FS Form 1522: Special Form of Request for Payment of Savings Bonds, and How to Cash Paper Bonds by Mail

FS Form 1522 is the 4-page Treasury form you mail with paper savings bonds to cash them, and the current version is Revised April 2026.

You need a notary or certifying officer only when the bonds' total current redemption value (what they are worth today, including interest) is more than $1,000. Treasury pays by direct deposit. For bonds in your own name, TreasuryDirect quotes three months or longer (as of November 11, 2026).

ClaimMyBonds is an independent private guide, not the government. The form is free from TreasuryDirect, and Treasury charges no fee to cash bonds by mail. This page follows FS Form 1522 from download to deposit and compares it with cashing at a bank.

What Is FS Form 1522 Used For?

FS Form 1522 is the request for payment that owners and entitled persons sign to cash paper US savings bonds, Savings Notes and retirement bonds through Treasury by mail. It covers paper securities only.

The form's official title is "Special Form of Request for Payment of United States Savings and Retirement Securities Where Use of a Detached Request Is Authorized."

It carries OMB control number 1530-0028, the federal approval number printed on the form, and Treasury estimates that it takes about 15 minutes to complete. Every FS form and where to get it is listed in our guide to savings bond forms.

The table below collects the key facts about the form.

Source: FS Form 1522 (Revised April 2026); TreasuryDirect, as of November 11, 2026.

The form is widely used. The Bureau of the Fiscal Service expects 14,000 people a year to file FS Form 1522 and estimates 3,500 hours in total for filling it out, its so-called burden hours.

Those figures come from its notice in 91 FR 41171 (July 6, 2026), and the hours are repeated in 91 FR 62814 (October 2, 2026).

Which Savings Bonds You Can Cash With FS Form 1522

FS Form 1522 pays four kinds of paper securities: savings bonds of every series, Savings Notes, Retirement Plan Bonds and Individual Retirement Bonds. Savings Notes, also called Freedom Shares, were sold from May 1967 to October 1970. Banks may pay only some of these series, so the list below sorts them by route.

• Bank or mail: Series E savings bonds, Series EE, Series I and Savings Notes. Paying agents, the banks and other financial institutions Treasury authorizes to cash bonds, may pay them under 31 CFR 321.7(a).
• Mail only: Series F, G, H, J and K, and Series HH savings bonds, because banks may not pay them (31 CFR 321.9(b)). Every HH bond reached final maturity, the date a bond stops earning interest, by August 1, 2024, and is worth its face value.
• Mail only: retirement plan bonds, meaning Retirement Plan Bonds (January 1963 to April 30, 1982) and Individual Retirement Bonds (January 1, 1975 to April 30, 1982).
• Mail only in practice: Series A to D (March 1935 to April 1941). 31 CFR 321.7(a) still lists them among bank-payable series, but TreasuryDirect sends owners to FS Form 1522 by mail.

Savings bonds never expire. Executive Order 13968 (85 FR 83745) states that there is no deadline to redeem them, so a bond past final maturity can still be cashed with this form, although it no longer earns interest.

Who Can Sign FS Form 1522?

Six kinds of signers may complete FS Form 1522. The owner, a co-owner and a surviving beneficiary sign for themselves. The other three are the legal representative of a deceased or incompetent owner's estate, the persons entitled to a deceased registrant's estate, and others entitled under the Treasury regulations.

A minor may sign when the notary or certifying officer judges the child competent to make the request. A person who is legally incompetent may not sign. The evidence each signer adds, such as a death certificate, is set out in the section on heirs and representatives below.

How to Fill Out FS Form 1522, Item by Item

FS Form 1522 has 3 numbered items plus a certification block: Item 1 describes the bonds, Item 2 gives the direct deposit details, and Item 3 holds your signature. The table below shows what goes in each part and the rule to watch.

Source: FS Form 1522 (Revised April 2026); 31 CFR 353.39, 353.40.

Item 1: Describing Your Bonds by Issue Date and Serial Number

Item 1 opens with your statement "I am the owner or person entitled to payment of the securities described below," followed by the names on the bonds. Then it identifies each bond by its issue date and serial number: "Describe the bonds by issue date and serial number."

Attach a list or FS Form 3500, the continuation sheet (Revised April 2026), when you cash more bonds than the space holds. The issue date, the first day of the month the issuing agent received payment, prices the bond. The validation date, the date inscribed when the bond was printed, never does.

