Savings Bonds After Death: How Heirs Cash or Reissue Inherited Bonds

A savings bond passes to the surviving co-owner or POD beneficiary when the owner dies, and that survivor can cash it or keep it. If nobody named on the bond survives, the bond belongs to the deceased owner's estate (31 CFR 353.70).

A co-owner is the second person joined by "OR" on the bond; a POD beneficiary is the person named after "P.O.D." (payable on death) to receive it.

For an estate, 2 facts decide the route. Is a court or a state procedure settling it, and do the deceased owner's Treasury securities total more than $100,000 at the date of death?

Treasury charges no fee and the forms are free (TreasuryDirect contact page, as of November 11, 2026). ClaimMyBonds is a private guide, not Treasury or TreasuryDirect. Similar rules cover electronic US savings bonds held in TreasuryDirect, with the differences noted below.

Who Owns a Savings Bond When the Owner Dies?

The names on the bond decide ownership after a death: a sole owner's bond goes to the estate, a co-owner's to the survivor, a POD bond to the beneficiary.

The rules sit in 31 CFR 353.70 for Series EE and HH, 360.70 for paper Series I, and 315.70 for Series E and older bonds. The table below applies them to 6 registrations.

Banks cannot pay Series F, G, H, HH, J or K bonds (31 CFR 321.7(a), 321.9(b)). Source: 31 CFR Parts 321, 353, 363 (eCFR), checked November 11, 2026.

Read the Registration: One Name, "OR" or "P.O.D."

A paper bond names its owners in 1 of 3 forms: one name alone, two names joined by "OR", or a name followed by "P.O.D." and a second name. "AND" registration is not authorized, and a "Mail to" name on the bond confers no ownership (31 CFR 353.5, 353.7).

A POD beneficiary has no rights while the owner lives. The beneficiary's interest ended if the owner cashed the bond before death (31 CFR 353.38). Reading these lines is one part of how to read a paper savings bond, along with the issue date and stamps.

A Will Cannot Take the Bond From a Surviving Co-Owner or Beneficiary

A will or a state court order cannot take a co-owned or POD bond from the survivor. Treasury does not recognize a court decision that impairs survivorship (31 CFR 353.20(a); 360.20(a); 363.45(h) for electronic bonds). It also does not accept notices of adverse claims or pending lawsuits (353.20(c)).

The Supreme Court has applied this rule in 2 cases. In Free v. Bland, 369 U.S. 663 (decided May 21, 1962), Treasury's survivorship regulations overrode Texas community-property law.

In Yiatchos v. Yiatchos, 376 U.S. 306 (decided March 9, 1964), the Court named the narrow exception: fraud on a spouse's property rights, decided in court. A spouse who consented to the purchase was not defrauded. A family member who believes the exception applies should ask the estate's attorney.

When Both People Named on the Bond Have Died

When both co-owners have died, the bond belongs to the estate of the co-owner who died last (31 CFR 353.70(b)(2)). Treasury needs both death certificates to prove the order.

If the order of death cannot be established, a paper bond belongs to both equally (353.70(b)(3)); for paper I bonds, to "the estates of both equally" (360.70(b)(3)).

An electronic bond with a secondary owner then goes to the primary owner's estate (363.20(b)(3)(ix)). A POD beneficiary who died first is ignored: the bond goes to the owner's estate (353.70(c)(2)).

How to Cash Savings Bonds of a Deceased Person: 5 Steps

Cashing a deceased person's savings bonds takes 5 steps, and the registration and the type of estate decide which form you sign. The 5 steps are listed below in order.

1. Collect the bonds and a certified death certificate for every deceased person named on them.
2. Match the registration and the estate to a route in the two tables on this page.
3. Check each bond's current value and whether it still earns interest with a savings bond calculator.
4. Cash at a bank that agrees (survivors only) or by mail with your route's form, as set out in how to cash savings bonds.
5. Mail the signed form, unsigned bonds and evidence to Treasury Retail Securities Services, P.O. Box 9150, Minneapolis, MN 55480-9150; requests not in your name take "five months or longer" (TreasuryDirect contact page, as of November 11, 2026).

Treasury pays heirs by direct deposit. Treasury Retail Securities Services is the Treasury office that processes mailed requests.

Surviving Co-Owner or POD Beneficiary: A Bank or FS Form 1522

A surviving co-owner or POD beneficiary cashes the bond as its sole owner, at a bank that agrees or by mail.

A bank may pay a surviving beneficiary who brings a death certificate certified under the seal of the state or local registrar (31 CFR 321.7(d)). Payment is at the bank's option (FS Publication 0022, Rev. October 2022).

By mail, the survivor files FS Form 1522 (Rev. April 2026) with a certified death certificate. Bonds that total more than $1,000 in current redemption value (what they are worth today, with interest) need a signature before a notary or a certifying officer.

A certifying officer is an authorized officer at a bank, trust company or credit union who certifies your signature with the institution's seal or stamp. At $1,000 or less, you sign and enclose a copy of your ID. Each line of the form is explained on the page for FS Form 1522.

A survivor may instead keep EE and I bonds (see the reissue section below); HH bonds can only be cashed.

