Locating Owners
Under the Province of BC's Unclaimed Property Act, "holders", as defined by the Act, must make reasonable efforts to locate and notify owners of their property. If the holder is unable to locate the owner, the property becomes unclaimed and must be listed on a publicly available database.
How to Submit Your Organizations Unclaimed Funds
There are two types of organizations that hold unclaimed property and the process for submitting funds is different for each.
Please read the information below to see which form you should complete. If you are unsure, contact us at 604.662.3518, toll free at 1.888.662.2877 or by email, info@unclaimedpropertybc.ca
Voluntary Holders
Voluntary Holders are not regulated by law, but should, transfer unclaimed property to the BC Unclaimed Property Society so that it can be claimed by its rightful owners.
Under the Province of British Columbia's Unclaimed Property Act, "holders", must make reasonable efforts to locate and notify owners of their property. If the holder is unable to locate the owner, the property becomes unclaimed and must be listed on a publicly available database. Voluntary Holders can also submit this property to our Society.
Types of property that Voluntary Holders may hold and transfer to BC Unclaimed Property include:
- life insurance policies
- property insurance polices
- trust funds
- deposits
- money orders.
Learn more 
about submitting your unclaimed property to us.
Mandatory Holders
Mandatory Holders are regulated by law and their own governing Act to transfer unclaimed property to the BC Unclaimed Property Society. These include municipal and provincial courts, credit unions, real estate agents and more.
Each type of Mandatory Holder has a unique form to complete. Click on the group that applies to you for further information.
- credit unions
- debt collection agencies
- real estate agencies
- companies in liquidation
- municipalities/surplus sales tax
These groups are also Mandatory Holders and have internal procedures for submitting unclaimed property:
- Employment Standards Branch
- Office of the Public Guardian and Trustee
- Provincial and Supreme Courts
Why should my organization submit funds to The BC Unclaimed Property Society?
- The property you are holding rightfully belongs to someone else.
- Under the Province of BC and the Unclaimed Property Act, your organization may be regulated by law to transfer unclaimed property.
- All Holders of unclaimed property must make reasonable efforts to locate and notify the owner - including a public database of unclaimed property or a contact number. This may be labour-intensive for your organization. The BC Unclaimed Property Society already has these systems in place.
For more information: Section 3 of the Unclaimed Property Act