What unclaimed property information can be obtained through WVFOIA?
The West Virginia State Treasurer’s Office (“STO”) can provide on CD-ROM the database of unclaimed property owner names and cities of last known address, as those records appear on the STO web site. However, any further information regarding unclaimed property owners is exempt from the provisions of the West Virginia Freedom of Information Act contained in West Virginia Code §29B-1-1 et seq. Specifically, West Virginia Code §36-8-25 states that: “Records of abandoned property kept by the administrator are available for inspection and copying only by an owner of such property as to the particular property he or she owns, or by his or her personal representative, next of kin, attorney at law or such person entitled to inherit from the owner conducting a legal audit thereof. These records are exempt from the provisions of chapter twenty-nine-b of this code.
