Yes, you may charge a service fee when you remit property to the State (also known as an “escheat fee”), subject to the limitations discussed below. If an account has been deemed to be abandoned, requiring its remittance to the Illinois Treasurer’s office, Illinois law permits banks to withhold “lawful charges” from the account before the remittance. The Illinois Treasurer’s administrative rules provide that a “lawful charge” is one that a customer has permitted in a valid, enforceable, written contract.

To determine if your customers have agreed to an abandoned property remittance fee, you should check the language in your account agreements. If abandoned property remittance fees are not addressed in your agreements, and you wish to charge this fee in the future, we recommend that you consult with your bank’s counsel on the proper way to amend your existing agreements so as to allow this fee.     

For resources related to our guidance, please see:

• 765 ILCS 1025/2(a) [Repealed effective 1/1/18] (Describing what constitutes abandoned property and excluding any charges that may lawfully be withheld.)

• 74 Ill. Adm. Code 760.60(a) (“There must be a valid, enforceable, written contract between the holder and the customer to permit the lawful withholding of charges described in Sections 2, 2a, 4 and 9 of the Act.”)

• 205 ILCS 5/5e(b) (“The establishment of account service charges and the amounts of the charges not otherwise limited or prescribed by law is a business decision to be made by a bank according to prudent business judgment and safe and sound operating standards. In establishing account service charges, the bank may consider, but is not limited to considering, the costs incurred by the bank, plus a profit margin, for providing the service, the deterrence of misuse of the bank's services, the establishment of the competitive position of the bank in accordance with the bank's marketing strategy, and the maintenance of the safety and soundness of the bank.”)