North America

Demystifying Codes for Unclaimed Property Compliance

Danielle Herring
August 19, 2019

This blog was last updated on February 23, 2021

Have you ever been confused about which property code to use for a certain type of property? We have all been there. NAUPA, the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators, has a list of standard codes that you can view here starting at the bottom of page 17.
 
Property Types
 
There are many types of unclaimed property such as payroll checks, uncashed payroll checks or vendor checks, life insurance policies, IRA accounts, warrants, cashier’s checks or gift cards which were never redeemed. All of these property code types have their own unique code to be used when creating unclaimed property reports.
 
Property Codes
 
Each code is made up of two alpha characters and two numeric characters. The alpha characters identify a property category. AC codes are account related and usually used by financial institutions. CK codes are checks and could potentially be used by anyone. CS codes are new and are used for educational savings accounts. HS codes are new and are used for health savings accounts. CT codes are for courts and governments. IN codes are insurance-related. IR codes are also a new category and are for IRAs. MI codes are for mineral interests. These are used by oil and gas companies. MS codes are a miscellaneous category and include such things as payroll checks and refunds due. SC codes are for securities. They are used for items like dividend checks and shares of stock. TR codes are for trusts. UT codes are for utilities. The ZZZZ code is an ‘other’ category and should only be used if there is truly no other code that will properly identify the property you are reporting.
 
Each code is assigned a dormancy value. This is the number of years that type of property should age before it is reported to the state. The NAUPA list is a suggestion of codes for the states to use. Each state decides which codes they will adopt and how many years each should age before it is reported. Some states use extra codes that are not on the NAUPA standard list. For example, Louisiana has over 60 IR codes. Because of the variations from state to state, you’ll want to look at each state’s list of codes. You can find the codes on the states’ unclaimed property websites. Most states include the list in their handbooks. Some states post them as a separate listing on their unclaimed property page.
 
If you are a Sovos UPExchange user, you can find the property codes on the Resources page. Select a state on the map then click on the Property Codes link.
 
The property codes are required for unclaimed property reporting. It is very important to choose the correct code. If you are ever in doubt about which property code to use, it is best to contact the states. Unclaimed property experts can give you an educated guess about which codes will best identify your property, but since this is actually legal advice it is best to go directly to the states.

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Author

Danielle Herring

In her role as compliance manager for unclaimed property reporting, Danielle Herring oversees support of the product, researches changes in state unclaimed property laws so the system is updated to comply with them, and tests changes to the system before they are released. Danielle also completes some report and letter processing for current clients, assists with their direct support, provides customer training, and helps with troubleshooting and questions about using the product. Outside of work, Danielle loves to garden and is a master gardener.
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