New York unclaimed savings bonds come back to an owner from 2 places: the Office of the New York State Comptroller, for a paper bond it physically holds, or Treasury, through the free FS Form 1048, for every other bond.
New York law reaches property held by the United States, but federal law keeps savings bonds with their owners. Treasury first drew that line in a 1952 letter to New York's Comptroller (checked November 11, 2026).
ClaimMyBonds is a private, independent guide. We are not the Comptroller, the State of New York, Treasury, TreasuryDirect or Treasury Hunt, and we cannot search their records. To see how other states compare, read about savings bonds and state unclaimed property offices.
Does New York Hold Unclaimed Savings Bonds?
New York can return a paper savings bond only if the Comptroller's Office of Unclaimed Funds physically holds it. Owners search the general program at osc.ny.gov/unclaimed-funds, and no New York savings bond list is verified in our sources. The table below sets out 12 facts.
| Attribute | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Agency | Office of the New York State Comptroller, Office of Unclaimed Funds | NAUPA; Comptroller |
| Program page | osc.ny.gov/unclaimed-funds | Comptroller |
| Mail address | 110 State Street, 8th Floor, Albany, NY 12236 | NAUPA |
| Savings bond list or search | None verified; Missouri runs the only verified one | State treasurer sources |
| General law | Abandoned Property Law, Article XII-A (1213 to 1223) for property held by the United States; section 1416 for finder agreements | nysenate.gov |
| Savings bonds named in Article XII-A | No | nysenate.gov, section 1214 |
| Bond title-escheat statute | None on Treasury's 2015 list | 80 FR 80259 |
| Savings bond lawsuits | None in our sources | Court records |
| Treasury letter | January 28, 1952: title, not custody | 684 F.3d 382 |
| Finder fee cap | 15 percent of the value of recoverable property | Section 1416(4) |
| Information-sharing agreement | None publicly known | 89 FR 102735 |
| Claim cost | Free from the Comptroller and from Treasury | Section 1416; Treasury |
Office of the New York State Comptroller; nysenate.gov; court records; 80 FR 80259; checked November 11, 2026.
Missouri runs the only verified state name search for held paper bonds. Whether the Comptroller holds any paper bond today is not on a public record we found, so the Office of Unclaimed Funds is the place to ask.
Which Savings Bonds New York Can Be Paid For: Paper Bonds in Its Possession
Federal rules let New York be paid only for a paper savings bond at final maturity that it possesses and owns by court judgment, at Treasury's discretion (31 CFR 315.88 and 353.88; 80 FR 80258, December 24, 2015). Custody alone is never enough.
States hold paper bonds mainly from abandoned safe deposit boxes, and we found no New York box rule. A bond that exists only on Treasury's records stays the owner's to claim from Treasury. No national name search exists for these unclaimed savings bonds, so an owner starts with a form instead.
How to Search New York Unclaimed Funds for a Savings Bond
Search New York unclaimed funds by entering the owner's name in the Comptroller's program at osc.ny.gov/unclaimed-funds, then ask the Office of Unclaimed Funds about any paper bond. This page covers US savings bonds only, not general unclaimed money. The 5 steps are below.
- Type osc.ny.gov/unclaimed-funds into your browser yourself. Never use a link from a letter, text or ad.
- Search the name exactly as printed on the bond (see how to read a paper savings bond), plus former and married names.
- Repeat the search for each co-owner or POD beneficiary and for a deceased owner. A POD (payable on death) beneficiary receives the bond after the owner dies.
- Follow the Comptroller's own claim steps on a match. With no match, write to the Office of Unclaimed Funds and ask whether it holds a paper bond in that name.
- Go to Treasury with FS Form 1048 if New York holds nothing.
Claiming a Savings Bond From the Office of the State Comptroller
File a claim for property the Comptroller holds through its own program. New York law requires every paid finder agreement to state in bold type: "Abandoned funds held by the State can be obtained directly from the Office of the State Comptroller by the owner of such funds without paying a fee."
