How to check if any of the $218 million of BC's unclaimed money is yours

They say there’s no such thing as free money, but for one organization in BC, all they do is hand out cash.

BC Unclaimed takes care of forgotten, left-behind money while seeking to reunite people with unclaimed cash.

There’s even a free, searchable list of unclaimed property in the province. You can search for your name on the list to see if money is being held in your name.

Over $218 million is waiting for British Columbians. The not-for-profit organization serves as a “lost and found” for unclaimed funds sitting in dormant accounts across the province. 

Some examples of unclaimed property include dormant credit union accounts, insurance payments, money left after death without a will, outstanding real estate deposits, unclaimed wages, court payments, and overpayments to debt collectors.

Funds become unclaimed “when the lawful owner takes no action to access his or her account after a specified period, ranging from one to 10 years depending on the type of account and the holder,” according to BC Unclaimed.

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How to check if you have unclaimed money

BC Unclaimed

1. Go to bcunclaimed.ca/search
2. Search your name in the database
3. If there are results, you can click on the name to learn more about the unclaimed property
4. Inquire about the money by filling out the BC Unclaimed form

BC Unclaimed has a flowchart explaining their entire process:

BC Unclaimed

Will you be checking if there’s any money in your name?

This article was first written in 2022 and has since been updated.

With files from Aly Laube