Oregon State Treasury will return approximately $7 million in unclaimed property this October to about 13,000 people, the agency announced. The funds represent money that businesses and organizations reported to the state in 2024 but could not return to their owners.
The distribution is part of the Treasury's "Checks Without Claims" initiative, which allows the agency to proactively identify eligible owners and send them their money without requiring a claim filing. Checks will range from $50 to $10,000 and will be mailed with a letter from Treasurer Elizabeth Steiner. Recipients were notified in September that they may have unclaimed property.
Unclaimed property typically includes uncashed checks, forgotten bank accounts, tax refunds, credit balances, investment accounts, and payroll checks.
Since the initiative began in 2020, the Unclaimed Property Program has returned about $30 million to over 70,000 people. Overall, Oregon's program has returned more than $745 million to owners in the last 20 years, with an additional $1 billion ready to be claimed. Nearly one in seven people in the United States has unclaimed money, according to the Treasury.
Oregonians can search for unclaimed property at unclaimed.oregon.gov. Funds never expire and claiming them is free.