The original Initiative 776 refund checks issued by the state Department of Licensing (DOL) are now expired, but those who didn’t get them deposited in time still have an opportunity to claim their refund.

These refund checks were valid for 90 days but have now expired and will not be honored by local banks. Using a 90-day expiration date on these types of checks is a common practice and helped to protect the state from check fraud.

The Bank of America account these checks were drawn from was closed this week. The remaining funds have been deposited with the Office of the States Treasurer. Citizens who have Initiative 776 (I-776) refund checks that haven’t yet been cashed or have other questions about I-776 refunds can contact the DOL customer service center at 360-902-3770 for more information.

In October 2004, the DOL sent a total of 2,324,805 refund checks to vehicle owners who paid fees eliminated or reduced when voters approved I-776 in November 2002. About 96 percent of these checks were cashed before they expired.

More information about the I-776 refund process is available at http://www.dol.wa.gov.