The Comptroller sets its own proof and timing, so ask before you send an original bond. We found no New York claim form name, document list, response time or deadline in our sources. The bond itself never expires.
Office of the New York State Comptroller, Office of Unclaimed Funds
Program page: osc.ny.gov/unclaimed-funds
Mail: 110 State Street, 8th Floor, Albany, NY 12236
Source: NAUPA's New York listing (address) and the Comptroller's program page (URL), checked November 11, 2026. ClaimMyBonds is not affiliated with the State of New York or the Comptroller.
Cashing a Paper Savings Bond New York Returns to You
A returned paper savings bond is cashed 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 need not (FS Publication 0022, Rev. October 2022). Series F, G, H, J, K and HH bonds go to Treasury only (31 CFR 321.7(a)).
A signature certification, which means a notary or certifying officer verifies your signature, is needed only above $1,000 of total current redemption value. For the steps, read how to cash savings bonds.
Series and issue date set a bond's value, not New York. Our calculator is built on Treasury's published value files. Treasury pays only the owner or a person entitled to the bond (31 CFR 353.39(b)), so a returned bond is cashed in the owner's name.
If New York Does Not Hold Your Savings Bond: Claim From Treasury With FS Form 1048
Claim a savings bond from Treasury with FS Form 1048 (Rev. March 2026) when New York does not hold it. Treasury searches its own records for lost, stolen or destroyed paper bonds and charges no fee. Treasury Retail Securities Services handles these claims.
Mail the form to Treasury Retail Securities Services, P.O. Box 9150, Minneapolis, MN 55480-9150, not to the superseded Minneapolis P.O. Box 214. A claim filed 6 years or more after final maturity needs the serial number (31 CFR 315.29(c) and 353.29(c)).
Searches take 11 months or longer (as of November 11, 2026). The FS Form 1048 claim for lost savings bonds is free from TreasuryDirect. TreasuryDirect states: "As of September 30, 2025, the Treasury Hunt® tool is no longer available." No online search replaces it.
New York Abandoned Property Law Article XII-A and Savings Bonds
Article XII-A of New York's Abandoned Property Law, sections 1213 to 1223, is the state's law on unclaimed property held by the United States, and it does not name savings bonds.
Section 1214(a) defines property to include "postal savings deposits, bonds, notes" and "obligations whether written or unwritten". The table below sets out the scope and 4 key sections.
| Section | What it says | Federal limit for savings bonds |
|---|---|---|
| 1213 to 1223 | Scope: property held by the United States | Custody escheat preempted (684 F.3d 382, 2012) |
| 1214(a) | "Property" includes postal savings deposits, bonds, notes, choses in action, obligations whether written or unwritten; savings bonds not named | Savings bonds are not abandoned under federal law |
| 1216 | Presumption after 7 consecutive years unclaimed per federal records | Owners may redeem at any time; no deadline (EO 13968) |
| 1217 | Attorney General special proceeding in the supreme court "in the name of the people of the state of New York", after investigation by the Comptroller "or otherwise" | Escheat proceedings not recognized (31 CFR 315.20(b)); title escheat of bonds a state does not hold preempted (LaTurner, 2019) |
| 1223 | Alternative: paid or delivered to the Comptroller | Treasury pays a state only for a held paper bond at final maturity with title by judgment (315.88, 353.88) |
Article XII-A of the New York Abandoned Property Law and the federal rules that limit it for savings bonds. No court has ruled on Article XII-A and savings bonds in our sources. Source: nysenate.gov, Article XII-A; federal sources as cited; as of November 11, 2026.
After the Attorney General's proceeding, or by alternative payment under section 1223, property goes to the Comptroller. We found no Article XII-A proceeding over savings bonds. Section 1216 sets the presumption at 7 consecutive years per federal records, and section 1217 is the Attorney General's proceeding.
Why Article XII-A Cannot Take Savings Bonds From Their Owners
Federal law keeps savings bonds with their owners whatever a state law says. The Third Circuit held on June 27, 2012 that state custody laws conflict with federal law because owners may redeem matured bonds at any time (684 F.3d 382).
