A name change does not stop you from cashing a paper savings bond: you sign both the name on the bond and your current name, with the reason for the change (31 CFR 353.40(c); TreasuryDirect, as of November 11, 2026). No reissue is needed first.
A bank may pay when your name changed by marriage (31 CFR 321.7(b)). Any other change goes to Treasury by mail with FS Form 1522 (Revised April 2026). ClaimMyBonds is an independent private guide, not the government, and Treasury's forms are free.
Can You Cash a Savings Bond in Your Maiden Name?
Yes, you can cash a savings bond in your maiden name: you remain the owner, and you sign with the name printed on the bond and your current name, adding how the name changed. Treasury treats the bond as yours throughout, so nothing needs to change on the bond itself before you present it.
The same applies to a married name you no longer use after a divorce and to a name changed by court order. What differs is where you can cash: a bank for a marriage, the mail for the others. Our guide on how to cash savings bonds compares bank, mail and online routes.
Why a Name Change Does Not Require Reissue Before Cashing
A name change does not require reissue to cash the bond (TreasuryDirect, "Changing information about EE or I savings bonds"). Reissue in the new name is optional and produces an electronic bond, as the reissue section below explains. The paper bond in the former name stays payable to you.
How to Sign a Savings Bond After a Name Change
The signature on the request for payment shows both names and the manner in which the change was made (31 CFR 353.40(c)). Write the reason in words, such as "marriage", "divorce" or "order of court", and sign in ink.
The five signature examples below come from the regulation, FS Form 1522 and TreasuryDirect. Use the same pattern: the name on the bond, your current name, then the reason.
| Source | Example as printed | Kind of change |
|---|---|---|
| 31 CFR 353.40(c) | Mary T. Jones Smith (Mary T. J. Smith or Mary T. Smith) changed by marriage from Mary T. Jones | Marriage |
| 31 CFR 353.40(c) | John R. Young, changed by order of court from Hans R. Jung | Court order |
| FS Form 1522, Item 3 | Miss Mary T. Jones now by marriage Mrs. Mary T. Smith. | Marriage |
| TreasuryDirect | Mary Smith, Mary Jones (name changed due to marriage) | Marriage |
| TreasuryDirect | Mary Jones, Mary Smith (name changed due to divorce) | Divorce |
Source: 31 CFR 353.40(c) (eCFR as of November 9, 2026); FS Form 1522 (Revised April 2026); TreasuryDirect, as of November 11, 2026.
Which Bonds and Signers the Name-Change Rule Covers
The name-change signature rule covers three groups of paper bonds under three parallel sections of 31 CFR: Series E and the older series A to K plus Savings Notes (315.40(c)), Series EE and HH (353.40(c)), and Series I (360.40(c)).
Any signer who must sign a payment request uses the rule. That includes a co-owner, since either co-owner may cash alone (353.37), and a surviving beneficiary. A beneficiary has no right to cash while the owner lives (353.38).
Look at the registration first, because it shows which name is yours and whether a second name appears on the bond. Our guide to how to read a paper savings bond explains the owner line, the OR co-owner and the POD beneficiary (the person named to receive the bond at the owner's death).
| Bonds | Rule | Where you can cash |
|---|---|---|
| Series E savings bonds, older series A to K, Savings Notes | 315.40(c) | Bank for A to E and Savings Notes (A to D: TreasuryDirect sends owners to mail); mail for all; F, G, H, J, K Treasury only |
| Series EE and Series HH savings bonds | 353.40(c) | EE at a bank or by mail; HH Treasury only, at final maturity since August 1, 2024 |
| Series I | 360.40(c) | Bank or mail |
| Paying agents | 321.7(b) allows a change by marriage; 321.9(i) excludes other changes | Bank only for a change by marriage |
Source: 31 CFR 315, 321, 353 and 360 (eCFR as of November 6 to 9, 2026); TreasuryDirect Series HH page, as of November 11, 2026.
Cashing at a Bank After a Name Change by Marriage
A bank or credit union that acts as a paying agent (an institution Treasury authorizes to cash bonds) may pay you when your name changed by marriage and it establishes your identity (31 CFR 321.7(b)). Treasury's rule names a change by marriage only, so this is the one name change a counter can handle.
Bring the items in the list below.
- Original paper bonds: a copy or image is not accepted (321.25).
- Identification the bank accepts: an ID document alone only for payments of $1,000 or less (FS Publication 0022).
- Your signature in both names: with "changed by marriage", signed at the bank.
- Account standing: the bank's own requirement. The Secret Service recommends 12 months as a customer, a recommendation only (FS Publication 0022).
