Savings Bonds and State Unclaimed Property Offices: What States Can and Cannot Do, State by State

A state unclaimed property office can pay you for a US savings bond only when it physically holds the paper bond, usually one found in an abandoned safe deposit box.

It cannot take title to bonds that exist only on Treasury's records. Eighteen states passed savings bond escheat statutes, laws meant to transfer unclaimed bonds to the state.

Seventeen states sued Treasury or joined suits: New Jersey, Montana, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Missouri, Pennsylvania and North Carolina; Kansas and Arkansas; and South Dakota, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Indiana, Ohio, Florida and Iowa. Every final decision went against the states, in 2012, 2016, 2019 and on November 30, 2020.

ClaimMyBonds is a private, independent site, not Treasury, TreasuryDirect, any state or Treasury Hunt, and we cannot search any state's or Treasury's records. The state table on this page covers all 50 states and the District of Columbia, checked November 11, 2026. Our guide to US savings bonds explains how paper and electronic bonds work.

What a State Unclaimed Property Office Can Do With a Savings Bond

A state unclaimed property office can do 4 things with a savings bond. The office, often run by the state treasurer, keeps abandoned property until its owner claims it. Its 4 powers are listed below.

• Custody of a paper bond the state physically received, for example from a safe deposit box.
• Return of that bond, or its proceeds, to the owner or heirs on a free claim.
• Presentation of a held bond at final maturity for payment, at Treasury's discretion (31 CFR 315.88, 353.88).
• Owner names and addresses from Treasury under a signed agreement, used only to locate owners (31 CFR 323.11).

The fourth power rests on 31 U.S.C. 3105(f) (SECURE 2.0 Act sec. 122, December 29, 2022) and 89 FR 102735 (December 18, 2024). The records carry no Social Security numbers, denominations or serial numbers.

Names and addresses are the whole of what states can receive from Treasury, and no state is publicly known to have signed an agreement as of November 11, 2026.

Paper Bonds From Abandoned Safe Deposit Boxes

States hold paper savings bonds mainly from abandoned safe deposit boxes that banks turn over with the box contents. In South Dakota, a box counts as abandoned 3 years after its lease expires. The bond inside stays registered to its owner, and the state holds it for the owner or heirs.

South Dakota lists each bond from a box under the owner named on it, property type code SC15, for that person or the heirs to claim (SDCL 43-41B-17, SL 2019, ch. 194). Minnesota presents held savings and war bonds to the United States for payment, not sale (Minn.

Stat. 345.47 subd. 3). Connecticut tells holders to send savings bonds directly to Treasury, not to list them on the holder report. South Carolina requires a bond found in a box to be reported and remitted even when the state declines the rest of the box (S.C. Code 27-18-75).

Missouri runs the only verified live state name search for held paper bonds, checked November 11, 2026. Missouri's savings bond search lists bonds that banks delivered from abandoned safe deposit boxes. It does not reach Treasury's records.

Payment for a Bond the State Holds: 31 CFR 315.88 and 353.88

Treasury may, at its discretion, pay a state for a paper bond at final maturity that the state possesses and owns by court judgment. Final maturity is the date a bond stops earning interest for good.

The rule sits in 31 CFR 315.88 for Series E, H and other older series and in 31 CFR 353.88 for Series EE and HH, as amended by 80 FR 80258 (December 24, 2015). For paper Series I bonds, 31 CFR 360.77 uses a bond that has stopped earning interest as the test.

Treasury never pays on a judgment that gives the state custody only, and never for a bond the state does not hold. The Court of Federal Claims order of November 30, 2020, which ended 10 state suits, left this possession route untouched.

What States Cannot Do With Unclaimed Savings Bonds

States cannot do 4 things with unclaimed savings bonds, under 2 federal appeals decisions and 2 Treasury rules. Each limit below names its source.

• Take title to a bond the state does not hold (LaTurner v. United States, 933 F.3d 1354, Fed. Cir. August 13, 2019; review denied October 5, 2020).
• Take custody of matured bonds under a custody escheat law (Treasurer of New Jersey v. Treasury, 684 F.3d 382, 3d Cir. June 27, 2012).
• Redeem a lost bond without its serial number 6 years or more after final maturity (31 CFR 315.29(c), 353.29(c)).
• Use Treasury's owner records to escheat bonds, or release them without Treasury's advance written approval (31 CFR 323.11(c)).

Congress has not changed these limits. The Unclaimed Savings Bond Act (H.R. 4085 and S. 2854, 117th Congress) would have let states obtain title through an escheat judgment, and it was not enacted.

Owners and heirs therefore claim most unclaimed savings bonds from Treasury, and turn to a state only when it holds the paper bond.

Every State Savings Bond Lawsuit, With Court and Docket

States brought 7 savings bond lawsuits or groups of lawsuits from 2004 to 2020, and every final decision went against them. Arkansas won twice along the way: a county escheat judgment on November 20, 2015 and a trial ruling in Lea v.

