ByUnclaimed Money in Washington State—How To Find It
Did you know that every U.S. state holds huge amounts of unclaimed money that belong to its residents? If you live in Washington state, there’s a chance that you are one of 11 million people who are entitled to a part of a treasure worth $1.3 billion. This money is being kept in the state’s Department of Revenue.
The average amount of unclaimed money per owner goes from $25 to $100, which may come in handy if you are struggling with your finances. In case you haven’t started looking for your abandoned funds yet, our guide will teach you more about the essentials of unclaimed property and ways to find and reclaim it.
Unclaimed Money Explained
Before we start explaining the methods you can use to locate your long-lost funds, we should define what unclaimed money means.
Unclaimed money represents tangible or intangible property whose owners couldn’t be located by financial institutions (holders) for a long time. In such cases, banks, insurance companies, and other similar organizations must report such funds to the state.
After a certain amount of time—the so-called dormancy period—the found money’s status turns into abandoned, and the state becomes its custodian until the owner files a claim and retrieves it.
What Qualifies as Unclaimed Money?
The ten-figure sum on the Department of Revenue account involves numerous kinds of unclaimed money from various sources. The average dormancy period after which the uncollected funds in Washington state turn into abandoned is three years, but this time limit usually depends on the property type.
The following table shows a list of the most common unclaimed funds and their dormancy periods.
| Type of Unclaimed Funds | Dormancy Period |
| Abandoned bank account funds | Three years |
| Uncashed payroll checks | Three years |
| Forgotten insurance money | Three years |
| Money orders | Five years |
| Uncollected customer refunds | One year |
| Safe deposit boxes | Five years |
| Stocks, shares, and dividends | Three years |
| Wages and unpaid salaries | One year |
| Unclaimed money from deceased relatives | Three years |
| Traveler’s checks | 15 years |
Why Don’t Washington State Residents Claim Their Funds?
Many people don’t realize they left behind tens, hundreds, or even thousands of dollars. Such situations usually happen because of difficulties while trying to get in touch with the owners or some unforeseen circumstances.
Here are some possible scenarios:
- People die without writing their will
- Tenants fail to collect utility deposit checks
- Individuals forget to claim their last paychecks after quitting their jobs
- Bank accounts get inactive or closed down, and people fail to withdraw their funds
- People change their last name, physical address, or other personal details and fail to receive calls, emails, or letters from the holder
If you can recall some of these situations happening to you and want to check whether there is any unclaimed money under your name, we will explain the quickest and the easiest way to do that.
DoNotPay Helps You Find Unclaimed Funds in No Time
Going through claim procedures on your own is tedious and time-consuming. DoNotPay can handle it for you by helping with locating your unclaimed funds in Washington state and filing a claim in your stead!
All you need to do is open DoNotPay in your and follow these instructions:
- Find the Missing Money feature
- Enter your name, middle name, and your current and previous addresses
- Choose Claim My Property if you find your unclaimed funds among the search results
Our app has an outstanding search system that includes all state and federal databases, which means several clicks will be enough to get the best results. It will also help you pinpoint unclaimed money in other U.S. states if you lived anywhere else before.
How To Find and Claim Your Funds in Washington State on Your Own
The procedure of retrieving your funds on your own consists of two main steps—finding unclaimed funds under your name and filing a claim to retrieve them.
How To Find Unclaimed Money in Washington State via the Department of Revenue
You can look for unclaimed funds under your name in Washington by searching in the official Department of Revenue database.
The procedure involves these steps:
- Enter your first and last name on the homepage of the official website and click Search
- Check the results and click on the property that might belong to you
- Check other information related to that property—such as physical address—to confirm it belongs to you
If all details from the record match your details, you can proceed with claiming your funds.
How To Claim Your Money in Washington State via ClaimYourCash.org
Once you are sure that the funds you found are yours, you can proceed with filing a claim in two ways:
- Online
- Via mail
The following table shows the instructions for both methods:
| Method | Instructions |
|
Online |
|
|
Via Mail |
|
What Supporting Documents Do You Need To Claim Your Funds?
The State of Washington will need to confirm your details to make sure you are the rightful owner of the chosen unclaimed property. The required documentation usually includes evidence that shows your name, physical address, or Social Security number, such as:
- Photo ID documentation—passport, driver’s license, etc.
- Court documents
- Marriage certificate
- Utility bills or bank statements
- Proof of a name change—if you made such changes
- Guardianship letter—if you are filing a claim on behalf of a owner who isn’t able to do it
The Department of Revenue usually needs around 60 days to process your documentation, unless you want to retrieve stocks or mutual funds. In such cases, the procedure can take a little longer.
Save More Money With DoNotPay’s Handy Features
Do you have friends or family from other U.S. states who struggle with finding their unclaimed funds? You can help them by sharing our articles that explain the reclaiming procedures in Kansas, Georgia, Delaware, Michigan, Connecticut, South Dakota, and all other parts of the USA!
Learn how to reclaim your scholarship money, pension checks, inheritance money you didn’t know about, and much more.
Apart from assisting you with retrieving your long-forgotten properties, our app helps you deal with burdensome bureaucracy and paperwork you would rather skip.
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