Banks may pay Series A, B, C, D, E, EE, I and Savings Notes, but not F, G, H, J, K or HH (321.7(a), 321.9(b)). For A to D, TreasuryDirect sends owners to mail. Banks may charge no fee (321.23(c)) and pay whole bonds only (321.9(l)).
If the Bank Refuses: Divorce, Court-Ordered Changes and Non-Customers
A paying agent may not pay when the case needs documentary evidence, and 31 CFR 321.9(i) lists a name change other than by marriage among those cases. A name restored after divorce or changed by court order therefore goes to Treasury by mail.
In wording terms, 321.7(b) names a change by marriage. It does not mention divorce, so mail is the safe route for a divorce name. Cashing for non-customers and new customers is optional for the bank under FS Publication 0022 (Rev. October 2022), even though 321.10(a) still reads "whether or not a customer".
Publication 0022 tells banks: "If you choose for any reason not to cash a bond, you may refer the customer to the TreasuryDirect.gov website and its instructions for cashing by mail." Dated bank policies are collected in our list of what banks cash savings bonds.
Cashing by Mail With FS Form 1522 After a Name Change
To cash a bond in a former name by mail, sign FS Form 1522 (Rev. April 2026) with both names and the manner of change, as in the form's example "Miss Mary T. Jones now by marriage Mrs. Mary T. Smith."
Mail it with the paper bonds to Treasury Retail Securities Services, P.O. Box 9150, Minneapolis, MN 55480-9150.
The signature needs a notary or certifying officer only when the total current redemption value is more than $1,000. At $1,000 or less, sign and enclose a current copy of a driver's license, passport, state ID or military ID. Current value counts, not face value. See savings bond signature certification for who may certify.
The table applies the $1,000 test to four sets of bonds, using values for redemption month November 2026.
| Bonds | Value each | Total | What FS Form 1522 needs |
|---|---|---|---|
| (a) Three $100 EE, June 1996 | $126.96 | $380.88 | ID copy |
| (b) One $500 EE, March 1992 | $1,036.80 | $1,036.80 | Notary or certifying officer |
| (c) Four $200 EE, June 2004 | $218.16 | $872.64 | ID copy |
| (d) One $1,000 EE, June 2008 | $646.40 | $646.40 | ID copy |
Source: Fiscal Data, Savings Bonds Value Files, redemption month November 2026. Bond (b) has a $500 face value but a value above $1,000. Bond (d) has a $1,000 face value and a value below it; the 20-year face guarantee applies to paper EE issued June 2003 and later. Bond (a) stopped earning interest on June 1, 2026 and bond (b) on March 1, 2022; (c) and (d) still earn. Values change on the 1st of each month. For other bonds, use our savings bond calculator, built on Treasury's published value files.
Payment goes by direct deposit only, to an account with a routing number of nine digits beginning 0, 1, 2 or 3. Paper bonds in your name take three months or longer, and bonds not in your name five months or longer (TreasuryDirect, as of November 11, 2026). A bond in your former name is a bond in your name.
Treasury refuses a request signed more than six months before it receives the bonds (31 CFR 353.39(c)). You bear the cost and risk of sending them (353.39(b)), and evidence you send is not returned. For every item of the form, see FS Form 1522, item by item.
Treasury mails Form 1099-INT in the following January. Interest is federally taxable in the year you cash or the bond reaches final maturity, whichever comes first (26 U.S.C. 454).
For a bond that reached final maturity in an earlier year, that earlier year is the one the rule names, so ask a tax professional how it applies to you.
Reissuing a Savings Bond in Your New Name Instead of Cashing It
Reissue in your new name is optional: FS Form 4000 (Rev. April 2026, OMB 1530-0025) asks Treasury to reissue paper Series EE and I bonds, and retirement bonds, in a new registration, and a name change is one of its reasons.
EE and I bonds come back only as electronic bonds in a TreasuryDirect account, in one name, with a secondary owner or beneficiary added afterwards. Paper reissue ended on February 14, 2014 (31 CFR 353.48(a) and 360.48(a); 79 FR 8858).
Sign before a notary or certifying officer, and not within one month of final maturity (353.45(b)). The form does not pay: "To request payment, submit FS Form 1522." Use the FS Form 4000 reissue request for the reissue itself.