United States, 132 Fed. Cl. 705 (August 8, 2017). The Federal Circuit reversed Lea in 2019. The table lists the suits we found in court records, with court, docket, states and result; 2 state-court cases have no outcome on record that we could find.

Savings bond suits brought by states, from court records on govinfo.gov and the courts' own sites.

Treasury's Refusal Letters to States, 1952 to 2006

Treasury refused state claims to savings bonds by letter at least 12 times between 1952 and 2006. In 1952 it wrote to the New York Comptroller about the difference between title and custody.

It denied a Hawaii redemption request on July 14, 1976, and Alaska requests on October 25, 1983 and February 6, 1992, as recited in Lea v. United States, 132 Fed. Cl. 705 (2017).

In 2004, letters went to Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Kentucky, New Hampshire, North Carolina and South Dakota. Florida's letter followed in 2006 (80 FR 80259, note 3). Every letter concerned bonds the state did not possess, the same line the courts drew later.

Unclaimed Savings Bonds by State: Laws, Programs and Court Cases

Unclaimed savings bonds touch the law of 25 states through a statute, lawsuit or court case; 25 other jurisdictions have none we found as of November 11, 2026. Nebraska, the remaining state, has no verified involvement. The table below gives every state's program website, its unclaimed property statute and its savings bond record.

Savings bond involvement of every state and DC as of November 11, 2026, from state statutes, agency sites, the Federal Register (80 FR 80259) and federal court records. "None found" means no statute, program, agreement or lawsuit in those sources. No state is publicly known to have a 31 CFR 323.11 information-sharing agreement.

States With a Savings Bond Title-Escheat Statute

18 states enacted savings bond title-escheat statutes: 16 listed by Treasury in 80 FR 80259 (2015), Pennsylvania in 2016 and West Virginia. A title-escheat statute lets the state ask a court to make it the owner of unclaimed bonds. The statutes share 4 features, listed below.

• Waiting periods of 5 years after maturity: Arkansas (escheat 2 years later), Florida, South Carolina and West Virginia (escheat 1 year later).
• Waiting periods of 3 years: Georgia and South Dakota (3 years after the bonds become unclaimed), Missouri (abandoned more than 3 years after maturity, escheat 3 years later) and Pennsylvania (presumed abandoned more than 3 years after final maturity).
• Named courts: Leon County (Florida), Fulton County (Georgia), Polk County (Iowa), Shawnee County (Kansas), Franklin Circuit Court (Kentucky), 19th Judicial District (Louisiana), Kennebec County (Maine), Hinds County (Mississippi), Cole County (Missouri), Richland County (South Carolina), Sixth Judicial Circuit (South Dakota), Kanawha County (West Virginia) and Commonwealth Court (Pennsylvania).
• Bond sections not verified: Indiana, New Hampshire, North Carolina and Ohio, which Treasury lists without a section number.

Each of these statutes now works only for bonds the state physically holds. LaTurner (2019) preempted title escheat of absent bonds, and the possession route under 31 CFR 315.88 and 353.88 is what remains. West Virginia's enactment year and Arkansas's current statute text are not established.

States That Sued or Litigated Without a Bond Statute

New Jersey, Montana, Oklahoma and New York have savings bond litigation or law without an escheat statute; Texas and Washington have Supreme Court cases that are not about escheat.

New Jersey led the first suit, D.N.J. 3:04-cv-04368, filed September 8, 2004. Montana and Oklahoma joined the appeal, Third Circuit No. 10-1963, and lost with New Jersey on June 27, 2012.

New York's Abandoned Property Law Article XII-A (sections 1213 to 1223) reaches property held by the United States, but it does not name savings bonds.

Minnesota's only bond rule is the payment clause in 345.47 subd. 3. Free v. Bland (Texas, 1962) and Yiatchos v. Yiatchos (Washington, 1964) decided who owns a bond after a death, covered in the next section.

States With No Savings Bond Law, Program or Lawsuit

25 jurisdictions have no savings bond statute, program or lawsuit that we found as of November 11, 2026. They are Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

Their general unclaimed property acts can still return a paper bond the program received, for example from a safe deposit box. Statute citations for Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont, Wisconsin and Oregon are not verified, so "none found" is the accurate term.

Alabama, Colorado and South Carolina program websites still link Treasury Hunt, which has not been available since September 30, 2025.

A link on a state site does not mean the tool works: Treasury Hunt is closed, and no online replacement exists. Rhode Island filed amicus briefs in Estes and LaTurner only, and North Dakota joined 2015 joint comments to Treasury only.

How to Claim a Savings Bond From a State Unclaimed Property Office

Claim a savings bond from a state by searching its unclaimed property program under the owner's name and filing its free claim. The claim costs nothing.

This route fits only when the paper bond may have reached the state. Bonds only on Treasury's records, and all electronic bonds, are claimed from Treasury. The state route takes 5 steps.

1. Open the program address from the state table yourself, never from a link in a letter or email.
2. Search the owner's name as printed on the bond, plus any former names.
3. File the claim with your ID, plus estate papers if the owner died.
4. Receive the paper bond back, or its proceeds if Treasury paid the state.
5. Cash a returned bond at a bank or by mail with FS Form 1522 (Rev. April 2026), as set out in how to cash savings bonds.

