We did not send notice to our customers that property held in their safe deposit boxes would be reported as abandoned property until September 22, leaving fewer than sixty days before we must report and remit the property to the Illinois Treasurer. Is it too late to remit the property to the Illinois Treasurer this year, and are we required to send a second notice to these customers by certified mail?

No, it is not too late to report and remit abandoned property held in the safe deposit boxes this year. We contacted the Illinois Treasurer’s office about this question (without using your bank’s name) and were told that if the sixty-day notice period will expire shortly after the November 1 deadline, you should delay filing your unclaimed property report and deliver the unclaimed property after the sixty-day period has passed. You also should contact the Treasurer’s office at [email protected] to notify them of the delay. Given the risk of interest and penalties for late reports, we strongly recommend contacting the Treasurer’s office as soon as possible.

The Illinois Revised Uniform Unclaimed Property Act (Illinois RUUPA) requires banks to attempt to notify customers before reporting property valued at $50 or more no less than sixty days before filing the report — i.e., by September 3 for reports due on November 1 — so a notice sent on September 22 would not provide the required sixty days’ notice to property holders.

Generally, holders that fail to “report, pay, or deliver property within the time prescribed” must pay the Treasurer interest at a rate of 1% per month on the property from the date it should have been reported, paid, or delivered until the date the duty is met. In addition to interest, the Treasurer also may require a holder to pay a civil penalty of $200 for each day a duty is not performed, up to a cumulative maximum amount of $5,000. Consequently, we recommend contacting the Treasurer’s office at [email protected] as soon as possible to notify them of the delay.

Also, we do not believe that you need to send a second notice. There is no requirement for a second notice to property owners, and sending notice by certified mail is required only when securities valued at $1,000 or more are presumed abandoned.

For resources related to our guidance, please see:

Illinois RUUPA, 765 ILCS 1026/15-501(a) (“Subject to subsections (b) and (c), the holder of property presumed abandoned shall send to the apparent owner notice by first-class United States mail that complies with Section 15-502 in a format acceptable to the administrator not more than one year nor less than 60 days before filing the report under Section 15-401 if:

(1) the holder has in its records an address for the apparent owner which the holder’s records do not disclose to be invalid and is sufficient to direct the delivery of first-class United States mail to the apparent owner; and

(2) the value of the property is $50 or more.”)

Illinois RUUPA, 765 ILCS 1026/15-501(c) (“The holder of securities presumed abandoned under Sections 15-202, 15-203, or 15-208 shall send to the apparent owner notice by certified United States mail that complies with Section 15-502 in a format acceptable to the administrator not less than 60 days before filing the report under Section 15-401 if:

(1) the holder has in its records an address for the apparent owner which the holder's records do not disclose to be invalid and is sufficient to direct the delivery of United States mail to the apparent owner; and

(2) the value of the property is $1,000 or more.”)

Illinois RUUPA, 765 ILCS 1026/15-403(a) (“Except as otherwise provided in subsection (b) and subject to subsection (c), the report under Section 15-401 must be filed before November 1 of each year and cover the 12 months preceding July 1 of that year. Business associations which must report under this subsection (a) include financial organizations and insurance companies other than life insurance companies; all other business associations must file under subsection (b).”)

Illinois RUUPA, 765 ILCS 1026/15-1204(a) (“A holder that fails to report, pay, or deliver property within the time prescribed by this Act shall pay to the administrator interest at a rate of 1% per month on the property or value of the property from the date the property should have been reported, paid, or delivered to the administrator until the date reported, paid, or delivered.”)

Illinois RUUPA, 765 ILCS 1026/15-1204(b) (“Except as otherwise provided in Section 15-1 or 15-1206, the administrator may require a holder that fails to report, pay, or deliver property within the time prescribed by this Act to pay to the administrator, in addition to interest included under subsection (a), a civil penalty of $200 for each day the duty is not performed, up to a cumulative maximum amount of $5,000.”)