


Funds can go unclaimed for a variety of reasons including:

• Leaving a job and not claiming a final check
• Not knowing about an insurance check
• Forgetting about a security
• Moving out of a house or apartment without getting back your utility deposit

The list of reasons goes on and on.

Fiscal year 2021 Washington State Unclaimed Property Annual Report

Click here to search for Washington unclaimed funds

Contact Washington States Unclaimed Funds Department

E-mail

You can email the Washington unclaimed funds department here

Phone

Call the Unclaimed Property Section at:
1-800-435-2429 or
(360) 534-1502
Monday through Friday,
8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Pacific Time)

Mail

Questions regarding claims:
Department of Revenue
Unclaimed Property Section
PO Box 47477
Olympia, WA 98504-7477

 

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