State Treasurer Riley Moore visited the West Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles Regional Office at White Hall Thursday to announce a new partnership that will promote the Treasurer’s Office’s unclaimed property program at DMV locations statewide.
As part of the partnership, DMV patrons will be encouraged to visit the Treasurer’s Office’s unclaimed property website – www.wvunclaimedproperty.gov – to search if they have any funds available to claim and also help them begin the process of completing their claim.
“This partnership is a great example of two separate government agencies teaming up to find a way to better serve our citizens,” Treasurer Moore said. “Just about every adult in the state has to go to the DMV at some point, and when you go, you usually have the documents you need to start a claim. So we thought, ‘Here’s a great, captive target audience.’
“Through this partnership, we hope when you go to the DMV you will see the unclaimed property ads, search our database and hopefully walk away knowing you’ve got a check headed your way,” Treasurer Moore said. “This will be a great way to make some money off your trip to the DMV.”
In addition to ads informing people about the unclaimed property program, QR codes will be available to help people use their phones to go directly to the unclaimed property search page to begin looking for properties in their name.
“I am pleased for DMV to partner again with another state agency to promote more goodness and opportunities for our customers – our greatest priority,” DMV Commissioner Everett Frazier said. “Now customers can take care of their DMV business and possibly gain some extra property or income as well in the same visit, thanks to this new effort we are promoting with the State Treasurer's Office.”
Unclaimed property can include money or items of value from financial accounts or things like safety deposit boxes in which the owner has not initiated any activity for one year or longer. Common examples include uncashed checks, outstanding stock and bond accounts, unpaid insurance benefits, forgotten bank accounts and safety deposit boxes and unused rebate cards.
The Treasurer’s Office has more than $400 million worth of unclaimed property listings in its database available for claim.
Individuals can begin the claim process online at the website and will receive an email containing further instructions and a customized claim form requesting additional documentation. The most common form of documentation needed is a driver’s license – which one of course would have or obtain during their DMV visit.
“Once you get that email from us, you can just snap a picture of your license with your phone, upload it and get your claim started through the process,” Treasurer Moore said. “This is a great way to do two things at once with one trip to the DMV.”
For more information about the unclaimed property program, or to search if the Treasurer’s Office has any money for you, visit www.wvunclaimedproperty.gov.
What is Unclaimed Property?
Unclaimed property can include financial accounts or items of value in which the owner has not initiated any activity for one year or longer. Common examples include unpaid life insurance benefits, forgotten bank accounts and unused rebate cards. (While the title includes the word “property,” it does not however include real estate.)
West Virginia’s unclaimed property laws protect the public by ensuring money and property owed to them is returned to them, rather than remaining permanently with financial institutions, business associations, governments and other entities. The Treasurer seeks to reunite the unclaimed property, including uncashed paychecks, stocks, or safe deposit box contents, with its owner.
Nationwide, nearly 33 million people in the United States – one in every 10 – are estimated to have unclaimed property available for them to claim.
How Can I Find Unclaimed Property in My Name?
West Virginians searching for lost financial assets can go to www.WVUnclaimedProperty.gov. In addition to finding property, the website will also help you track a claim.
A demonstration of how to use the Unclaimed Property search site is available on the Treasury’s YouTube page, at: https://youtu.be/K09yQ7YNKlE.
To search for lost financial assets outside West Virginia, visit www.MissingMoney.com.