West Virginia earns a D- for its civil forfeiture laws
Standard of Proof
Low bar to forfeit: Prosecutors must prove by preponderance of the evidence that property is connected to a crime.
Innocent Owner Burden
Poor protections for the innocent: Third-party owners must prove their own innocence to recover seized property.
Financial Incentive
Large profit incentive: 100% of forfeiture proceeds go to law enforcement.
The letter grade reflects West Virginia’s forfeiture laws as of May 7, 2025. When we become aware of relevant reforms, we are updating the standard of proof, innocent owner burden, and financial incentive language above, but we are not updating the letter grade.
Note: Prosecutors need only meet their standard of proof—and owners can only prove their innocence—if owners make it to a judicial hearing. See flow chart.
Recent Reforms
Recommendations
What happens after personal property is seized in West Virginia?
Under West Virginia law, prosecutors’ and owners’ deadlines leading to a judicial hearing add up to 240 days, but the wait may be longer as there is no deadline for the hearing itself. While you wait, the government has your property, and you have no way to seek its return.
*The process shown here is for administrative forfeiture, which prosecutors can pursue for cash. For other property, prosecutors must pursue judicial forfeiture.
For research methods and limitations, see “How We Documented Civil Forfeiture Processes From Seizure to Hearing.”
State and Federal Forfeiture Proceeds, 2000–2023
At least $88 million in state and federal forfeiture revenue
| Year | West Virginia Forfeiture Revenues | Dept. of Justice Equitable Sharing Proceeds | Treasury Equitable Sharing Proceeds | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Unknown | $1,044,905 | $21,000 | $1,065,905 |
| 2001 | Unknown | $386,402 | $210,000 | $596,402 |
| 2002 | Unknown | $571,932 | $7,000 | $578,932 |
| 2003 | Unknown | $733,707 | $66,000 | $799,707 |
| 2004 | Unknown | $485,771 | $0 | $485,771 |
| 2005 | Unknown | $444,318 | $373,000 | $817,318 |
| 2006 | Unknown | $485,430 | $58,000 | $543,430 |
| 2007 | Unknown | $24,636,120 | $24,000 | $24,660,120 |
| 2008 | Unknown | $20,764,145 | $67,000 | $20,831,145 |
| 2009 | Unknown | $995,179 | $284,000 | $1,279,179 |
| 2010 | Unknown | $1,595,877 | $0 | $1,595,877 |
| 2011 | Unknown | $1,527,381 | $43,000 | $1,570,381 |
| 2012 | Unknown | $979,191 | $0 | $979,191 |
| 2013 | Unknown | $1,238,092 | $1,336,000 | $2,574,092 |
| 2014 | Unknown | $2,106,802 | $673,000 | $2,779,802 |
| 2015 | Unknown | $552,215 | $527,000 | $1,079,215 |
| 2016 | Unknown | $901,619 | $184,000 | $1,085,619 |
| 2017 | Unknown | $2,754,108 | $1,441,000 | $4,195,108 |
| 2018 | Unknown | $1,691,427 | $372,000 | $2,063,427 |
| 2019 | Unknown | $682,273 | $0 | $682,273 |
| 2020 | $97,711 | $475,947 | $14,000 | $587,658 |
| 2021 | $694,284 | $1,048,973 | $8,000 | $1,751,257 |
| 2022 | $890,694 | $714,240 | $178,000 | $1,782,934 |
| 2023 | $177,655 | $13,749,544 | $15,000 | $13,942,199 |
| Totals | $1,860,344 | $80,565,598 | $5,901,000 | $88,326,942 |
All revenue figures include both civil and criminal forfeitures. Revenues are not adjusted for inflation.
Federal Equitable Sharing
West Virginia does not prevent state and local law enforcement agencies from using the federal equitable sharing program to circumvent state forfeiture law. Since 2000, West Virginia agencies have generated more than $86 million in equitable sharing proceeds from the departments of Justice and the Treasury. And on average from 2019 to 2023, 61 West Virginia agencies, or an estimated 31% of all law enforcement agencies in the state, were certified for the program.
Forfeitures Under West Virginia Law: Key Facts
Median Value
$2,328
From 2020 to 2023, half of West Virginia’s currency forfeitures were worth less than $2,328.
Property Types
From 2020 to 2023, at least 61% of West Viriginia’s forfeitures were of currency. Property types, however, were not reported for over a third of properties.
Proceeding Types
UNKNOWN
West Virginia does not report whether forfeitures are processed under civil or criminal forfeiture law.
Additional Findings
UNKNOWN
Most property was still wending its way through the forfeiture process at the time of reporting, resulting in an incomplete picture of forfeiture activity in the state.
Forfeiture Transparency and Accountability Report Card
Tracking Seized Property
CStatewide Forfeiture Reports
APenalties for Failure to File a Report
D*Accounting for Forfeiture Fund Spending
BAccessibility of Forfeiture Records
AFinancial Audits of Forfeiture Accounts
C*Agencies must file even when they have nothing to report.
For full transparency and accountability grades, visit ij.org/TransparencyReportCards.
Data Notes
Statewide, property-level forfeiture data were downloaded from the state open records portal. Revenues represent the value of property seized in a fiscal year and forfeited by the time of the report. Because final disposition was pending for more than 50% of properties, revenues are likely substantially underestimated. This problem was especially acute for 2023, where over 80% of reported properties were pending. Records for 2020—the first year of statewide reporting—appear incomplete. Data for earlier years reported in the third edition of Policing for Profit were incomplete because they were not statewide and are not included here. Equitable sharing data are from DOJ’s and Treasury’s annual forfeiture reports. Due to differences in reporting and accounting practices, figures may not match aggregate numbers produced by the state or cover the same 12-month period as the federal data. The number of certified agencies was computed using the approved Equitable Sharing Agreement and Certification requests submitted by police, sheriff, and other local law enforcement agencies. The percentage of certified agencies was computed using that number and the total number of agencies reported in the 2018 Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies.
Legal Sources
Standard of proof: Preponderance of the evidence.
W. Va. Code § 60A-7-705(e).
Innocent owner burden: Owner.
W. Va. Code § 60A-7-703(a)(5)(ii), (7), (8).
Financial incentive: 100%.
W. Va. Code §§ 60A-7-702, -706. But see W. Va. Const. art. XII, § 5 (requiring “net proceeds” of “forfeitures” to go to the school fund).
Process: W. Va. Code §§ 60A-7-701 et seq. (forfeiture procedure); W. Va. R. Civ. P. 4(i) (service of complaint).