Nearly $1 Billion In Unclaimed Funds Are Waiting To Be Claimed In Oregon

33 million people in the United States – about 1 in every 7 – has unclaimed property. That means it’s more than likely you or someone you know has funds or assets waiting to be claimed! To help raise awareness around unclaimed funds, Treasury is joining programs across the country in celebrating National Unclaimed Property Day, held annually on February 1.

First launched in 2021, by the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators’ National Unclaimed Property Day aims to help educate individuals about how quick and simple searching for unclaimed property is. More than $4 billion in unclaimed property was returned to its rightful owners by state unclaimed property offices across the US in fiscal year 2022.

“We’re excited to join other programs across the country in celebrating National Unclaimed Property Day and continuing to raise awareness around unclaimed funds,” State Treasurer Tobias Read said. “I’m proud of the work our program team has done in the past year to return millions of unclaimed funds back to individuals. We encourage everyone to go online today and check for unclaimed property owed to them.”

In Oregon, Treasury will be celebrating the day by distributing the first payments for our “Checks Without Claims” initiative. This annual effort proactively returns unclaimed funds to current and former Oregonians without the need for them to file a claim. In the first half of 2023, we’ll return about $10 million to approximately 25,000 individuals. Visit the “Checks Without Claims” website to learn more!

Not a receipiant of “Checks Without Claims”? No problem! Searching and claiming Oregon’s nearly $1 billion in unclaimed funds is more accessible than ever. Our unclaimed property website, unclaimed.oregon.gov, now offers text translation for Oregon’s 10 most popular language.

Unclaimed Property is a part of Treasury’s Trust Property Division, which also includes the Estates Administration Program, a program that safeguards the estates of individuals who died without a will or known heirs.

Established in Oregon more than 60 years ago as a consumer protection effort, the Unclaimed Property Program has returned over $500 million to owners in the last 25 years! Since transitioning to Treasury in 2021, the program has processed nearly 50,000 payments to individuals and various organizations for a total of more than $65 million.

Unclaimed property occurs when organizations that hold assets for someone else lose contact with owners. After 1 to 3 years pass with no contact from the owner, the holder of the asset will send the property to Treasury to hold in trust. Common examples of unclaimed property include undeposited checks, unpaid life insurance benefits, forgotten bank accounts, over payments, and unused rebate cards.

Every fall, businesses, nonprofits, and government agencies report and remit unclaimed property to Treasury for centralized safekeeping. Last year, Treasury received more than $100 million during reporting season.

Once Treasury receives the funds, we make the basic details of each asset available on our website. That allows individuals to find lost assets and claim them. Once a claim is filed, program staff verify an individual’s connection to the property and approve the claim. Filing a claim is simple and free. People can file a claim electronically from their phone or computer 24-hours a day.

Oregon’s Unclaimed Property offers a free and easy search tool at unclaimed.oregon.gov.

The National Association of Unclaimed Property provides an easy way to search for unclaimed assets across multiple states at once at MissingMoney.com.