Washington State Unclaimed Property Day Awareness
Summary
The Washington State Department of Revenue is promoting National Unclaimed Property Day on February 1st to encourage residents to search for and claim their lost money. The department processed over 389,000 claims and returned $182 million last year, with an estimated 33 million people in the U.S. having unclaimed property.
What changed
The Washington State Department of Revenue (DOR) is issuing a notice to raise awareness about National Unclaimed Property Day on February 1st. The notice highlights that one in seven people have unclaimed money and encourages residents to search the DOR's website, claimyourcash.org, to find funds from uncashed checks, gift certificates, or forgotten safety deposit boxes. The DOR's Unclaimed Property program is a free service that returned $182 million to individuals and businesses last year.
While this is primarily an awareness campaign, individuals who discover they have unclaimed property should visit claimyourcash.org to initiate the claims process. The DOR also participated in a Search-A-Thon on January 28th to further promote the initiative. There are no new compliance obligations for businesses or individuals, but the notice serves as a reminder for consumers to check for lost funds.
What to do next
- Consumers should visit claimyourcash.org to search for unclaimed property.
- Consumers should visit unclaimed.org/search to search for unclaimed property in other states.
Source document (simplified)
Find your money on Unclaimed Property Day Feb. 1!
Join the unclaimed property Search-A-Thon Jan. 28
OLYMPIA, Wash. – Jan. 28, 2026 – One in seven people have money from an uncashed check, unused gift certificate, or forgotten safety deposit box waiting for them to claim. Are you one of them?
On Feb. 1, the Department of Revenue (DOR) is once again partnering with the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (NAUPA) for National Unclaimed Property Day. This event raises awareness of unclaimed property nationwide and encourages people to search for and claim their lost money.
“We want to get your money back into your pocket," Governor Bob Ferguson said. “Every Washingtonian should visit the unclaimed property program’s website to see if they have funds waiting to be claimed.”
This year Revenue’s Unclaimed Property (UCP) team will also be participating in an Unclaimed Property Seach-A-Thon Jan. 28 at 1 p.m. Eastern Time (10 a.m. Pacific Time) to support Unclaimed Property Day. This three-hour “Find My Funds” broadcast will stream live online on the MissingMoney Facebook page.
About UCP
Washington’s Unclaimed Property program is a free public service administered by Revenue. Last year, Revenue processed 389,759 claims and returned $182 million to individuals, businesses, and organizations. An estimated 33 million people in the United States have unclaimed property: bank accounts, insurance proceeds, stocks and bonds, customer credits, uncashed checks, safe deposit box contents, and more.
When a business or organization is unable to contact the owner of certain assets for an extended period of time, those assets are considered abandoned and are turned over to the state to be held until they can be returned to the owner or heirs. Those holders reported a record $503 million in unclaimed property in Fiscal Year 2025, up more than $137.7 million from the prior year.
"While many people say, ‘I know where my money is,’ you would be surprised how many times they search their name and find they have money owed to them," said Liz Black, Revenue’s unclaimed property administrator. "Searching your name is free and only takes a few minutes at Claimyourcash.org."
To see if you have unclaimed property, visit Washington’s unclaimed property website, claimyourcash.org. You may also visit Unclaimed.org/search to search for unclaimed property in other states.
The Department of Revenue is Washington state’s primary tax agency, nationally recognized as a trusted leader in tax administration and customer service. Revenue administers nearly 60 categories of taxes that help fund vital public services. It also oversees programs that return money to the public, including the Working Families Tax Credit and Unclaimed Property.
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360-534-1602
RevenueNews@dor.wa.gov
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