Item 2: Direct Deposit Details for Your Payment

Treasury pays a mailed redemption only by direct deposit, so Item 2 asks for the bank account that receives the money. The form requires direct deposit, and a check is not offered.

The payee gives a Social Security Number, or an Employer Identification Number (EIN, the tax number of a business, estate or trust) when the payee is an estate or trust. Item 2 also asks for the account details and a routing number of "nine digits and begins with 0, 1, 2, or 3."

Item 3: Signing FS Form 1522, Including After a Name Change

Item 3 is your signature under a taxpayer certification. Under penalties of perjury, you certify that your Taxpayer Identification Number is correct, that you are not subject to backup withholding and that you are a US person.

Below it you add your printed name, Social Security Number, home address, daytime phone and email. Sign with both names after a name change, and show how the change happened. The form's own example reads "Miss Mary T. Jones now by marriage Mrs. Mary T. Smith." That rule comes from 31 CFR 353.40(c).

Timing matters for the signature too. Treasury does not accept a request signed more than six months before it receives the bonds (31 CFR 353.39(c)). Owners may send the bonds signed or unsigned. Representatives, such as attorneys-in-fact and estate representatives, leave the bonds unsigned.

Does FS Form 1522 Need to Be Notarized? The $1,000 Rule

FS Form 1522 needs a notary or certifying officer only when the current redemption value of the bonds you are cashing totals more than $1,000. You sign without certification at $1,000 or less, and you enclose a current copy of your driver's license, passport, state ID or military ID.

The test uses current redemption value, not face value. A bond with a $500 face value can be worth more than $1,000 after decades of interest.

TreasuryDirect has a calculator that shows the current value, and our savings bond calculator is built on Treasury's published Fiscal Data value files. The $1,000 test applies to the total value, not to each bond on its own.

The table below applies the $1,000 test to three sets of bonds, using values for redemption month November 2026.

Source: Fiscal Data, Savings Bonds Value Files, redemption month November 2026.

Example (a) has a $500 face value, yet its current redemption value of $1,036.80 crosses the line, so the signature must be certified. Examples (a) and (c) stopped earning interest years ago, so holding them longer adds nothing to their value.

Who Can Certify Your Signature on FS Form 1522

Three kinds of certification are accepted on FS Form 1522 when the total is more than $1,000. They are listed below.

• Notary: a notary public's certification with the notary seal.
• Financial institution seal or stamp: an officer's certification with a "Signature Guaranteed" or "Endorsement Guaranteed" stamp, a corporate seal, or an issuing or paying agent stamp.
• Medallion stamp: a stamp from a Treasury-recognized Signature Guarantee or Medallion program. The form adds: "If a Medallion stamp is used, an original signature is required."

A certifying officer is a person the Treasury regulations authorize to confirm your identity and signature, listed in 31 CFR 353.55. They include officers of US-incorporated banks and trust companies, and US consular representatives abroad.

Under 353.56, the officer and the institution are fully responsible for the adequacy of identification. Under 353.57, an officer with an interest in the bonds may not certify. ClaimMyBonds does not certify signatures. Our guide to savings bond signature certification compares the notary, officer and medallion routes.

Older FS Form 1522 Copies With Superseded Rules

Copies of FS Form 1522 that say a notary is not acceptable, or that send bonds to P.O. Box 214 or P.O. Box 2186, are superseded revisions.

One older copy still ranks on reginfo.gov, and at least one bank article still prints P.O. Box 214. Check page 1 for "Revised April 2026" before you sign. The current form accepts a notary above $1,000 and names P.O. Box 9150.

Where to Send FS Form 1522: Treasury Retail Securities Services

Mail FS Form 1522 and the paper bonds to Treasury Retail Securities Services, P.O. Box 9150, Minneapolis, MN 55480-9150. The same address appears on the April 2026 form and on TreasuryDirect's contact page.

Treasury Retail Securities Services
P.O. Box 9150
Minneapolis, MN 55480-9150
Phone: 844-284-2676 (toll free), Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm ET
Source: FS Form 1522 (Revised April 2026); TreasuryDirect Contact Us, as of November 11, 2026

The phone number from outside the United States is +1 (304) 480-6464. Do not mail bonds to the Parkersburg, West Virginia address printed on the form. That address takes only Paperwork Reduction Act comments about the form.

