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Hawaii Unclaimed Property — Department of Budget and Finance

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Hawaii Unclaimed Property — Department of Budget and Finance

Agency directory page. Legal information, not legal advice. Last verified: 2026-06-02.

Agency

Hawaii’s unclaimed-property program is administered by the State of Hawaii Department of Budget and Finance, Unclaimed Property Division. The program operates under Hawaii’s Uniform Unclaimed Property Act, Hawaii Revised Statutes (HRS) Chapter 523A. (Sources: Hawaii Dept. of Budget and Finance, https://budget.hawaii.gov/finance/unclaimedproperty/ ; NAUPA Hawaii profile, https://unclaimed.org/reporting/hawaii/ ; both retrieved 2026-06-02. The exact HRS 523A section numbers for each dormancy category are needs_verification against the current Hawaii Revised Statutes.)

Official claim portal

Owners may search and file claims for property at no cost. (Source: https://budget.hawaii.gov/finance/unclaimedproperty/ , retrieved 2026-06-02.)

How surplus escheats here

See escheat-and-unclaimed-property for the general custodial-taking framework and hawaii for the state’s tax-sale surplus mechanics.

Dormant intangible property reported to the Department of Budget and Finance is held in custody for the owner under HRS Chapter 523A; title does not pass, so the owner’s claim is not time-barred (consistent with the model in escheat-and-unclaimed-property). Whether a specific tax-foreclosure surplus reaches this fund — versus being retained at the county level (Honolulu, Hawaii, Maui, or Kauai county) — is governed by the foreclosure statute on the hawaii page (Module 3) and is needs_verification for any individual parcel.

  • General dormancy period: five (5) years for most property types (savings, checking, official bank checks, safe-deposit boxes, dividends, securities, debt instruments, fiduciary funds, credit memos, vendor payments); wages and utility deposits/refunds one (1) year; traveler’s checks fifteen (15) years. (Source: NAUPA Hawaii profile, https://unclaimed.org/reporting/hawaii/ ; Hawaii Dept. of Budget and Finance, https://budget.hawaii.gov/finance/unclaimedproperty/ ; retrieved 2026-06-02. Statutory basis HRS Chapter 523A; precise subsections needs_verification.)

Claiming

  1. Search by name at https://unclaimedproperty.ehawaii.gov/lilo/property-search.html (or request a name search by phone).
  2. File a claim as the rightful owner at no cost.
  3. Provide proof of identity and proof of ownership/address linking the claimant to the reported owner; heirs provide estate documentation, businesses provide entity records.
  4. Contact: Hawaii Unclaimed Property Program, (808) 586-1589. (Source: https://budget.hawaii.gov/finance/unclaimedproperty/ , retrieved 2026-06-02.)

▸ For Former Owners. If the Department of Budget and Finance holds funds in your name, the claim is free and not time-barred — search https://unclaimedproperty.ehawaii.gov/lilo/property-search.html first. Confirm on the hawaii page whether your tax-foreclosure surplus actually escheated to the state or was held/forfeited at the county.

▸ For Investors / Operators. Hawaii dormant intangibles held by Budget and Finance are custodial and reclaimable in perpetuity — a downstream timing fact that does not cloud acquired title or revive redemption (see escheat-and-unclaimed-property). Confirm the surplus destination and any county-level deadline on the hawaii page.

Sources

Disclaimer. This page is legal information, not legal advice. It is a general summary that may be incomplete or out of date; law and agency procedure change. The exact HRS Chapter 523A dormancy subsections are unverified here — verify them, and the surplus destination, against the current Hawaii Revised Statutes, the live state portal, and the hawaii page, and consult a licensed Hawaii attorney before acting. Nothing here creates an attorney-client relationship.

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