New York State’s Abandoned Property Law requires certain entities to transfer abandoned money or securities to the New York State Comptroller’s Office of Unclaimed Funds. The Comptroller serves as the custodian of unclaimed funds until they’re claimed by the rightful owners.
Entities required to report and remit unclaimed funds include, for example, banks, insurance companies, corporations and state agencies. The funds come from inactive bank accounts, uncollected insurance policies or refunds, amounts due for undelivered goods or services, abandoned stocks, uncashed checks and more.
Determine if you’re required to report unclaimed funds
Review the reporting rules:
- Handbook for Reporters of Unclaimed Funds, including the industry-specific guides
- Abandoned Property Law
- Voluntary Compliance Program for first time reports and correcting previous reports
- eLearning and Resources videos and links to resources on reporting procedures
Follow the reporting process
Review your records every year and perform due diligence as required for items that have reached specific dormancy thresholds according to the Property Type Table and Calendar of Events. Prepare your report including:
- A detailed list of the funds that you’re transferring. Complete each field with accurate data, which increases the likelihood of locating each claimant’s property. We accept reports in these electronic formats:
- NYCD - our free electronic reporting system.
- National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators (NAUPA) Standard Electronic File Format
- Payment by check (payable to Comptroller, State of New York), Electronic Funds Transfer, or transfer securities as described on the Securities Delivery Instructions.
- A summary of the report details and remittance filed on Verification and Checklist Form AC2709.
Compare the 3 parts of the report before submitting them, to make sure they balance.
Submit your report and payment
The Calendar of Events outlines when reports and property types are due. You may have to file multiple times during the year depending on the type of property you are reporting. Remit funds using electronic funds transfer, check, or the Security Delivery Instructions.
You can submit your report electronically by:
- Secure web transmission (https) – Contact us to request a username and password.
- Secure file transfer with PGP encryption – Contact us to get our public PGP key, IP address, username and password so that you may securely transfer data to our server.
- CD, DVD, or USB – Save your file to the media or device then mail it to us. If you use a password to protect the file, contact us separately to tell us the password. Don’t encrypt the file and don’t email reports to us.
Mail checks, paper reports or electronic media to:
Office of the State Comptroller
Remittance Control, 2nd Floor
110 State Street
Albany, NY 12236
Be aware of penalties and interest
Interest charges may also apply for late payment or delivery of abandoned property. Penalties apply if you’re required to report and remit unclaimed funds, but fail to send full and complete reports, affidavits, or remittances by the due date. Learn more about our Voluntary Compliance Program.