BELLINGHAM — So you found some cash on the street.
Maybe you considered reporting it but decided it was too much of a hassle to track down the person who lost it. Or perhaps you could use an extra few bucks and figure there’s no way to track down the original owner.
Are you allowed to slip it into your wallet, or does Washington law consider that theft?
Washington laws for reporting cash that you find
State law doesn’t specifically address what to do when you find cash on the street, but it does outline what to do if you find lost property, with money falling into that category.
You have to report any money you find on the street to law enforcement within seven days of finding it. If it amounts to less than $100, officers are instructed to let you keep the money as long as “it is determined there is no reason for the officer or designee to retain the property.”
If you find more than $100, though, then it’s a different story.
Officers are instructed to hold onto the property for sixty days. During that time, the original owner can claim the lost money and prove it belongs to them. However, this can be difficult with cash since there are very few, if any, identifiable features specific to any given bill.
After sixty days, if the cash still hasn’t been claimed, it’s yours — once you pay a $10 administrative fee and the cost of law enforcement publicizing the lost property.
What happens if you don’t report the cash you found?
According to state law, anyone who doesn’t report the lost property they found will “forfeit all right to the property” and “be liable for the full value of the property to its owner.”
That means there’s a chance the original owner reports the missing cash and police are able to figure out that you found it. In that case, you’d have to return the original amount you found.
You’d also have to worry about the state’s definition of theft, which includes “[appropriating] lost or misdelivered property or services of another.”
Most cases where the property is valued at less than $750 are considered third-degree theft, which is a misdemeanor in Washington.