No Probate and $100,000 or Less: The Voluntary Representative

An estate with no court or state procedure and $100,000 or less in Treasury securities at death uses FS Form 5336 and one voluntary representative. The rule is 31 CFR 353.71(e), from the final rule 70 FR 57428 (September 30, 2005). It is closed once a state small-estate procedure has been used (353.71(e)(1)(i)).

The voluntary representative is chosen in a fixed order. The surviving spouse comes first, then a child, a deceased child's descendant, a parent, a brother or sister, a deceased sibling's descendant, and next of kin under home-state law.

The representative must be 18 or older, and there is only one. All of the decedent's securities go in one transaction. Only a surviving spouse, blood relative or legally adopted child may sign FS Form 5336, even as an attorney-in-fact (a person acting under a power of attorney).

FS Form 5336 (Rev. April 2026) is 8 pages and takes about 30 minutes. You sign before a certifying officer, or before a notary if the transaction covers paper savings bonds only.

The form cannot pay or distribute bonds to a trust, and each bond goes whole to one person. Each part is explained under FS Form 5336 (voluntary representative).

Open Estates, Closed Estates and State Small-Estate Affidavits

Court and state estates use 3 routes: an open estate's representative signs FS Form 1522 or 1455; closed and small estates use FS Form 5394. The rules are in 31 CFR 353.71(a) to (c). The table below sets out 6 estate situations.

Note 1: small estate affidavit, Summary Administration, Texas Muniment of Title, Louisiana Judgment of Possession. Letters of appointment are the court document naming the estate's representative. Source: 31 CFR 353.71; FS Forms 1455, 5336, 5394, 1050; TreasuryDirect court-appointed representatives page, checked November 11, 2026.

Banks send small-estate affidavits, informal settlements, representatives with limited authority and executors of unprobated wills to the mail route (FS Publication 0022). Who is entitled follows the law of the decedent's home state (353.71(e)). The executor or administrator decides with the estate's attorney.

Electronic Bonds in a Deceased Owner's TreasuryDirect Account

Electronic savings bonds of a deceased owner are claimed by contacting Treasury, which places a hold on the TreasuryDirect account and says what to send. TreasuryDirect is Treasury's website for holding electronic bonds.

A beneficiary or secondary owner sends proof of death. The bonds then move to the survivor's own TreasuryDirect account, or Treasury cashes them into a bank account (31 CFR 363.20). An administered estate's representative opens a TreasuryDirect account in the estate's name (363.44(a)).

Paper bonds are never cashed online. Since October 28, 2026, TreasuryDirect login works only through ID.me. Heirs deal with the hold and the estate account of a deceased owner's TreasuryDirect account.

Series HH and Older Series: Cash Only

An inherited Series HH bond can only be cashed, by mail with Treasury, because every HH bond reached final maturity by August 1, 2024. Final maturity is the date a bond stops earning interest. Banks cannot cash H or HH bonds (31 CFR 321.7(a), 321.9(b)).

HH bonds cannot be reissued and are paid at face value by direct deposit (FS Form 5336, Part F). A bank may still pay a Series E bond to heirs who bring a certified death certificate.

Keeping Inherited EE and I Bonds: Electronic Reissue Only

Heirs can keep inherited Series EE and I bonds instead of cashing them, but only as electronic bonds in their own TreasuryDirect account. Treasury has not reissued paper EE or I bonds since February 14, 2014 (31 CFR 353.48(a), 360.48(a); 79 FR 8859).

The request is made on FS Form 4000 (Rev. April 2026), signed before a notary or a certifying officer. The bond is reissued in one name, and a secondary owner or beneficiary can be added in TreasuryDirect afterwards. Heirs who keep bonds file FS Form 4000, the reissue request.

Reissue has a deadline. Treasury does not reissue a bond if it receives the request less than one full calendar month before final maturity (353.45(b)). Matured bonds and HH bonds can only be cashed (FS Publication 0063).

A reissue does not move the duty to report interest: FS Form 4000 states that this obligation cannot be transferred through a reissue. Estate distributions use the estate form from the table above first. The heir then files FS Form 4000, or FS Form 1851 (Rev. April 2026) to reissue to a personal trust.

Are Inherited Savings Bonds Still Earning Interest?

Every Series E bond and every Series EE bond issued January 1980 to November 1996 has stopped earning interest.

EE bonds issued December 1996 reach final maturity on December 1, 2026, and no Series I bond has stopped yet (the first final maturity is September 2028). A $100 Series EE bond issued in any month of 1985 is worth $230.64 in November 2026; it stopped earning in 2015. The table below shows which series still earn.

As of November 2026. Source: 31 CFR 351.5, 316.8(b), 359.5; TreasuryDirect; Fiscal Data Savings Bonds Value Files, updated November 2, 2026.

Savings bonds never expire, and there is no deadline to cash them (Executive Order 13968, 85 FR 83745). Holding a stopped bond adds nothing. A bond that still earns can change value on the 1st of each month. Our savings bond calculator, built on Treasury's published value files, gives the value for the current month.

