Inactive Accounts, Abandoned and Unclaimed Property
Welcome to the Inactive Accounts, Unclaimed Property and Abandoned Property section. Here, both Consumers and Dealers will find valuable information when it comes to claiming goods or filing the corresponding reports.
According to Act No. 36 of July 28, 1989, as amended, known as Abandoned or Unclaimed Money and Other Liquid Assets Act (“Act No. 36-1989”) and Act No. 55 of May 12, 1933, as amended, known as the Banking Act (“Act No. 55-1933”), amounts of money and other liquid assets, whose owner, within the previous five (5) years, has not claimed them or that owner could not be located by the financial institution, service dealer or holder, shall be presumed abandoned and unclaimed.
Each fiscal year, the OCFI deposits into the Puerto Rico General Fund all of the money received from financial institutions, service grantees, or holders who have identified Inactive Accounts, Unclaimed Amounts, and Abandoned Assets.
The service is free of charge. You don't have to pay anything for your claim to be processed, nor do you have to sign a contract with any person or firm in order to claim your property.
The right to claim abandoned or unclaimed money and other liquid assets, is whoever was the original owner of them or, failing that, the beneficiary(ries) or heir(s) of the person entitled to the assets.
For entities doing business in the jurisdiction of Puerto Rico and that are regulated and supervised by the OCFI, an amount is considered unclaimed or abandoned as of June 30 of the year in which they celebrate five (5) years of inactivity in the institution. This is established in Act No. 36-1989, and Act No. 55-1933.
For credit unions and licensed insurance institutions in Puerto Rico, the Public Corporation for the Supervision and Insurance of Credit Unions (COSSEC, Spanish acronym) and the Office of the Insurance Commissioner (OCS, Spansh acronym) manages their own statutes.
(1) Send an email to up@ocif.pr.gov with all the identifying information of the person with standing to claim the property with a short explanation.
(2) After sending an email as indicated above, you can call 787-723-3131, extensions 2330 and 2354 and free of charge if you call outside the Metropolitan Area at 1-866-928-6243.
(3) Finally, you can come to our offices during the following visiting hours:
Monday through Friday, from 8:30am to 12:30pm.
Important:
The person(s), or their authorized representative(s), must contact us to confirm that the property actually belongs to them, if the OCFI confirms that this is the case, they will be given a claim form, which will indicate the documents to submit and the instructions to follow.
As an example, in the case of Succession and/or Inheritance, the claim form must be accompanied by the following documents:
i. Death Certificate;
ii. Copy of the Declaration of Heirs, Testamentary Letters and/or Executor; and
iii. Release from the Treasury Department;
iv. Affidavit of all heirs, among other documents.
Also, once you are notified that your claim has been approved, to receive electronic fund transfers, you must register a bank account with the Treasury Department. The Treasury Department does not issue checks.
Documents issued in other states or territories of the United States must be accompanied by the County Clerk Certification.
Documents issued abroad and outside the jurisdiction of the United States must be accompanied by an Apostille.
You can verify by:
(1) Visiting www.missingmoney.com to perform a search using the name of the person presumed to have inactive accounts, abandoned or unclaimed assets.
(2) After verifying through the official page indicated above, you can send an email to up@ocif.pr.gov with the information of the person entitled to claim the abandoned goods.
(3) You can also contact the OCIF by phone at 787-723-3131, extensions 2330 and 2354 and free of charge if you call outside the Metropolitan Area at 1-866-928-6243.
(4) Finally, you can come to our offices during the following visiting hours:
o Monday through Friday, from 8:30am to 12:30pm.
You may file a claim as provided by applicable law under the terms set out below. However, once this term has elapsed without the funds being claimed in the OCFI, they will be considered expired and the OCFI will not have jurisdiction over them:
· Funds reported by banks in Puerto Rico will have a term of three (3) years from the date of delivery of such funds to the Commissioner, as provided for by Act 55-1933.
· Funds reported from other institutions, other than banks, can be claimed at any time as provided for in Act 36-1989.
La institución financiera, concesionario de servicio o tenedor de una cuenta inactiva, bienes abandonados o no reclamados está obligado por ley a rendir un informe al 30 de junio de cada año y a transferir a la OCIF dichas cantidades de dinero u otros bienes líquidos no reclamados o presumidos abandonados. En el caso de cantidades no reclamadas de $100 o más, el tenedor está obligado además a publicar avisos en la prensa y en su página de Internet para notificar a los dueños que los activos relacionados en el aviso se remesarán a la OCIF si no se reclaman antes del 30 de noviembre del mismo año.
