California voluntary compliance program takes another step towards implementation

On March 14, 2023, the California State Controller (SCO) website added a link to complete a Voluntary Compliance Program (VCP) Interest Form for companies interested in participating in the recently enacted VCP, along with additional details and information about the program.

Steps to participate in the VCP

Interested holders need to complete a quick survey demonstrating their interest in the VCP to receive an official application that would then be reviewed and approved or denied by the SCO. Based on the information available, it appears that the SCO may try to run the initial VCP enrollees concurrently with normal California compliance deadlines, including a holder training that must be done in advance of reporting and remitting any past-due property to the state. Per the SCO website, once a holder receives the application form, the holder must complete the form and be sure to include:

• Staff members who will attend training and submit reports
• Estimated value of inactive properties and accounts in your records

After reviewing applications and approving enrollment, the SCO will provide due dates for required deliverables that appear to coincide with the standard unclaimed property reporting cycle. Per the SCO, this will be an on-going program, so if a holder is unable to meet the due dates for the current reporting season, the SCO will continue to accept applications and provide deadlines to subsequent enrollees that are likely to be consistent with future report year due dates.

According to the SCO, the dates below will be assigned to initial enrollees for the upcoming report year:

• July 31, 2023 – Required training completed
• September 30, 2023 – Due diligence completed
• Before November 1, 2023 – Notice Report submitted
• June 1-15, 2024 – Remit Report and remittance submitted

When deciding whether or not to apply to the VCP, holder’s need to note the eligibility requirements, and that the SCO will NOT consider applications from holders that:

• Are currently subject to an unclaimed property examination