Florida Unclaimed Savings Bonds: The State Escheat Law (Fla. Stat. 717.1382) and How to Claim

Florida presumes a US savings bond abandoned 5 years after it stops earning interest (Fla. Stat. 717.1382), but a state cannot take bonds it does not physically hold. The Court of Federal Claims dismissed Florida's suit, Atwater v.

United States, with prejudice on November 30, 2020. Florida unclaimed savings bonds are therefore claimed for free from the Florida Department of Financial Services (DFS) only when the paper bond reached it, and otherwise from Treasury.

ClaimMyBonds is a private, independent reference, not Florida, DFS, Treasury or Treasury Hunt, and it cannot search their records.

This page explains the Florida law and the court record behind it, and it points you to the free route for your situation. For the other states, see what state unclaimed property offices can do with savings bonds.

Does Florida Hold Unclaimed Savings Bonds?

Florida holds a US savings bond only when the paper bond itself reached the Division of Unclaimed Property of the Florida Department of Financial Services, for example one found in an abandoned safe deposit box. A bond that exists only on Treasury's records stays with Treasury.

Florida's general unclaimed property program is custodial: "The State never becomes the owner of your property," in the words of the Department's claim site, claimyourcashfl.gov. Fla.

Stat. 717.1382 is the exception that lets the state take title to a savings bond. The table below sets out the Florida facts on this page, as checked November 11, 2026.

Source: Fla. Stat. ch. 717 (leg.state.fl.us); Court of Federal Claims Opinion and Order, November 30, 2020; 80 FR 80259; checked November 11, 2026.

Florida's Search at fltreasurehunt.gov Is Not Treasury Hunt

No: fltreasurehunt.gov is the Florida Department of Financial Services' search for unclaimed property the state holds, while Treasury Hunt was a federal Treasury tool that has not been available since September 30, 2025. TreasuryDirect states: "As of September 30, 2025, the Treasury Hunt® tool is no longer available."

Treasury names no online replacement and points owners to its forms page, which carries FS Form 1048 for lost bonds. Treasury Hunt is closed, and it was a federal tool, not Florida's.

A page that still says "use TreasuryHunt.gov" is out of date, and a "Treasury Hunt" search offered to you today is not Treasury's. Neither site belongs to ClaimMyBonds.

What Fla. Stat. 717.1382 Says About US Savings Bonds

Fla. Stat. 717.1382 presumes a US savings bond abandoned 5 years after the bond "reaches maturity and no longer earns interest" when the Department holds it or it is registered to a person with a last known address in Florida, including a bond that is lost, stolen or destroyed. The statute sets 6 rules. To escheat means to pass to the state.

• The presumption: abandonment 5 years after maturity, once interest stops.
• The scope: bonds in the Department's possession or registered to a last known Florida address.
• The action: a civil action in a Leon County court.
• The notice: publication once a week for 4 consecutive weeks in a Leon County newspaper.
• The defense: an answer due not less than 28 or more than 60 days after first publication.
• The vesting: all rights, "including all rights, powers, and privileges of survivorship of an owner, co-owner, or beneficiary," vest solely in the state.

The text comes from section 1 of chapter 2015-152, amended by section 62 of chapter 2024-140 and section 87 of chapter 2026-174. Florida is one of 8 states that enacted such a law in 2015 (80 FR 80259). This page states no Leon County action under the law, because none is established.

Fla. Stat. 717.1383: Claiming a Bond Florida Has Escheated

Fla. Stat. 717.1383 lets a person claim a savings bond escheated under 717.1382, or its proceeds, from the Department, which "may approve the claim if the person is able to provide sufficient proof of the validity of the person's claim."

A later claimant's "sole remedy, if any, shall be against the claimant who received the bond or the proceeds." The section is section 2 of chapter 2015-152. It sets no list of proofs and no deadline, so the Department decides what proof it accepts.

When Florida's 5-Year Clock Starts: Final Maturity and the Federal Deadlines

Florida's 5-year clock starts at final maturity, the month a bond stops earning interest. Final maturity comes 30 years after issue for Series EE and for Series E issued December 1965 to June 1980, and 40 years after issue for Series E issued May 1941 to November 1965. Two federal lines use the same date.