The table compares the three routes after a name change.
| Point | Cash (both names) | Reissue (FS Form 4000) | Convert (SmartExchange) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Money | Electronic EE or I bond in one name | Electronic bond in your account |
| Series | All paper series | Paper EE, I, retirement bonds | Paper E, EE, I of $25 or more; not H or HH |
| Signature | Both names; certified by mail only above $1,000 | Notary or certifying officer | Signed conversion manifest |
| Account | None | TreasuryDirect, ID.me login since October 28, 2026 | Same |
| Time | 3 months or longer by mail | Not stated | 9 months or longer |
| Tax | Interest reportable in the year cashed or the year of final maturity, whichever comes first | Reissue in your name alone: no interest to report at that time (IRS Publication 550) | Not taxable while earning |
Source: FS Form 1522 and FS Form 4000 (Revised April 2026); TreasuryDirect Convert and Contact Us pages, as of November 11, 2026; IRS Publication 550 (2025); 31 CFR 363.161.
SmartExchange converts paper Series E, EE and I bonds of $25 or more into electronic bonds, and TreasuryDirect lists it as an alternative to FS Form 4000 for a name change.
Conversion is one-way and takes nine months or longer, and a matured bond is redeemed automatically. Read how to convert paper savings bonds to electronic.
Can you transfer a bond into someone else's name? A new owner is named only in the cases 31 CFR 353.47(a) allows, and FS Form 4000 lists them.
Name Change or Ownership Change? Savings Bonds After a Divorce
A divorce can change the name you sign with, the owner of the bond, or both, and each follows its own rule. Going back to a former name is a name change. For that, sign both names with "(name changed due to divorce)" (TreasuryDirect) and cash by mail, as described above.
Moving a bond from one spouse to the other needs a divorce decree that ratifies or confirms a property settlement disposing of the bonds (31 CFR 353.22(a); 315.22(a) for Series E; 360.22(a) for Series I).
A decree more than six months old needs a clerk's certificate dated within six months (353.23). Payment instead of reissue is available on request.
Your divorce attorney can tell you whether the decree's wording meets that test. Our page on savings bonds in divorce covers decrees and who gets the bonds.
Other Name and Registration Problems on Savings Bonds
Three related problems look like a name change but follow other rules, as the list below shows.
- Registration error: a misspelled name or a wrong registration.
- Childhood bond: a bond bought for you as a child.
- Relative's bond: a deceased relative's bonds in a former name.
A Misspelled Name or a Registration Error
Treasury corrects an error in a bond's registration by reissue when it receives satisfactory proof of the error (31 CFR 353.49). FS Form 4000 has a "correct a registration" reason for this case.
How Treasury treats a misspelling at the moment of cashing is not stated in the sources we use, so ask Treasury before mailing.
Bonds Bought for You as a Child, Cashed Under a New Name
A bond bought in your childhood name is yours to cash as an adult: sign the childhood name and your current name with the reason. If you are still under 18, a parent may sign for you only when you cannot understand the request (353.62, 353.63). See cashing a savings bond in a child's name.
A Deceased Relative's Bonds in a Former Name
When the owner has died, the survivor or the estate cashes the bond under the death rules, and the deceased owner's former name changes nothing about who is entitled. See savings bonds after death for the steps.
A surviving co-owner or POD beneficiary who changed her own name signs both of her names. The savings bond co-owner rules cover how to cash a deceased spouse's bonds.
Name Change Savings Bond FAQ
Can You Cash a Savings Bond in Your Maiden Name Online?
No: paper bonds cannot be cashed online in any name. Only electronic bonds are redeemed in TreasuryDirect, in amounts of $25 or more with at least $25 left. Converting a paper bond first is not needed to cash it, and conversion takes nine months or longer.
Do You Need a Marriage Certificate to Cash a Savings Bond?
31 CFR 353.40(c), FS Form 1522 and TreasuryDirect describe the signature (both names and the manner of change) and name no certificate. A bank may not accept documentary evidence for a change other than by marriage (321.9(i)). For a case outside these examples, call Treasury Retail Securities Services at 844-284-2676 before mailing.
Does Moving or a Masked SSN on the Bond Matter?
No. TreasuryDirect says: "The address does not affect ownership of the bond." It also says that an SSN shown on the bond as five asterisks followed by the last 4 numbers "is NOT a problem."
Can You Cash a Savings Bond That Is Not in Your Name?
Only the owner, a co-owner or a person entitled under the regulations cashes a bond, with that person's evidence. The rules are in our guide to cashing savings bonds for someone else.
How Long Are Savings Bonds Good For After a Name Change?
Savings bonds never expire, and there is no deadline to cash them (Executive Order 13968, 85 FR 83745). A name change does not affect that, but a matured bond stops earning interest. See when savings bonds stop earning interest.
Rules checked November 11, 2026, against the Treasury sources named above; see our methodology.