Every value, date and rule on ClaimMyBonds comes from a named primary source and carries the date we checked it. The 8 kinds of source run from Treasury's value files to court dockets and, for bank policies only, the banks' own websites. A fact that cannot be traced to one of them is not published.
ClaimMyBonds is a private, independent reference on US savings bonds. It is not the government and is not affiliated with Treasury, TreasuryDirect or any state. The ClaimMyBonds Editorial Team compiles each page of our independent guide to US savings bonds from the sources that page names.
Which Sources ClaimMyBonds Uses: Primary Sources Only
ClaimMyBonds uses 8 kinds of primary source, each for the facts it governs. A primary source is the body that sets the fact itself, such as Treasury for a bond's value. The table below lists the 8 kinds, with one example each.
| Source | What we take from it | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Fiscal Data (Bureau of the Fiscal Service) | Redemption values; counts of matured unredeemed bonds | Savings Bonds Value Files, updated November 2, 2026 |
| TreasuryDirect | Form PDFs and revisions, cashing and estate steps, its Savings Bond Calculator, processing times | FS Form 1522, Revision April 2026; savings bond forms |
| eCFR (Title 31) | The regulations for each series, cashing, estates and banks that cash bonds | 31 CFR part 353 |
| Federal Register | Final rules and notices with their dates | 89 FR 102735 (December 18, 2024) |
| IRS | Tax treatment and yearly figures | Publication 550 (2025); federal tax on savings bond interest |
| State unclaimed-property agencies | State programs, searches and statutes | Missouri's savings bond search, checked November 11, 2026; state unclaimed property offices |
| Court dockets | Rulings on state claims to bonds | Court of Federal Claims order of November 30, 2020 (ten state cases) |
| Banks' own websites | Each bank's stated cashing policy | Checked November 11, 2026 |
The 5 kinds of source we never use as fact are listed below.
- Wikipedia
- News reports, except as a dated, attributed claim
- Forums and social media posts
- Third-party calculators and value charts
- Bond-finder marketing
Other guides and forums only tell us which questions owners ask.
How We Take Savings Bond Values From Treasury's Value Files
Every Series E and EE redemption value on ClaimMyBonds comes from the Savings Bonds Value Files that the Bureau of the Fiscal Service publishes on Fiscal Data. Older series that pay face value are stated from TreasuryDirect and 31 CFR. The dataset is 015-BFS-2014Q3-094, last updated November 2, 2026.
Treasury publishes one redemption value (what a bond pays if cashed that month) per series, issue month and redemption month, for a $25 unit of face value, the amount printed on the bond. A $100 bond is worth 4 times the $25 unit, rounded to the cent.
Values change only on the first day of a month (31 CFR 351.3 for Series EE), so every value names its redemption month, such as "as of November 2026". That month appears beside every value in our savings bond calculator.
We never compute values from interest rates or take them from news or third-party calculators. Treasury releases the file twice a year; the current one runs through redemption month May 2027. Each value on the site names the redemption month it applies to.
Cross-Checks Against Treasury's Own Tools
All 470 Series E issue months in our data match the December 2022 rows of Treasury's Accrual Savings Bonds Redemption Tables. That dataset (015-BFS-2014Q3-074, last updated November 3, 2022) is discontinued. Series E values are frozen, because every Series E bond stopped earning interest by June 2010, so both must agree.
A sample of Series E values checked against TreasuryDirect's Savings Bond Calculator on November 11, 2026 also matched.
Values We Do Not Publish
ClaimMyBonds does not publish values for electronic savings bonds. They are valued only inside the owner's TreasuryDirect account (Treasury's website for electronic bonds), and Treasury does not document how they relate to the value file.
For paper Series I bonds and Savings Notes, use TreasuryDirect's calculator for now.
How We Check Rules, Forms and Dates
Every rule is cited by its instrument, section and date, every form by its FS Form number and revision date, and every tax figure by its tax year.
Regulations come from the Electronic Code of Federal Regulations (eCFR), Title 31, up to date as of November 9, 2026. Federal Register rules carry volume, page and date, such as 89 FR 102735 (December 18, 2024). Forms carry their revision: FS Form 1522 is Revision April 2026, FS Form 1048 Revision March 2026.
Tax rules come from IRS Publication 550 (2025) and each year's revenue procedure, such as Rev. Proc. 2025-32 for the 2026 Form 8815 phase-out. State routes carry program page and statute, such as Fla.
Stat. 717.1382. Court cases carry court and docket, such as LaTurner v. United States, 933 F.3d 1354 (Fed. Cir. August 13, 2019), Nos. 2018-1509 and 2018-1510.
