Kentucky unclaimed savings bonds come back from the Kentucky State Treasury only when the paper bond itself reached its Unclaimed Property Division. Every other unclaimed savings bond is claimed from Treasury with FS Form 1048, and both routes are free.
Kentucky's savings bond escheat law, KRS 393.022 (effective April 10, 2014), and Ball v. United States (Fed. Cl. No. 16-221C, dismissed November 30, 2020) set the limits. We checked every Kentucky fact below on November 11, 2026.
ClaimMyBonds is a private, independent guide, not the Kentucky State Treasury, Treasury, TreasuryDirect or Treasury Hunt, and we cannot search their records for you. Searching and claiming with the Kentucky program costs nothing. The hub on savings bonds and state unclaimed property offices shows how other states compare.
Does the Kentucky State Treasury Hold Unclaimed Savings Bonds?
Yes, but only paper bonds that physically reached it. The Kentucky State Treasurer administers unclaimed property under KRS chapter 393A (2018 Ky.
Acts ch. 163, effective July 14, 2018), so the Treasury's Unclaimed Property Division can hold and return a paper savings bond it received. Bonds that exist only on Treasury's records stay with Treasury. The table below sums up Kentucky's position as of November 11, 2026.
| Attribute | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Program | Kentucky State Treasury, Unclaimed Property Division (treasury.ky.gov/unclaimedproperty) | Kentucky State Treasury |
| Administrator and custody law | Kentucky State Treasurer; KRS chapter 393A (July 14, 2018) | KRS 393A |
| Savings bond statute | KRS 393.022 (effective April 10, 2014) | KRS 393.022 |
| Court for escheat | Franklin Circuit Court | KRS 393.022 |
| Bond name search | None verified | Checked November 11, 2026 |
| Cost | Free | Free route (state programs and Treasury charge no fee) |
| Federal cases | Third Circuit (2012); Estes (2016); Ball, No. 16-221C (2020) | Court records |
| Agreement with Treasury for bond records | None publicly known | 31 CFR 323.11(b) |
Source: Kentucky State Treasury and Kentucky Revised Statutes, checked November 11, 2026; 80 FR 80259; court records.
Missouri runs the only verified live state name search for held paper bonds, and no Kentucky search for bonds has been verified. No national name search exists either, as the guide to unclaimed savings bonds explains.
Paper Bonds Kentucky Holds Versus Bonds on Treasury's Records
A paper savings bond Kentucky holds is one the Division physically received, for example a bond turned over to the state by a holder. The bond stays registered to its owner, and the Division holds it for the owner or the heirs.
Electronic bonds, which live in a TreasuryDirect account, never reach the Division. Neither do paper bonds that were lost or never handed over. Treasury keeps the records for all of them. We have no count of the bonds Kentucky holds.
How to Search and Claim Kentucky Unclaimed Savings Bonds
Search the Kentucky State Treasury's unclaimed property site, then file the Division's claim if a listing matches. Searching and claiming with a state program costs nothing. The 4 steps are below.
- Open the Division's page yourself at treasury.ky.gov/unclaimedproperty, never through a link in a letter, text or ad.
- Search the owner's name exactly as printed on the bond, plus former and married names; how to read a paper savings bond shows where the name sits.
- Repeat the search for each co-owner or POD beneficiary named on the bond and for a deceased owner.
- File the Division's claim for each listing that could be a bond, and ask the Division which proof it needs.
Kentucky State Treasury, Unclaimed Property Division
Website: treasury.ky.gov/unclaimedproperty
Law: KRS chapter 393A (unclaimed property); KRS 393.022 (savings bonds)
Source: Kentucky State Treasury and Kentucky Revised Statutes, checked November 11, 2026. ClaimMyBonds is not affiliated with the Kentucky State Treasury.
Cashing a Savings Bond Kentucky Returns to You
Cash a paper bond the Division returns like any other paper bond: at a bank that offers the service, or by mail to Treasury with FS Form 1522 (Rev. April 2026).
Banks may cash paper bonds but are not required to (FS Publication 0022, Rev. October 2022). The full steps are in our guide on how to cash savings bonds.
FS Form 1522 needs a notary or certifying officer, a person authorized to verify your signature, only when the total current redemption value is more than $1,000.
Series HH bonds go to Treasury only. The value depends on the series and issue date, not on Kentucky; our calculator, built on Treasury's published value files, prices it.
If Kentucky Does Not Hold Your Savings Bond: Claim From Treasury With FS Form 1048
File FS Form 1048 (Rev. March 2026) with Treasury when Kentucky does not hold the bond: Treasury searches its own records for lost, stolen or destroyed paper bonds and charges no fee. The form is free from TreasuryDirect.
Mail the FS Form 1048 claim for lost savings bonds to Treasury Retail Securities Services, P.O. Box 9150, Minneapolis, MN 55480-9150. A claim filed 6 years or more after final maturity, the date a bond stops earning interest, needs the bond's serial number (31 CFR 315.29(c), 353.29(c)).
