Old paper savings bonds you find are cashed at a bank that cashes savings bonds or by mail with FS Form 1522, and neither route carries a Treasury fee. The form is free, and a bank may not charge for redeeming (31 CFR 321.23(c)).
On September 30, 2026, 103,064,737 matured paper savings bonds (no longer earning interest) were uncashed, 19,751,346 of them Series E and 82,673,787 Series EE (Fiscal Data). Savings bonds never expire, and there is no deadline to cash them (Executive Order 13968, 85 FR 83745). A notary fee or postage can still cost money.
ClaimMyBonds is a private company, not the government, and it is not Treasury, TreasuryDirect, a state or Treasury Hunt.
Savings bond claim help from us adds only the paperwork, tracing and follow-up, for a flat fee plus a success fee, both invoiced only after you have been paid; amounts on request. Help for lost, inherited and state-held bonds is under savings bond claim help.
The Free Route: Cashing Found Paper Bonds at a Bank or by Mail
A person named on a found paper bond can cash it without any helper, at a bank that agrees to cash it or by mailing FS Form 1522 with the bonds. The form (Rev. April 2026) goes to Treasury Retail Securities Services, which lists "no fees" (TreasuryDirect, as of November 11, 2026).
Finding a bond does not make you its owner: Treasury pays only the owner or another person entitled to payment (31 CFR 353.39(b); also 315.39(b) and 360.39(b)). Both routes are set out in our guide on how to cash savings bonds.
The 6 steps of the free route are listed below.
- Read each bond: the series, face value (the amount printed on it), issue date and the names printed on it, such as the owner, an "OR" co-owner or a "P.O.D." beneficiary. A "Mail to" name owns nothing.
- Check what each bond is worth and whether it still earns interest, with TreasuryDirect's calculator or ours, built on Treasury's published value files. Neither needs a serial number.
- Look for a "Paid" stamp beside the issue date, which means a bank already cashed the bond.
- Ask a bank where you have an account whether it cashes savings bonds, how much at one time and what ID it needs. Bring the original bonds, never a photo or copy.
- Or complete FS Form 1522 (4 pages, about 15 minutes): describe each bond by issue date and serial number and give a routing number of 9 digits beginning with 0, 1, 2 or 3. Sign it, before a notary or certifying officer above $1,000 total, and mail it with the bonds to Treasury Retail Securities Services, P.O. Box 9150, Minneapolis, MN 55480-9150, so that Treasury receives it within 6 months of signing.
- Keep copies and expect 3 months or longer for bonds in your name (as of November 11, 2026). Treasury pays by direct deposit and mails Form 1099-INT the following January.
Treasury has no limit on the value or number of bonds you cash by mail, and paper bonds are cashed whole (TreasuryDirect). Evidence you send with FS Form 1522 is not returned. You bear the cost and risk of sending a bond (31 CFR part 353, subpart H).
The table lists 9 situations that make cashing a found bond harder, the free rule for each and what our paid help adds.
| Situation | Free rule (bank or Treasury) | What our paid help adds | Free guide |
|---|---|---|---|
| The bond is in your name, or yours "OR" a co-owner's (Series E, EE, I or Savings Note) | cash it at a bank that agrees (ask whether it cashes, how much at one time and what ID it needs), or mail it with FS Form 1522; the bank may not charge you (31 CFR 321.23(c)) | listing each bond, checking its value, preparing FS Form 1522 for your signature | FS Form 1522 |
| A bank declines, or you have no account there | cashing for non-customers and new customers is at the bank's option (FS Publication 0022); by mail, Treasury has no limit on the value or number of bonds | preparing the mailed request and the bond list | banks that cash savings bonds without an account |
| Series F, G, H, J, K or HH | banks may not pay these series (31 CFR 321.9(b)); mail FS Form 1522; HH pays face value, by direct deposit only | identifying the series and preparing the mailed request | Series HH savings bonds |
| The bonds you mail total more than $1,000 | sign FS Form 1522 before a notary or certifying officer (a Medallion stamp needs an original signature); at $1,000 or less, enclose a copy of your driver's license, passport, state ID or military ID | totaling the current values and telling you which certification the form needs | savings bond signature certification |
| The bond is in a living relative's name | only that person cashes it, or an attorney-in-fact by mail with FS Form 1522 and FS Form 5188 (Rev. April 2026) or a certified power of attorney that is durable or signed in the past 2 years; banks may not pay an attorney-in-fact (31 CFR 321.9(c)) | preparing the papers for the owner or the attorney-in-fact to sign | cashing savings bonds for someone else |
