Why submit funds?

Not sure what unclaimed property is? Check out the unclaimed property process first.

Does my organization need to submit unclaimed property?

If you or your organization has money that belongs to someone else, but the owner hasn’t accessed the money or communicated with you about it in a long time, you may be a holder of unclaimed property.

What is a holder?

A holder is a company, government body, organization or individual that holds money for an owner. When the owner doesn’t access the money for a long period, that money becomes “unclaimed property”. The Unclaimed Property Act and Unclaimed Property Regulation are laws in BC that set out what holders have to do with unclaimed property. Holders have to make reasonable efforts to locate the owner and notify them about the property. They also have to maintain a publicly available database of the unclaimed property they hold.

In BC’s unclaimed property law, there are two types of holders: Mandatory and Voluntary.

Excerpts from the Unclaimed Property Act

"holder" means
(a) a corporation, partnership, sole proprietorship, association, society, fraternal or mutual benefit organization or other entity, whether or not operated for profit, that holds property on behalf of an owner, or
(b) an individual who holds property on behalf of an owner and who is one of a prescribed class of individuals,
and includes a government body as defined in the Financial Administration Act, but does not include the government, a court or the Public Guardian and Trustee.

Duty of holders to make reasonable efforts to locate and notify owners
9 (1) A holder of property must make reasonable efforts to locate the owner and to notify the owner about the property…

Duties of holders of unclaimed property
11 (1) Subject to subsection (2), a holder of unclaimed property must do all of the following:
(a) maintain a database of all unclaimed property held by the holder;
(b) include in the database the prescribed particulars for each item of unclaimed property;
(b.1) make reasonable efforts to ensure that the existence of the database and the means by which it may be accessed are known to the public;
(c) make the database available to the public, subject to any restrictions imposed by regulation for the purpose of protecting the privacy of owners;

Exempt classes of holders
7 (1) A holder whose gross annual revenue is $250, 000 or less is exempt from the application of this regulation and Part 3 of the Act.
(2) A holder of any item of unclaimed property the value of which is less than $50 is, in relation only to that item, exempt from the application of this regulation and Part 3 of the Act.

Excerpts from the Unclaimed Property Regulation.

Exempt classes of holders
7 (1) A holder whose gross annual revenue is $250, 000 or less is exempt from the application of this regulation and Part 3 of the Act.
(2) A holder of any item of unclaimed property the value of which is less than $50 is, in relation only to that item, exempt from the application of this regulation and Part 3 of the Act.

Mandatory holders

Mandatory holders are required by BC law to transfer unclaimed property to the administrator of BC’s unclaimed property program. BC Unclaimed has been the administrator of this program since 2003.

Examples:

Courts
Credit unions
Debt collection agencies

Voluntary holders

Voluntary holders can choose whether or not to transfer unclaimed property to BC Unclaimed. They are not required by law to transfer their unclaimed property to BC Unclaimed, but can still benefit from doing so.

Examples:

Trust funds
Insurance policies
Brokerage accounts
Closed pension plans

Reasons to submit unclaimed property

Your organization can benefit from submitting unclaimed property to BC Unclaimed, whether or not you are required to do so. You also benefit both individuals and communities in BC when you submit unclaimed funds! Read on to learn more:

Consider some significant reasons to submit unclaimed property to BC Unclaimed.

Unclaimed property belongs to someone else

Returning unclaimed property to its owner is the right thing to do. Even when you’ve made your best effort to contact the rightful owner, you may not be able to locate them.
BC Unclaimed has systems already in place to reunite unclaimed funds with rightful owners, and we proactively search out owners.
BC Unclaimed maintains and advertises a publicly available online database of unclaimed property from many different sources.
BC Unclaimed attracts individuals to search for unclaimed property by advertising our free, searchable database to the public.

Compliance with the law

Mandatory holders are required by law to submit unclaimed property to BC Unclaimed after a period of time.

Get unclaimed funds off your books

Transferring unclaimed property to BC Unclaimed helps you maintain accurate and up-to-date financial records, and reduces accounting effort.

Reduce administrative load

The law says that holders have to make reasonable efforts to locate and notify owners of unclaimed property. This includes maintaining a database of unclaimed property and making it available to the public. Transferring unclaimed funds to BC Unclaimed reduces the time and money your organization has to spend administering this property.

Support charities in BC

BC Unclaimed manages unclaimed funds in a way that allows us to make a significant contribution to the Vancouver Foundation every year. The Vancouver Foundation supports charities and not-for-profits delivering services for the benefit of British Columbians.

Read about our relationship with the Vancouver Foundation.

Ready to submit unclaimed funds?

See How to submit unclaimed property.