§ 63.30.040 — Property presumed abandoned.

Washington § 63.30.040

• Jurisdiction: Washington
• Title 63: PERSONAL PROPERTY
• Ch. 63.30: REVISED UNIFORM UNCLAIMED PROPERTY ACT

Text

Subject to RCW 63.30.120 , the following property is presumed abandoned if it is unclaimed by the apparent owner during the period specified below:

(1) A traveler's check, 15 years after issuance;

(2) A money order, five years after issuance;

(3) A state or municipal bond, bearer bond, or original issue discount bond, not held by a government entity or governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality, three years after the earliest of the date the bond matures or is called or the obligation to pay the principal of the bond arises;

(4) A debt of a business association, three years after the obligation to pay arises;

(5) A demand, savings, or time deposit, including a deposit that is automatically renewable, three years after the later of maturity, if applicable, of the deposit or the owner's last indication of interest in the deposit, except a deposit that is automatically renewable is deemed matured on its initial date of maturity unless the apparent owner consented in a record on file with the holder to renewal at or about the time of the renewal;

(6) Money or a credit owed to a customer as a result of a retail business transaction, three years after the obligation arose;

(7) An amount owed by an insurance company on a life or endowment insurance policy or an annuity contract that has matured or terminated, three years after the obligation to pay arose under the terms of the policy or contract or, if a policy or contract for which an amount is owed on proof of death has not matured by proof of the death of the insured or annuitant, as follows:

(a) With respect to an amount owed on a life or endowment insurance policy, three years after the earlier of the date:

(i) The insurance company has knowledge of the death of the insured; or

(ii) The insured has attained, or would have attained if living, the limiting age under the mortality table on which the reserve for the policy is based; and

(b) With respect to an amount owed on an annuity contract, three years after the date the insurance company has knowledge of the death of the annuitant;

(8) Property distributable by a business association in the course of dissolution, one year after the property becomes distributable;

(9) Property held by a court, including property received as proceeds of a class action, one year after the property becomes distributable;

(10) Property held by a government or governmental subdivision, agency, or instrumentality, including municipal bond interest and unredeemed principal under the administration of a paying agent or indenture trustee, one year after the property becomes distributable;

(11) Wages, commissions, or bonuses to which an employee is entitled, or other compensation for personal services, one year after the amount becomes payable;

(12) A deposit or refund owed to a subscriber by a utility, one year after the deposit or refund becomes payable;

(13) Payroll card, one year after the amount becomes payable;

(14) Excess proceeds from the sale of property by an owner of a self-service storage facility conducted pursuant to RCW 19.150.080 , one year from the date of sale;

(15) Excess income from the sale of tenant property by a landlord conducted pursuant to RCW 59.18.312 and 59.18.595 , one year from the date of the sale;

(16) Excess funds from the sale of an abandoned vessel by an operator of a private moorage facility conducted pursuant to RCW 88.26.020 , one year from the date of the sale; and

(17) Property not specified in this section or RCW 63.30.050 through 63.30.100 , the earlier of three years after the owner first has a right to demand the property or the obligation to pay or distribute the property arises.

Retroactive application — 2025 c 29 ss 3-6, 14-17, and 20-23: See note following RCW 63.30.010 .

Retroactive application — 2023 c 258 ss 2-8, 10, and 11: See note following RCW 19.150.060 .

Legislative History

[2025 c 29 s 4;2023 c 258 s 8;2022 c 225 s 201.]