| The person named on the bond has died | a surviving "OR" co-owner or "P.O.D." beneficiary becomes sole owner (31 CFR 353.70(b)(1), (c)(1)) and cashes with a certified death certificate; with nobody named alive, the estate routes apply | working out who is entitled and which form fits | help claiming a deceased relative's savings bonds |
| Your name has changed since the bond was issued | sign both the name on the bond and your current name, with the reason for the change | showing both names correctly on the request | cashing savings bonds after a name change |
| The bond is torn, burned or partly missing | claim with FS Form 1048 (Rev. March 2026) and send the remaining pieces | describing the damage and packing the pieces with the claim | help with lost or destroyed savings bonds |
| The bond carries a "Paid" stamp, or you are not sure it was ever cashed | a "Paid" stamp beside the issue date means a bank cashed it (31 CFR 321.13); a bond replaced after a claim belongs to the United States (31 CFR 315.28, 353.28); for an unstamped EE or I bond, ask the bank, then the owner or co-owner writes to Treasury Retail Securities Services with the serial numbers, without the bond | drafting the letter for your signature and tracking the reply | none |
Found paper savings bonds: the free rule for 9 situations and what ClaimMyBonds' paid help adds, as of November 2026. Sources: FS Form 1522 (Rev. April 2026); FS Publication 0022 (Rev. October 2022); 31 CFR 321.9, 321.13, 321.23(c), 353.39, 353.70 (eCFR, as of November 6, 2026); TreasuryDirect cashing, HH and name-change pages.
What Our Help Adds to Cashing Found Bonds: Paperwork, Tracing and Follow-Up
For found bonds, ClaimMyBonds' help adds 3 things to the free route: paperwork, tracing and follow-up. You sign every form yourself, and the bank or Treasury pays you. The 3 parts of the help for found bonds are listed below.
- Paperwork: preparing FS Form 1522, plus FS Form 3500 (Rev. April 2026, the continuation sheet) for more bonds, ready for you to sign with the certification or ID copy the total requires.
- Tracing: reading each bond's registration and your family papers to establish whose bonds they are, whether anyone named has died and who is now entitled.
- Follow-up: recording which bonds were cashed where and when, and helping you answer Treasury's letters until every bond is paid.
Tracing matters most when the names on a bond are not yours, because the registration decides who is paid (31 CFR 353.5, 353.7, 353.70). Tracing never means searching Treasury's records. A legal or tax decision, such as a dispute among relatives, belongs with an attorney or a tax professional.
What No Helper Can Do With a Found Bond
5 limits apply to anyone who helps with found bonds, ClaimMyBonds included, because Treasury's rules give no third party a claim to a bond or its payment. ClaimMyBonds does not do these 5 things with found bonds.
- Ownership: We do not buy found bonds or claim any share of them.
- Your signature: We do not sign or certify FS Form 1522 for you.
- Your money: We do not receive the payment; the bank or Treasury pays you.
- Banks: We cannot make a bank cash a bond it declines.
- Treasury records: We do not search them and cannot tell whether Treasury already paid a bond.
The FS Form 1522 signer states "I am the owner or person entitled to payment", so a found bond in a stranger's name stays that person's bond. A finder's 7 checks before cashing, from reading the bond to ruling out an earlier payment, are in found old savings bonds, step by step.
How to Ask for Help With Found Savings Bonds
Asking for help with found savings bonds takes one short form and starts only a callback. Choose "I found paper savings bonds"; we phone or email you, explain the free bank and FS Form 1522 route first and give fee amounts on request.
The form asks 5 things: situation, series and approximate issue years if known, state, contact details and consent. It never asks for a Social Security number, serial numbers, bond scans or photos, ID documents or payment details; do not email them either.
In the callback, we ask the bonds' series and years, whose names are printed on them and whether a bank has declined them: those 3 facts decide which table row applies. Your bonds and serial numbers stay with you and go only onto Treasury's form or to the bank.
Our Fees for Found Bonds: A Flat Fee Plus a Success Fee, Never Out of the Bond
ClaimMyBonds charges a flat fee for the paperwork plus a success fee, invoices both only after you have been paid, and neither fee comes out of your bonds.
We invoice no earlier than the eighth business day after the money from the bank, Treasury or the state reaches you; if you are not paid, you owe nothing. Amounts are on request, in the callback. Savings bonds cannot be transferred or pledged (31 CFR 353.15, 353.16); we never ask you to sign one over.
