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Surplus funds in Washington.

When a property in Washington sells at a tax sale or a foreclosure sale for more than what was owed, the extra can belong to the former owner. Here is who holds it, the law behind it, and every county office linked so you can check for yourself, free.

Star Thing Wind is a private company, not the Clerk or any government office.

Foreclosure sales here

Both judicial and non-judicial.

Our fee here

We don't offer paid help in Washington. You can claim surplus here yourself, free; see below.

Tax sale surplus

Excess proceeds from county tax foreclosures are refunded, after any recorded water-sewer district liens are paid, to the record owner, meaning the person who held title when the certificate of delinquency was issued. Claim through the county treasurer. Under RCW 84.64.080(10) the treasurer holds the surplus for three years, and if it is not claimed it goes to the county, not the state unclaimed-property program; an assignment made after the certificate of delinquency is filed doesn't change who gets it. Washington's 5% locator-fee cap (RCW 63.30.790) applies to property already delivered to the state, not to this county stage. We don't offer paid recovery here: self-filing with the treasurer is free, and we'll point you to the right office.

Foreclosure surplus

Foreclosure type
Both
Who holds the surplus

The clerk of the superior court in the county of sale. After a non-judicial trustee's sale, the trustee must deposit the surplus, less the clerk's filing fee, with the clerk and is then discharged. In a judicial foreclosure, the clerk holds any excess after the sheriff's sale is confirmed.

The clerk indexes the money under the grantor's name. A former owner files a motion for disbursement in that county's superior court and serves or mails notice to everyone who received the trustee's surplus notice, at least 20 days before the hearing. Junior liens and interests wiped out by the sale attach to the surplus in their old priority, and the clerk pays out only on court order (RCW 61.24.080(3)). Judicial-sale excess is paid the same way, by court order to lienholders by priority and then to the debtor (RCW 61.12.150, 6.21.110). The statute sets no claim deadline.

Fees and assignments. No statute sets a specific fee rule for court-held foreclosure surplus. Washington's 5% cap on locator agreements (RCW 63.30.790(2)) and its writing requirements (RCW 63.30.780) clearly cover property held by the state unclaimed property administrator (Department of Revenue). The Washington Attorney General has also applied a 5% limit to a company recovering foreclosure surplus held by a superior court clerk (State v. Real Estate Investment Network, King County Superior Court, consent decree 2019). Our own policy follows that decree: our fee and any attorney's fee together are capped at 5% on Washington foreclosure surplus, shown in writing before you sign; if your attorney's fee alone reaches that, we charge nothing. The 5% cap does not apply to an owner's agreement with an attorney to pursue a claim for specifically identified property held by the Department of Revenue (RCW 63.30.790(4), as amended in 2025).

Published surplus lists

These official Washington pages publish lists or lookups of unclaimed surplus or excess proceeds. If your name or parcel appears, the office that runs the list can tell you how to claim, free.

Lists change often and may be out of date. Checked October 2026.

Claiming it yourself

We don't offer paid help in Washington. You can claim surplus here yourself, free.

See the free self-filing steps →

Every Washington county office(39)

Surplus is public record. Call the office that held the sale with the parcel or case number; in most places it will confirm whether a surplus exists, how much, and the deadline. Self-filing is free. Each entry links the county's tax office and court clerk where the directory lists them, plus the full set of county offices.

Each dot is a county below. Pick one from the list to see it up close.© OpenStreetMap contributors

Check this yourself

This page is plain-language orientation, not legal advice. Statutes were checked against official sources in October 2026, and county links come from the NETR public-records directory, an independent resource. Laws and county procedures change, so confirm with the office before you rely on any of it. You can always file a claim yourself with no recovery fee (a court or notary may charge a small fee).