The form also warns: "Legal evidence or documentation you submit cannot be returned." Under 31 CFR 353.39(b), the owner bears the cost and risk of sending the bonds.

Check these points before you seal the envelope:

• Form version: page 1 reads "Revised April 2026".
• Signature date: within six months of the day Treasury receives the bonds.
• Identification: an ID copy when the total current redemption value is $1,000 or less; a notary or certifying officer above $1,000.
• Whole bonds: each paper bond is cashed in full, never in part.
• Routing number: nine digits beginning 0, 1, 2 or 3.
• Address: P.O. Box 9150 in Minneapolis, never Parkersburg or P.O. Box 214.
• Copies: keep your own copies, because documents you send are not returned.
• Bonds: representatives leave the bonds unsigned.

What Treasury Retail Securities Services Is (and the Federal Reserve's Role)

Treasury Retail Securities Services is the name TreasuryDirect and FS Form 1522 use for the office that processes mailed savings bond requests. The regulations call it the Treasury Retail Securities Site: a Federal Reserve Bank authorized to qualify paying agents and provide other fiscal agency services (31 CFR 321.1).

The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis fills that role as Treasury's fiscal agent, meaning it does this work on Treasury's behalf. The office offers no walk-in service for savings bonds.

Sections 353.1 and 360.1 of 31 CFR still print the old P.O. Box 214, while every current form uses P.O. Box 9150. ClaimMyBonds is a private company with no link to this office.

After You Mail FS Form 1522: Processing Time, Payment and 1099-INT

Cashing paper bonds by mail takes three months or longer when you are named on the bonds and five months or longer for bonds not in your name (TreasuryDirect, as of November 11, 2026). The table below lists the published times for mailed requests.

Source: TreasuryDirect Contact Us, as of November 11, 2026.

Payment goes by direct deposit to the account in Item 2. Cashing by mail has no limit on the value or number of bonds. Each paper bond is cashed whole, because TreasuryDirect states: "You cannot cash part of a paper savings bond." You may withdraw a request before payment is made (31 CFR 353.44).

Treasury mails Form 1099-INT for the interest in the following January. Savings bond interest is federally taxable in the year of redemption or final maturity, whichever comes first, unless the owner reported it yearly (IRC 454).

It is exempt from state and local income tax under 31 U.S.C. 3124. Our guide to taxes on savings bond interest explains how the 1099-INT is reported, and a tax professional can apply it to your return.

Sign FS Form 1522 close to the day you mail it, because Treasury refuses a request signed more than six months before the bonds arrive (31 CFR 353.39(c)).

Bank or Mail: When FS Form 1522 Is the Better Way to Cash Paper Bonds

Cash at a bank when a paying agent that knows you agrees to pay your series and amount; mail FS Form 1522 for Treasury-only series, for signing on someone else's behalf, or when you have no established bank account.

Our guide on how to cash savings bonds sets bank, mail and online cashing side by side.

Mail also fits payments above $1,000 when an ID document is your only identification, because FS Publication 0022 lets a bank accept an ID document alone only up to $1,000. Every paper bond and every signer can use the mail route.

The table compares both routes.

Source: 31 CFR 321 (eCFR as of November 6, 2026); FS Publication 0022 (Rev. October 2022); TreasuryDirect, as of November 11, 2026. Bank policies vary.

If the Bank Refuses to Cash Your Savings Bonds

You can still cash the bonds by mail with FS Form 1522 if a bank refuses, or ask a bank where you are an established customer. FS Publication 0022 (Rev.

October 2022), Treasury's guide for paying agents, makes cashing for non-customers and new customers optional for the bank. The Secret Service recommends that banks cash bonds only for customers established for at least 12 months. That is a recommendation, not a Treasury rule.

The regulation text in 31 CFR 321.10(a) still says agents redeem for owners "whether or not" they are customers. Treasury's current guidance, however, leaves the choice to the bank.

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." A bank that does cash your bond may not charge you a fee (31 CFR 321.23(c)).

Banks may cash paper bonds, but they are not required to. Ask your own bank first, then compare the dated bank policies in our list of what banks cash savings bonds. If no bank will help, FS Form 1522 by mail stays open, with payment by direct deposit.