No Treasury regulation sets, caps or approves a private helper's fee. Before you pay anything, you get in writing both fee amounts, the total cost, what it covers and the refund terms.
Where a state holds your bonds, we work only if its rules on paid helpers allow it, and its fee cap applies to both fees together.
No helper speeds up Treasury or a bank. As of November 11, 2026, Treasury lists 3 months or longer for paper bonds in your name and 5 months or longer for bonds not in your name. Our claim help promises no result, amount or date, as the terms for the claim help service state.
Before Paying Anyone to Cash Found Bonds: Buyers, Finders and Fake Bonds
Nobody can buy a found bond or cash it for its finder, because Treasury pays a savings bond only to the person named on it or another person entitled. TreasuryDirect warns: "Do not buy savings bonds from someone else or in an online auction site.
You cannot cash them." Paying-agent banks may not discount a bond's redemption value (31 CFR 321.10(b)). What paid recovery services charge is set out under savings bond recovery services and their fees.
Treasury identified at least $50 million in savings bond fraud as of September 2024 (2024 SECURE 2.0 Report to Congress, March 11, 2025). FS Publication 0022 describes how a bank can check serial numbers against a Treasury file of bonds reported lost, stolen or never received. Birth-certificate bond claims are false (TreasuryDirect).
The FTC Impersonation Rule bars posing as any government entity or falsely claiming affiliation with one (16 CFR 461.2, effective April 1, 2024). Searching and claiming through a state's own program is free (NAUPA). States can hold bonds from abandoned safe deposit boxes. State roles are covered under state unclaimed property offices.
Found Savings Bond Help Questions
Can I cash a found savings bond that is not in my name?
Only if you are entitled to it: Treasury pays the named owner or co-owner, a surviving co-owner or "P.O.D." beneficiary, or another entitled person, such as an estate's representative (31 CFR 353.39(b), 353.70).
"AND" registration is not authorized (31 CFR 353.5, 353.7; 315.7). Where each name sits is shown in how to read a paper savings bond.
Does a bank have to cash my old paper savings bonds?
No, unless you are an established account holder: FS Publication 0022 (Rev. October 2022) makes cashing for that customer, with proper identification, "Required". Cashing for anyone else is optional. An ID document alone covers payments of $1,000 or less; the Secret Service recommends 12 months as a customer, which is not a Treasury rule.
A bank that declines may refer you to the mail route. Bank policies with check dates are under what banks cash savings bonds.
How long does Treasury take to cash bonds sent by mail?
Treasury lists 3 months or longer to cash paper bonds in your name and 5 months or longer for bonds not in your name, as of November 11, 2026. Payment is by direct deposit only; converting paper to electronic takes 9 months or longer. Treasury Retail Securities Services: 844-284-2676, Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm ET.
Should I sign the bonds before I mail them?
You can mail the bonds signed or unsigned: TreasuryDirect asks for the physical bonds "signed or unsigned" with FS Form 1522, which you sign yourself. Representatives and heirs are asked to leave bonds unsigned (TreasuryDirect). A bank needs the original bond and may not accept an image or copy (31 CFR 321.25).
Do I owe tax when I cash old savings bonds?
Yes, federal income tax: savings bond interest is federally taxable and exempt from state and local income tax (31 U.S.C. 3124(a)). Series A to C, and Series D issued through February 1941, are exceptions (TreasuryDirect). Interest is reportable for the year the bond is cashed, disposed of or reaches final maturity, whichever is earliest, unless reported yearly (26 CFR 1.454-1(a)(1); 26 U.S.C. 454(a); IRS Publication 550 (2025)). A bond that matured in an earlier year is a question for a tax professional. Interest shows in box 3 of Form 1099-INT for savings bonds.
Can ClaimMyBonds cash my bonds or receive the money for me?
No: the bank or Treasury pays you, never us. You present or mail the bonds yourself, and Treasury deposits to the account you name on FS Form 1522. Banks may not pay anyone acting under a power of attorney (31 CFR 321.9(c)).
Other Help and Free Guides
2 help pages and 3 free guides cover the situations and steps around cashing found bonds. They are listed below.
- Savings bond claim help for every situation
- Help after a state contacts you about savings bonds
- Savings bond calculator
- Convert paper savings bonds to electronic
- Savings bond scams
Ready to ask? Request help with your savings bonds; the free bank and FS Form 1522 route comes first in every callback.
Rules and dates checked November 12, 2026, against the Treasury sources named above. Read how we check every value, date and rule.