Many Washingtonians aren’t aware they have unclaimed property being held for them by the state Department of Revenue. The intangible property could come in the form of an old checking account, a certificate of deposit, an uncashed payroll check or a utility refund, and it’s possible to search on claimyourcash.org and receive that missing money.
As Washington State Treasurer Mike Pellicciotti made the rounds and met with constituents prior to the November election, he discussed plenty of challenging issues like housing and child care, but one topic he thinks is an easy sell is unclaimed property. During an informal interview with Cascadia Daily News in late summer, the treasurer said he always tells people about claimyourcash.org, and “folks love it.”
“Let’s say you moved apartments,” Pellicciotti said. “You paid a deposit and the check went back to your old residence, it never got forwarded. That check doesn’t stay with the company — it’s not their money, it’s your money. The funds go back to the state and you search through claimyourcash.org.”
Since 1955, $3 billion in unclaimed property has been turned over to the Department of Revenue by organizations like banks, insurance companies, property managers and credit unions. In fiscal year 2023, more than 300,000 claims were approved, resulting in $138.9 million sent to Washington residents.
“Everyone is like, ‘I didn’t think that was real,’ and then we send them a check,” Pellicciotti said. “Coming up with an extra 25, 50 bucks you didn’t know about is impactful. This has been a big focus of mine.”
Nearly one in seven people in the country have unclaimed property, according to the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators. Other states have their own versions of unclaimed property search sites — a full directory is available at unclaimed.org or at missingmoney.com.
However, scammers have been capitalizing on the public’s interest in unclaimed property. It’s important to remember filing a claim is always free and no government representative will directly call or email individuals regarding unclaimed property. Rely only on trusted sites when searching for and claiming your property.
Julia Tellman writes about civic issues and anything else that happens to cross her desk; contact her at juliatellman@cascadiadaily.com.