When two official sources disagree, we follow the binding or newer instruction, name the other source so readers who find it are not confused, and leave out anything neither confirms. The table below shows 5 such conflicts.
| Topic | What the sources say | What ClaimMyBonds states |
|---|---|---|
| Mail address for cashing paper bonds | 31 CFR 353.1 still prints an older P.O. Box; FS Form 1522 (Revision April 2026) gives P.O. Box 9150, Minneapolis, MN 55480-9150 | The form's address; FS Form 1522 |
| Whether banks must cash bonds | 31 CFR 321.10(a) says banks acting for Treasury redeem for owners, customers or not; FS Publication 0022 (Revised October 2022) makes non-customer payment the bank's option | Banks may, not must; how to cash savings bonds |
| Treasury Hunt | Some TreasuryDirect estate pages still link it; its own page says it is no longer available as of September 30, 2025 | Closed since September 30, 2025; Treasury Hunt is closed |
| Taxpayer ID on Series E bonds | 31 CFR 316.2(c)(1): bonds issued on or after January 1, 1974; TreasuryDirect's timeline: October 1, 1973 | The regulation's date, with the timeline date attributed |
| A $5,000 Series E bond | A 1991 Treasury history lists it; 31 CFR 316.2(b), TreasuryDirect and its calculator do not | Not stated as having existed; Series E savings bonds |
How We Check Bank Policies on Cashing Savings Bonds
A bank policy appears on ClaimMyBonds only when the bank states it on its own website, and every policy shows the date we checked it.
On November 11 and 12, 2026, we checked the own websites of 18 banks and credit unions: 3 stated a cashing policy (U.S. Bank, Bank of America and Consumers Credit Union), 2 said they do not cash savings bonds (USAA, and Capital One in the key takeaways of its own article), and 13, including Chase, Wells Fargo, PNC and Citizens, published none. Our bank listings say so.
News and forum reports of bank limits are not used, because the banks' own pages do not state them. Banks may cash paper bonds but are not required to.
Under FS Publication 0022 (Revised October 2022), payment to a non-customer or new customer "is at the option of your financial institution." Our dated, bank-sourced answer to what banks cash savings bonds follows the same rule.
What Stays Off the Page Until It Is Verified
A fact we cannot trace to a primary source stays off the page, even when other sites repeat it. The 4 claims below are examples we do not state, each with the reason.
- A rate for years 20 to 30 of EE bonds issued May 2005 and later: no announcement found on TreasuryDirect as of November 11, 2026.
- Denominations of paper I bonds bought with tax refunds: not stated in Form 8888 or the regulations we checked (November 11, 2026).
- "EE bonds double face value after 20 years": the guarantee is double the purchase price, at 20 years only for EE issued June 2003 and later (31 CFR 351.32(b), 351.35(f)).
- Claims that a birth certificate number unlocks bonds: TreasuryDirect calls such claims false.
For matured bonds nobody has cashed, we state only Fiscal Data's piece count: 103,064,737 matured unredeemed bonds, all series, on September 30, 2026. Dollar totals circulate in news reports, but no Fiscal Service source documents what they cover, so we state none, including on our page about unclaimed savings bonds.
Where a search found nothing, we say so with the date. No state is publicly known to have signed an information-sharing agreement under 89 FR 102735 as of November 11, 2026.
How Often We Review Savings Bond Values and Rules
ClaimMyBonds reviews each kind of fact on the cycle on which Treasury, the IRS and banks change it. The table below sets out the 6 review cycles.
| Fact | Review |
|---|---|
| Redemption values | Monthly, from the latest value file; each value names its redemption month |
| Interest rates | May 1 and November 1, when Treasury announces them; savings bond interest rates |
| FS forms | When TreasuryDirect posts a new revision |
| Tax figures (Form 8815 phase-out) | Each tax year |
| State programs and court cases | When a state or Treasury announces a change |
| Bank policies | Each policy carries the date we checked it |
Every page shows when it was last updated. Time-sensitive figures, such as values, processing times and bank policies, carry their own as-of date. For example, TreasuryDirect gave 3 months or longer to cash paper bonds in your name, as of November 11, 2026.
How to Report an Error on a ClaimMyBonds Page
Report an error by email to editorial@claimmybonds.com, with the page address and the source that shows the correct fact. The address is also on the page to contact ClaimMyBonds.
We check each report against the primary source. If the page is wrong, we correct it, and its update date changes.
How corrections are labelled is set out in our editorial policy.
Methodology Questions
Is ClaimMyBonds a government website?
No: ClaimMyBonds is a private company, not the government. It is not affiliated with Treasury, TreasuryDirect, any state or Treasury Hunt, a Treasury search tool unavailable since September 30, 2025.
Who writes ClaimMyBonds pages?
Pages are written by the ClaimMyBonds Editorial Team and compiled from the primary sources cited on each page. More on who we are is on the page about ClaimMyBonds. Pages explain what a rule says, not legal or tax advice; for an estate or tax decision, ask the estate's attorney or a tax professional.
Do your values match TreasuryDirect's savings bond calculator?
Our Series E sample matched TreasuryDirect's Savings Bond Calculator on November 11, 2026, and our Series EE values come straight from Treasury's value files. TreasuryDirect's Savings Bond Calculator also prices I bonds and Savings Notes and shows past values back to January 1996. Neither tool verifies who owns a bond.
Can ClaimMyBonds look up whether I own savings bonds?
No: ClaimMyBonds cannot look up bonds or see TreasuryDirect accounts, and Treasury approves no third-party website for TreasuryDirect access. Our website never asks for a Social Security number, serial number or bond scan. Owners and heirs have free routes to find lost or missing savings bonds, including FS Form 1048.