Treasury's records hold 103,064,737 matured unredeemed bonds, all series, as of September 30, 2026 (Fiscal Data). TreasuryDirect states: "As of September 30, 2025, the Treasury Hunt® tool is no longer available."
KRS 393.022: Kentucky's Savings Bond Escheat Law
KRS 393.022 presumes a savings bond abandoned when the owner's last known address is in Kentucky and the bond stays unclaimed and unredeemed for three years after final maturity. The bond escheats, meaning the state takes ownership, to the Commonwealth three years after it becomes abandoned property.
If no claim has been filed, the department (the State Treasury) brings a civil action in the Franklin Circuit Court, with notice in at least two statewide newspapers and an answer date not less than 50 days after first publication.
The law was created by 2014 Ky. Acts ch. 102, sec. 4, effective April 10, 2014. Treasury listed Kentucky among the 7 states that enacted such statutes in 2014 (80 FR 80259). The table below gives the steps as of November 11, 2026.
| Step | What the statute says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Owner's last known address is in Kentucky and the bond is unclaimed and unredeemed 3 years after final maturity: presumed abandoned | KRS 393.022 |
| 2 | 3 years after becoming abandoned property: escheats to the Commonwealth of Kentucky | KRS 393.022 |
| 3 | Civil action in the Franklin Circuit Court; notice in at least two statewide newspapers; answer not less than 50 days after first publication | KRS 393.022 |
| 4 | After judgment: the Treasurer may pay a claimant at its discretion "in fairness and equity" | KRS 393.022 |
| 5 | Federal limit: Treasury pays a state only for a paper bond at final maturity in its possession, with title by judgment, at Treasury's discretion | 31 CFR 315.88, 353.88; LaTurner (2019) |
Kentucky's savings bond escheat law, KRS 393.022 (effective April 10, 2014), with the federal limit, as of November 11, 2026.
The statute defines final maturity as "the date a United States savings bond ceases to earn interest", the federal meaning. The two 3-year periods therefore add up to 6 years after a bond stops earning interest.
Every Series E bond stopped earning interest by June 2010, so every Series E bond registered to a Kentucky address is past both periods. The statute text is on the Kentucky legislature's site.
After a Franklin Circuit Court Judgment: Payment "in Fairness and Equity"
After an escheat judgment, the Kentucky State Treasurer may, at its discretion, pay a person to whom "the Commonwealth should in fairness and equity allow payment" (KRS 393.022). The statute makes that payment a choice of the Treasurer, not a right of the owner.
We found no record of a Franklin Circuit Court judgment under KRS 393.022, so this page states none. A claim to Treasury works differently: bonds never expire, and Treasury pays the owner or the person entitled. Ask a Kentucky attorney about your own position if you receive a court notice.
Kentucky's Savings Bond Lawsuits, From the 2004 Treasury Letter to Ball v. United States
Kentucky took part in 5 federal savings bond disputes between 2004 and 2020, and each one ended against the state. Treasury's 2004 letter to Kentucky, with Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Illinois, New Hampshire, North Carolina and South Dakota, rejected claims to bonds the state did not possess (80 FR 80259 n.3).
The Kentucky Treasurer was an appellant in the Third Circuit case, and Allison Ball, then Kentucky State Treasurer, was a plaintiff in Estes. Kentucky filed as amicus in LaTurner, and Ball v.
United States was one of 10 state suits dismissed in a single order by Judge Elaine D. Kaplan. The table below lists each matter as of November 11, 2026.
| Year | Matter and docket | Kentucky's role | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Treasury letter (80 FR 80259 n.3) | Recipient | Claim to bonds the state did not hold rejected |
| 2004 to 2012 | Treasurer of New Jersey v. Treasury, D.N.J. 3:04-cv-04368; 3d Cir. No. 10-1963 | Appellant | Custody escheat preempted, June 27, 2012; cert. denied 2013 |
| 2015 | Treasury rule, 80 FR 80258 | Joint comments with other states | Rule effective December 24, 2015 |
| 2016 | Estes v. Treasury, D.D.C. 1:16-cv-00450 | Plaintiff (Allison Ball) | 2015 rule upheld, November 28, 2016 |
| 2019 | LaTurner v. United States, Fed. Cir. 2018-1509 | Amicus | Title to absent bonds preempted, August 13, 2019 |
| 2020 | Ball v. United States, Fed. Cl. No. 16-221C | Plaintiff | Dismissed with prejudice, November 30, 2020 |
Sources: Federal Register; govinfo.gov; Third and Federal Circuit opinions. Estes: appeal dismissed November 21, 2017.
The Third Circuit decision is reported at 684 F.3d 382, and the Supreme Court denied review at 569 U.S. 1004 (2013). Estes is reported at 219 F. Supp. 3d 17.