Signatures, Death Certificates and the Mailing Address for Heirs

Heirs sign each form as it directs (most before a certifying officer), send death certificates certified by a registrar, and mail everything to P.O. Box 9150, Minneapolis.

Notary rules differ by form: FS Forms 1455 and 5394 refuse one, FS Form 5336 accepts one only for paper bonds alone, and FS 1849 names only a certifying officer. A notary is a public officer who witnesses signatures. The table below compares 7 forms heirs use.

FS Form 1050 (creditor) states that a notary is not acceptable. Source: form PDFs on treasurydirect.gov, revisions March to May 2026, checked November 11, 2026.

Death certificates must be certified or sworn by the state or local registrar, with a legible seal or stamp.

A photocopy is accepted if the seal is legible, and Treasury does not return death certificates or other evidence. Send the bonds unsigned. Every FS form with its current revision is listed among the savings bond forms.

All of these forms go to Treasury Retail Securities Services, P.O. Box 9150, Minneapolis, MN 55480-9150. The phone number is 844-284-2676, Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm ET, or +1 (304) 480-6464 from outside the United States. Never mail bonds to P.O. Box 214 or to Parkersburg, West Virginia.

The 4 items to check before you mail are listed below.

• Form revision: matches the table above.
• Death certificate: one for every deceased person named.
• Letters of appointment: dated within 1 year.
• Copies: your own set of everything you send.

Savings Bonds After Death: Guides by Situation

6 situations after a death follow their own rules: co-owners, POD beneficiaries, probate, reissue, trusts and divorce. The table below gives the key rule for each.

Taxes on Inherited Savings Bond Interest

Interest the deceased owner had not reported is taxed on the owner's final return, if the personal representative or surviving spouse elects it. Otherwise it is income in respect of a decedent, taxed to the person who acquires the bond (IRS Publication 550 (2025)).

The person who acquires the bond may deduct federal estate tax paid on that interest (26 U.S.C. 691(c)). That deduction is one part of taxes on inherited savings bonds, along with who reports the interest.

Savings bond interest is federally taxable and exempt from state and local income tax; that exemption does not cover estate or inheritance taxes (31 U.S.C. 3124(a)).

A payment to a voluntary representative is reported under the representative's taxpayer number (FS Publication 0065). The personal representative or surviving spouse makes the election; ask a tax professional before choosing.

The federal rules for all owners are covered under federal tax on savings bond interest.

Finding a Deceased Relative's Savings Bonds

No online search for a deceased person's savings bonds exists: "As of September 30, 2025, the Treasury Hunt® tool is no longer available" (TreasuryDirect).

Owners and heirs still have routes now that Treasury Hunt is closed, from family records to Treasury's forms.

Bonds that were lost, stolen or destroyed are claimed on FS Form 1048 (Rev. March 2026) by the persons entitled. Treasury lists lost-bond searches at 11 months or longer (as of November 11, 2026).

The routes to find lost or missing savings bonds apply to heirs as well. Papers and records are the starting point to find savings bonds of a deceased parent or other relative.

Inherited Savings Bond Questions

What happens to bonds if someone dies?

The bond goes to the surviving co-owner or POD beneficiary, or to the estate if no named person survives (31 CFR 353.70).

Can I cash my deceased parents' savings bonds?

Yes, if you are the surviving co-owner or beneficiary, the voluntary representative under FS Form 5336, or the estate's representative. A child not named on the bond needs one of the estate routes. For an estate of $100,000 or less with no court case, a child comes second in line as voluntary representative, after a surviving spouse.

Can I cash a savings bond that is not in my name?

No, unless the regulations make you the person entitled. That means a survivor, an estate representative, a voluntary representative, or an attorney-in-fact or guardian under Treasury's rules. Powers of attorney and guardians are part of cashing savings bonds for someone else.

Can I cash my deceased parents' savings bonds online?

No: paper savings bonds cannot be cashed online, so a deceased parent's paper bonds go to a bank or by mail. Electronic bonds are handled through Treasury's hold on the TreasuryDirect account.

Do savings bonds go through probate?

Only a bond with no surviving co-owner or beneficiary becomes part of the estate. Survivorship keeps co-owned and POD bonds out of it (31 CFR 353.70(b)(1), (c)(1)). An estate above $100,000 at the date of death needs court administration (353.71(d)).

Is there a deadline to cash a deceased owner's savings bonds?

No: savings bonds never expire and there is no deadline to cash them (Executive Order 13968, 85 FR 83745). Interest stops at final maturity, 30 years after issue for EE and I bonds.

Can a bank refuse to cash an inherited savings bond?

Yes: banks may cash savings bonds but are not required to, and payment to a beneficiary or estate is at the bank's option (FS Publication 0022, Rev. October 2022). Dated policies are in the list of what banks cash savings bonds.

The mail route to Treasury stays open when a bank says no. Banks cannot cash Series H or HH bonds at all (31 CFR 321.9(b)).

I lost my paper savings bonds. What should I do?

File FS Form 1048 (Rev. March 2026) to claim relief for lost, stolen or destroyed bonds. You sign in ink before a notary or certifying officer. Replacement EE and I bonds are electronic, and HH bonds are paid by direct deposit. Details are on the page for FS Form 1048.