A bond more than 3 years past final maturity is an "applicable savings bond" (31 U.S.C. 3105(f)(6); 31 CFR 323.11(a)). A lost-bond claim made 6 years or more after final maturity needs the serial number (31 CFR 315.29(c), 353.29(c)).

The value stays payable throughout. Our page on when savings bonds mature and stop earning interest gives final maturity by series. The table below applies the dates to three example bonds.

Source: Fiscal Data, Savings Bonds Value Files (redemption month November 2026), https://fiscaldata.treasury.gov/datasets/savings-bond-value-files/; 31 U.S.C. 3105(f)(6); Fla. Stat. 717.1382(1); 31 CFR 315.29(c), 353.29(c). Every bond in the table has stopped earning interest; its value no longer changes and it can be cashed at any time.

Why Florida Cannot Take Bonds It Does Not Hold: Atwater v. United States

Florida cannot take title to or cash savings bonds it does not hold: the Court of Federal Claims dismissed Florida's suit, Atwater v. United States, No. 16-1482C, with prejudice on November 30, 2020, following LaTurner v. United States, 933 F.3d 1354 (Fed. Cir. August 13, 2019).

In LaTurner the Federal Circuit held that federal law preempts state escheat for these bonds. It also held that a state without the bonds lacks the serial numbers Treasury requires under 31 CFR 315.29(c). The Supreme Court denied review on October 5, 2020 (Nos. 19-1279, 19-1285).

Atwater was filed by Jeff Atwater, then Florida's Chief Financial Officer. The court stayed it on January 17, 2020 (ECF 10) while the LaTurner petition was pending.

Judge Elaine D. Kaplan dismissed it in one Opinion and Order that covered 10 state suits, and the order left bonds in a state's possession untouched. Treasury had already refused Florida's request for bonds it did not possess, in 2006 (80 FR 80259 n.3). The table below lists Florida's record in order.

Source: govinfo.gov court records; cafc.uscourts.gov; 80 FR 80258 (December 24, 2015).

The Bonds Florida Can Still Be Paid For: 31 CFR 315.88

Treasury may, at its discretion, pay Florida for a paper savings bond at final maturity that Florida physically holds and owns by a title judgment (31 CFR 315.88 and 353.88; for Series I, 360.77, which uses "stopped earning interest"). The rule took effect December 24, 2015 (80 FR 80258).

It does not cover custody-only claims or bonds Florida does not hold, because 31 CFR 315.20(b) does not recognize escheat proceedings under the judicial-proceedings subpart. The 2020 order kept this possession route open.

This page states no payment to Florida under the rule, because none is established. The rules sit in part 315 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

Florida Has No Published Information-Sharing Agreement With Treasury

No Florida information-sharing agreement with Treasury has been published as of November 11, 2026, so Florida has received no federal savings bond owner records that we can confirm.

Under 31 U.S.C. 3105(f) (SECURE 2.0 section 122, December 29, 2022) and 89 FR 102735 (December 18, 2024), a state that signs an agreement gets only names and addresses, with no Social Security numbers, denominations or serial numbers.

It may use them only to locate owners, never to escheat (31 CFR 323.11(b), (c)). The limits on that data are the rules on what states can receive from Treasury.

How to Claim a Florida Unclaimed Savings Bond for Free

A savings bond tied to Florida is claimed in 1 of 4 places, and none of them charges a fee: a bank or Treasury's mail office for a bond in your hands, Florida's Department of Financial Services for a bond it holds, Treasury for a lost bond, and Treasury's estate procedures when the owner has died.

A Florida address on the bond does not send the claim to Florida. Where the paper bond is decides. The table below sorts the four cases.

Source: TreasuryDirect forms page; Fla. Stat. ch. 717; checked November 11, 2026.

If the Paper Bond Is With Florida's Department of Financial Services

Search the owner's name at fltreasurehunt.gov and file the Department's claim, which is free, when the paper bond may have reached Florida. Search the name as printed on the bond and any former names.

Type the address into your browser yourself, and never use a link from a letter or message, because fltreasurehunt.gov is the only program address this page links.