What Federal Courts and Treasury Rules Leave Kentucky
Federal law leaves Kentucky one savings bond route: Treasury may, at its discretion, pay a state for a paper bond at final maturity that the state possesses and owns by court judgment. The rules are 31 CFR 315.88 and 353.88 (80 FR 80258, December 24, 2015).
LaTurner v. United States, 933 F.3d 1354 (Fed. Cir. August 13, 2019; certiorari denied October 5, 2020), holds that federal law preempts state escheat laws for bonds a state does not hold. A state without the bond or its serial number cannot redeem it. The 2020 order left the possession route untouched.
Owners therefore keep their federal right to claim from Treasury, and KRS 393.022 works only for bonds Kentucky physically holds. The Unclaimed Savings Bond Act (H.R. 4085 and S. 2854, 117th Congress) was not enacted.
Kentucky Savings Bonds After the Owner Dies: Federal Rules Decide Who Owns Them
Federal savings bond rules, not Kentucky law, decide who owns a bond after the owner dies: a surviving co-owner or POD beneficiary becomes the sole owner, and the bond is not part of the estate (31 CFR 353.70(b)(1), (c)(1)).
A POD (payable on death) beneficiary is the person named to receive the bond at the owner's death. A will or state court order cannot defeat that result (31 CFR 353.20(a); Free v. Bland, 369 U.S. 663 (1962)). Our summary of savings bond co-owner rules shows that a survivor owns the bond outright.
Heirs search the deceased owner's name with the Division for bonds Kentucky holds and use FS Form 1048 for the rest.
A court must administer the estate if the decedent's savings bonds total more than $100,000 in redemption value at the date of death (31 CFR 353.71).
FS Form 5336 serves estates that are not administered, and FS Form 5394 serves closed estates and state small-estate procedures. The rules for savings bonds in probate cover the estate over $100,000. Ask the estate's attorney about individual decisions.
Other States With Savings Bond Escheat Laws and Lawsuits
Kentucky is one of 7 states that enacted a savings bond escheat statute in 2014, and 5 sibling pages cover states with related laws or suits.
- Missouri unclaimed savings bonds: 2014 statute, fellow Third Circuit appellant
- South Dakota unclaimed savings bonds: 2014 statute, Estes co-plaintiff, Sattgast suit dismissed 2020
- Louisiana unclaimed savings bonds: 2014 statute, Estes co-plaintiff, Kennedy suit dismissed 2020
- Kansas unclaimed savings bonds: first statute, 2000, Estes lead plaintiff, LaTurner
- New Jersey unclaimed savings bonds: lead plaintiff in the Third Circuit case
More Guides for Kentucky Bond Owners and Heirs
5 related guides cover situations the Kentucky search does not.
- Savings bonds of a deceased parent or relative
- Found old savings bonds
- POD savings bonds
- Savings bond recovery services
- Help after a state contacts you about savings bonds
Kentucky Unclaimed Savings Bonds FAQ
How long before Kentucky treats a savings bond as abandoned?
Kentucky presumes a savings bond abandoned 3 years after final maturity when the owner's last known address is in Kentucky (KRS 393.022), and escheat can follow 3 years later. The rules for other unclaimed property under KRS 393A are a separate subject.
Can Kentucky get savings bond records from Treasury?
No state, Kentucky included, is publicly known to have signed the information-sharing agreement that 31 CFR 323.11(b) requires before Treasury shares owner names and addresses (as of November 11, 2026). A state may use those records only to locate owners, never to escheat them, and not to release them to the public or third parties without Treasury's advance written approval (89 FR 102735, December 18, 2024), and no Social Security numbers or serial numbers are shared. The limits are set out in the guide on what states can receive from Treasury.
Is there a deadline to claim a savings bond in Kentucky?
Savings bonds never expire, and Treasury sets no deadline to redeem them (EO 13968, 85 FR 83745); they stop earning interest at final maturity. After an escheat judgment Kentucky pays at its discretion. See when savings bonds mature.
Is a letter offering to recover my Kentucky savings bonds for a fee a scam?
Treat any letter that offers to recover Kentucky savings bonds for a fee with care: claiming from the Kentucky State Treasury and from Treasury costs nothing, and Treasury pays only the owner or the person entitled (31 CFR 353.39(b)). Government impersonation is barred by 16 CFR Part 461. More on savings bond scams is in our guide.
Where can I cash a savings bond in Kentucky?
Cash a paper savings bond at a Kentucky bank that offers the service or by mail with FS Form 1522. Only banks that act as paying agents and Treasury cash savings bonds. Banks may cash bonds but are not required to, and Series HH bonds go to Treasury only. See the banks that cash savings bonds.
Can I still use Treasury Hunt to find Kentucky savings bonds?
No: Treasury Hunt has not been available since September 30, 2025, and no online tool replaced it. Use the Kentucky search for held bonds and FS Form 1048 for everything else; Treasury Hunt is closed.
Rules and Kentucky agency pages checked November 11, 2026; see how we check every statute and docket.