DE VDA Invitation Letters Update: February 19, 2021
Pursuant to 12 Del. C. §1173(b), the Delaware Secretary of State (SOS) has distributed a new wave of letters inviting companies to enter the unclaimed property Voluntary Disclosure Agreement (VDA) Program.
Holders have 60 days from the date of the letter to enroll in the SOS VDA program. Organizations should encourage their unclaimed property contacts, CFO’s, upper management, and DE registered agents to be on the lookout for this letter. Many times, when holders receive these letters they are not brought to the attention of the appropriate person or department causing the company to miss their VDA invitation window. Holders that do not respond to the VDA invitation letter within 60 days will be referred to State Escheator for audit examination.
DE VDA History
Delaware Senate Bill 141, which was passed and became effective on July 22, 2015, indefinitely extended the Delaware Secretary of State Unclaimed Property VDA program that originally expired July 1, 2016. Also included within DE SB 141 was the provision that no holder would be eligible for an audit without first receiving a notice or invitation to enroll in the VDA program. Holders enrolled in the VDA program are not eligible for audit by the State Escheator. However, if a holder receives an audit notice, they are precluded from enrolling the SOS VDA Program and the Department of State is unable to accept their enrollment.