FS Form 1522 for Heirs, Representatives and Special Cases

Five groups sign FS Form 1522 for bonds that are not, or no longer, only theirs: survivors, estate representatives, heirs after an estate procedure, attorneys-in-fact, and guardians or parents.

Two special cases follow: owners abroad and owners in a disaster area. Requests for bonds not in your name take five months or longer (TreasuryDirect, as of November 11, 2026).

A surviving co-owner, or a POD beneficiary (the person named on the bond to receive it when the owner dies), adds a certified death certificate. A court-appointed representative signs with a title, such as "Jane Doe, court-appointed representative for John Doe, deceased."

Heirs cash with FS Form 1522 after using FS Form 5336, 1455 or 5394. Bonds within one full calendar month of final maturity can only be cashed, not reissued (31 CFR 353.45(b)), and heirs can only cash Series HH bonds.

An attorney-in-fact, the person you name in a power of attorney, cashes only by mail, because banks may not pay an attorney-in-fact (31 CFR 321.9(c)). Owners abroad sign before a US consular officer, an officer of a foreign branch of a US bank, or a notary.

Owners in a declared disaster area write "DISASTER" on the envelope and at the top of the form's first page, and Treasury gives the request priority. The table below lists each signer and what they add.

Source: TreasuryDirect death-of-owner, court-appointed representative, abroad, young-child and disaster pages and FS Publication 0105, as of November 11, 2026; 31 CFR 353.60, 353.63, 353.64, 321.9(c).

FS Form 1522 and the Other Savings Bond Forms

FS Form 1522 pays paper bonds only, and three neighboring routes handle electronic bonds, reissue and lost bonds. Our savings bond forms guide lists every form with its current revision.

Electronic Bonds: Cash Online or With FS Form 5512, Not FS Form 1522

Electronic EE and I bonds are cashed inside a TreasuryDirect account: you can cash a whole bond, or part of one in amounts of $25 or more as long as at least $25 stays in the bond.

Owners of electronic savings bonds can also cash them by mail with FS Form 5512, which does not apply to paper bonds. You do not need to convert paper savings bonds to electronic before cashing them, and conversion takes nine months or longer.

Keeping Instead of Cashing: FS Form 4000

FS Form 4000 reissues paper EE and I bonds instead of paying them, and the new bonds come only as electronic bonds in TreasuryDirect. The form itself says: "To request payment, submit form FS Form 1522 (see www.treasurydirect.gov) instead of this form." Owners who want to reissue instead of cash use FS Form 4000.

Lost, Stolen or Destroyed Bonds: FS Form 1048

A bond you cannot send cannot be cashed with FS Form 1522, because the form travels with the paper bond. Lost, stolen or destroyed bonds are claimed with FS Form 1048 (Rev. March 2026) instead.

FS Form 1522 FAQ

Can You Fill Out and Submit FS Form 1522 Online?

No. Paper bonds are cashed only by mailing the signed form with the bonds, and fill-in websites cannot submit it to Treasury. Only electronic bonds are cashed online.

Where Do You Get a Printable FS Form 1522?

Download sav1522.pdf from the TreasuryDirect forms page and print it. Check that page 1 reads "Revised April 2026", because fill-in sites have shown older revisions.

Is Treasury Retail Securities Services Legitimate?

Yes. Treasury Retail Securities Services is the processing office named on FS Form 1522 and on TreasuryDirect, and it states that it charges no fees and offers no gifts. Treasury pays only to the account on the form; see our guide to savings bond scams.

How Do You Find Out Whether a Savings Bond Was Already Cashed?

Owners or co-owners send a signed letter listing the serial numbers, without the bonds, to Treasury Retail Securities Services, P.O. Box 9150, Minneapolis, MN 55480-9150. For bonds you cannot find, start with our savings bond lookup guide.

Can You Cash Savings Bonds at a Federal Reserve Bank?

Not in person. The Federal Reserve Bank office that processes savings bonds for Treasury, Treasury Retail Securities Services, has no walk-in service. Individuals cash paper bonds at a paying-agent bank or by mail with FS Form 1522.

What Is the Maturity Date for Patriot Bonds?

Patriot bonds are paper Series EE bonds issued December 2001 to December 2011 that earn interest for 30 years. They reach final maturity from December 2031 to December 2041. Their current values are on our page about Patriot bonds.

Rules checked November 11, 2026, against the Treasury sources named above; see our methodology.