What we do
BC Unclaimed is a caretaker for unclaimed funds in British Columbia. Unclaimed money gets left behind in courts, insurance payments, credit union accounts, and other types of accounts. We help reunite people with this unclaimed money.
BC Unclaimed works with organizations that haven’t been able to locate the rightful owners of unclaimed money in their care. Companies, financial organizations and government bodies transfer unclaimed money to us. We actively search for rightful owners of the money.
We maintain a free, public, searchable list of unclaimed property in BC. There is over $218 million waiting to be claimed. You can search this list on our website to see if we are holding money in your name.
Submit unclaimed funds to BC Unclaimed
Our mandate from the Province of British Columbia
In British Columbia, the Unclaimed Property Act is a law that says companies, financial groups and government bodies must try to find the owners of unclaimed money. BC Unclaimed has had an agreement with the government to run British Columbia’s unclaimed property program since 2003.
The law says that some types of organizations are required to give unclaimed money to BC Unclaimed. Other organizations can choose whether to transfer their unclaimed money to BC Unclaimed.
View the Unclaimed Property Program page on the Government of British Columbia website.
Are we part of the government?
No, BC Unclaimed is an independent, non-profit society.
In 2003, the Province of British Columbia, the Vancouver Foundation, and BC Unclaimed entered into an agreement for BC Unclaimed to manage BC’s unclaimed property program.
A volunteer board of directors governs BC Unclaimed. The board has five members from the business, non-profit, and legal communities.
Can you trust BC Unclaimed?
BC Unclaimed is a registered non-profit organization, designated by the Province of British Columbia to manage BC’s unclaimed property program. We are governed by the Unclaimed Property Act and Unclaimed Property Regulation. BC Unclaimed’s Strategic plan and Annual reports are available on our website.
British Columbia’s Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIPPA) requires us to protect personal information that we collect and use in our work. You can read our privacy policy to learn more about what we do with personal information.
We encourage you to protect yourself from online fraud. There have been fraudulent emails claiming that consumers have unclaimed property waiting for them and requesting that money be sent to claim the property.
What you should know about BC Unclaimed:
We don’t charge fees for our services.
We don’t send unsolicited emails with links or attachments.
We don’t require an immediate response when we contact you. There is no deadline for claiming the funds that we hold.
Learn more about protecting yourself from online fraud.
A non-profit focused on giving back
BC is the only region in North America that has set up a non-profit organization to manage its unclaimed property program. BC Unclaimed is proud of how this arrangement allows us to support communities in BC through charitable giving.
Every year we donate a portion of excess unclaimed funds to the Vancouver Foundation for charitable purposes. How much we donate is determined by the BC Unclaimed Board of Directors, based on a calculation that makes sure sufficient funds are always available to pay future claims from rightful owners.
What is the Vancouver Foundation?
The Vancouver Foundation provides grants to charities and non-profits all over BC. Their grants support projects that address the root causes of important issues and help build a healthy, vibrant, and livable BC.
Our annual donation to the Vancouver Foundation is given as unrestricted funds, which means we don’t tell them how to spend it. The Foundation can grant these funds to address pressing social issues or areas where need is the greatest.
$916,520 thousand donated to the Vancouver Foundation in 2023
$59.737 million donated to the Vancouver Foundation since 2004
Read more about our relationship with the Vancouver Foundation.