A bond Florida returns is cashed like any paper bond, and no deadline applies. An escheated bond is claimed under 717.1383, with sufficient proof of your claim.

If the Bond Is Lost and Florida Does Not Hold It: FS Form 1048

Claim a lost, stolen or destroyed bond that Florida does not hold with FS Form 1048 (Rev. March 2026), mailed to Treasury Retail Securities Services, P.O. Box 9150, Minneapolis, MN 55480-9150. Treasury searches its own records.

Without the serial number, describe the issue date or range, the face amount (the dollar amount printed on the bond) and the inscription, meaning the names, Social Security number and addresses. TreasuryDirect says lost-bond searches take 11 months or longer, as of November 11, 2026.

The 6-year rule makes the number matter: a claim made 6 years or more after final maturity needs it. Look for a serial number on an old list or a photocopy, and read how to find a savings bond serial number on paper.

Florida Savings Bonds After the Owner Dies

Federal savings bond rules decide who owns a Florida resident's bond after death: a surviving co-owner or POD beneficiary becomes the sole owner, 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)). A POD (payable on death) beneficiary is the person named to receive the bond at the owner's death. See what the beneficiary gets under POD savings bonds.

Fla. Stat. 717.1382 vests survivorship rights in the state on escheat, but LaTurner preempts state escheat for bonds a state does not hold.

Otherwise the estate owns the bond. Administration is required above $100,000 in redemption value at death (31 CFR 353.71), and small-estate procedures use FS Form 5394, not FS Form 5336. Ask the estate's attorney which applies, and read about savings bonds in probate for executors.

Paid Claimant Representatives Under Fla. Stat. 717.135 and 717.1400

Florida requires a "claimant representative" who files claims for a fee to register with the Department, caps total fees and costs at 30 percent of the claimed amount and allows payment only after a filed claim is approved (Fla. Stat. 717.135(2)(j), 717.135(5)).

Only a Florida-licensed Class C private investigator, Florida CPA or Florida attorney may register (717.1400(1)(a)). No irrevocable agreement or assignment is allowed (717.135(7)), and no firm name may suggest "United States, Florida, state, bureau, division, department, or government" (717.1400(5)). Fees and caps for savings bond recovery services differ by state.

Other States With Savings Bond Escheat Laws

Treasury counted 16 states with savings bond title-escheat statutes by 2015 (80 FR 80259), and Pennsylvania added one in 2016 (Act 85 of 2016). Missouri and Pennsylvania have laws with the same purpose: see Missouri unclaimed savings bonds and Pennsylvania unclaimed savings bonds.

Georgia and South Carolina have them too: see Georgia unclaimed savings bonds and South Carolina unclaimed savings bonds. The rest are listed under unclaimed savings bonds by state.

Florida Unclaimed Savings Bonds: Questions

Does Florida own my savings bonds?

No: Florida owns a savings bond only after a Leon County escheat judgment on a bond it physically holds, and Treasury pays the state for such a bond only at its discretion (31 CFR 315.88). For bonds Florida does not hold, LaTurner (2019) and the Atwater dismissal (2020) control.

Can I search Florida unclaimed savings bonds by name or Social Security number?

No: Florida's search shows only property the state holds, and no state or private site can search Treasury's savings bond records by name or Social Security number. Treasury Hunt has been closed since September 30, 2025, and Treasury searches its records when you file FS Form 1048. Our guide to savings bond lookup explains why there is no name search.

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), but they stop earning interest at final maturity. Florida's 5-year presumption does not change Treasury's value, which our savings bond calculator, built on Treasury's published value files, shows.

Where can I cash a savings bond in Florida?

A paper Series EE or I bond is cashed at a bank that offers the service or by mail with FS Form 1522 (Rev. April 2026), and Florida's program does not cash bonds. Banks may cash paper bonds but are not required to (FS Publication 0022, Rev. October 2022), and Series HH bonds go to Treasury only. See dated policies for banks that cash savings bonds.

Can Florida publish a list of Treasury's bond owners?

No: a state may not release Treasury's owner names and addresses to the public or any third party without Treasury's advance written approval (31 CFR 323.11(c)(3)). Posts saying federal bond records moved to state databases have no primary source.

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