A returned bond past final maturity keeps its frozen final value; nothing is added while the state holds it.

Savings bonds never expire, and no deadline applies to cashing them (Executive Order 13968, 85 FR 83745).

Treasury is the place to claim when no state holds the bond. File FS Form 1048 (Rev. March 2026) with Treasury Retail Securities Services, the office that handles mailed claims, at P.O. Box 9150, Minneapolis, MN 55480-9150.

A claim filed 6 years or more after final maturity needs the bond's serial number (31 CFR 315.29(c), 353.29(c)). The FS Form 1048 claim for lost savings bonds is free from TreasuryDirect.

Savings Bonds After the Owner Dies: Where State Law Stops

Federal savings bond rules decide who owns a bond after the owner dies, and state property law cannot override them. A co-owner is the second person named on the bond with "OR"; a POD (payable on death) beneficiary is the person named to receive it at death.

For Series EE and HH, a surviving co-owner or POD beneficiary owns the bond outright, and a will or state court order cannot defeat that (31 CFR 353.70, 353.20(a); Free v. Bland, 369 U.S. 663 (1962)).

Yiatchos v. Yiatchos, 376 U.S. 306 (1964), drew the one limit. A POD beneficiary of bonds bought with Washington community funds keeps them unless the purchase was a fraud on the spouse's property rights, and even then takes at least the purchaser's half.

Otherwise the bond belongs to the owner's estate. A court must administer the estate when the decedent's savings bonds total more than $100,000 in redemption value at the date of death (31 CFR 353.71).

State small-estate procedures use FS Form 5394, not FS Form 5336. These federal rules on savings bonds after death leave the choice of route to the estate's attorney.

Unclaimed Savings Bonds by State: Questions

Can my state claim my savings bonds?

No: a state can claim payment only for a paper bond at final maturity that it physically holds and owns by court judgment, at Treasury's discretion (31 CFR 315.88, 353.88). LaTurner v. United States (2019) bars claims to bonds the state does not hold.

Can I search unclaimed savings bonds by state or by name?

No: no state or private site can search Treasury's savings bond records by name, and a state may not publish the names Treasury shares without Treasury's advance written approval (31 CFR 323.11(c)(3)). A state search shows only bonds its program holds; Missouri's is the only verified bond search. Treasury searches when you file a claim, as our savings bond lookup guide explains.

How can I find a lost US savings bond?

File FS Form 1048 with Treasury, which searches its own records; Treasury Hunt has not been available since September 30, 2025. Ask a state program only if the paper bond may have reached it.

Do US saving bonds ever expire?

No: savings bonds never expire and there is no deadline to cash them (Executive Order 13968, 85 FR 83745). They stop earning interest at final maturity, 30 years after issue for Series EE and I, as the rules on when savings bonds mature show.

A state holding the paper bond changes neither fact.

Where can I cash savings bonds in Massachusetts, Hawaii or California?

States do not cash savings bonds: a paper Series EE or I bond is cashed at a bank that offers the service, or by mail with FS Form 1522, wherever you live. Banks may cash paper bonds but are not required to (FS Publication 0022, Rev. October 2022). Series HH bonds go to Treasury only.

Our list of banks that cash savings bonds gives only dated policies from each bank's own page.

Is there a free way to find out if you have unclaimed money?

Searching a state unclaimed property program is free, and claiming a savings bond from Treasury or a state costs nothing. FS Form 1048 and FS Form 1522 are free from TreasuryDirect. Other unclaimed money, such as bank accounts, is outside this page.

Has any state received Treasury's savings bond records under SECURE 2.0?

No state is publicly known to have signed an information-sharing agreement or received records as of November 11, 2026. The rule took effect on December 18, 2024 (89 FR 102735). Treasury's routine use 24, the Privacy Act notice for disclosures to states, applies from June 10, 2026 (91 FR 25777).

Is a letter about unclaimed savings bonds legit?

Check any letter by opening the state program's address from the state table yourself: a state claim is free, and a state uses Treasury's records only to locate owners. Treasury pays a bond only to its owner or another person entitled to it (31 CFR 315.39(b), 353.39(b), 360.39(b)). The warning signs are set out under savings bond scams.

Is a state "treasure hunt" site the same as Treasury Hunt?

No: Treasury Hunt was a federal tool, closed on September 30, 2025, while the Great Iowa Treasure Hunt and Florida's search at fltreasurehunt.gov are state unclaimed property programs. Each state program searches only property that state holds.

More Ways to Find and Claim Savings Bonds

5 related topics cover situations a state office does not reach, since a state handles only paper bonds it holds.

• Searches for the savings bonds of a deceased parent or relative.
• Next steps for found old savings bonds in an attic or drawer.
• Executor duties for savings bonds in probate.
• Fees charged by savings bond recovery services.
• Paperwork help after a state contacts you about savings bonds.

Statutes, dockets and program addresses checked November 11, 2026; see how we check every statute and docket.