More than 31,000 Luzerne County residents who overpaid on their vehicle registration fees will automatically receive refunds "as quickly as possible," state Treasurer Stacy Garrity says.
Treasury officials said they expect the refund process to be completed by May.
The overpayments resulted after Luzerne County eliminated its $5 annual vehicle registration fee. The county stopped collecting the fee in 2021, but some residents had paid for two-year vehicle registration renewals to cover 2021 and 2022.
Luzerne County Manager Romilda Crocamo says that the county received an average annual revenue of approximately $1.5 million from the fees between 2019 and 2021.
Most refunds will be for $5, but some recipients are owed $10, $15 or $20, the treasurer's office said.
“I want to make the process of returning this money as simple as possible for everyone in Luzerne County who’s owed a refund,” Garrity said. “This situation isn’t their fault, and they shouldn’t have to fill out a form to get their money back. I’m very happy to work with Luzerne County officials to refund this money as quickly as possible.”
Overall, the state Treasury has more than $4.5 billion in unclaimed property owed to more than one in 10 Pennsylvanians, with an average claim of $1,600.
Anyone can search for unclaimed property online at patreasury.gov/unclaimed-property. For help with a claim, residents can call 800-222-4060 or email tupmail@patreasury.gov.