The Federal Circuit held on August 13, 2019 that state escheat laws are preempted and bonds belong to their original owners (LaTurner v. United States, 933 F.3d 1354). Federal rules say: "Escheat proceedings will not be recognized under this subpart" (31 CFR 315.20(b), amended December 24, 2015).
The only door is 315.88 and 353.88 for a bond the state holds. Neither court ruled on Article XII-A itself. The Unclaimed Savings Bond Act (H.R. 4085, S. 2854) was not enacted, and an individual case belongs with a New York attorney.
The 1952 Treasury Letter to New York's Comptroller: Title Versus Custody
The title-versus-custody rule behind every state claim to savings bonds began with a letter of January 28, 1952 from the Secretary of the Treasury to the New York State Comptroller, reprinted in a Treasury bulletin on February 27, 1952.
The Third Circuit recounts that the United States "would pay the proceeds of savings bonds to the State of New York if it actually obtained title to the bonds", not to a mere custodian. That letter is why a state needs title, not only custody, to be paid.
Custody escheat means a state holds property for an owner who can reclaim it. Title escheat means the state becomes the owner by court judgment. The 2015 rule (80 FR 80258) keeps that line and limits payment to bonds in the state's possession.
New York's Place in the State Savings Bond Lawsuits
New York is not a party to any savings bond lawsuit in our sources. It did not join New Jersey's appeal (Third Circuit No. 10-1963, decided June 27, 2012) or file one of the 10 Court of Federal Claims suits dismissed with prejudice on November 30, 2020.
New York is also absent from Treasury's 2015 title-escheat list (80 FR 80259) and from the 2004 and 2006 refusal-letter states. For owners the result matches the states that sued: a bond New York does not hold stays the owner's. These absences describe only what our sources show.
Savings Bond Finders in New York: The 15 Percent Cap and the Free-Claim Notice
New York caps a finder's fee at 15 percent: "No such agreement shall be valid if it provides for payment of a fee in excess of fifteen percent of the value of recoverable property" (N.Y. Aband. Prop. Law 1416(4)). Other states set different caps, as the guide to savings bond recovery services shows.
The agreement must be written, witnessed and acknowledged before a notary (1416(3)(a)). It must also carry the free-claim notice in at least 12-point bold type (1416(3)(d)). These rules cover property the Comptroller holds, and we have not verified that they reach a bond a state only located.
No federal rule caps a helper's fee. Treasury pays only the owner (31 CFR 353.39(b)), and bonds cannot be transferred or pledged (353.15, 353.16). ClaimMyBonds takes paid work on a Comptroller-held claim only where New York's rules allow it, and the cap then covers our fees combined.
New York Savings Bonds After the Owner Dies: Federal Rules Decide Who Owns Them
Federal savings bond rules, not New York 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) and (c)(1)).
A will or court order cannot defeat that (353.20(a); Free v. Bland, 369 U.S. 663 (1962)). Read more on POD savings bonds.
Heirs search the deceased owner's name in the Comptroller's program for a bond New York holds. That search covers only property New York holds. A bond the Comptroller returns then follows Treasury's estate rules, not New York's search rules.
Administration is required when the redemption value at the date of death exceeds $100,000 (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.
We did not verify New York's own small-estate procedure, so ask the estate's attorney about it. The attorney can also advise on savings bonds in probate when a bond forms part of an estate.
Other States Linked to New York's Savings Bond History
6 other states share parts of New York's savings bond history.
- New Jersey unclaimed savings bonds: its 2012 case recounts the 1952 letter
- Pennsylvania unclaimed savings bonds: the other verified 15 percent cap; 2016 statute
- Missouri unclaimed savings bonds: the only verified state bond search
- North Carolina unclaimed savings bonds: 2004 letter; district court only
- New Hampshire unclaimed savings bonds: 2004 letter
- Kentucky unclaimed savings bonds: 2004 letter; appellant
More Guides for New York Bond Owners and Heirs
3 related guides cover situations the New York search does not.
- Savings bonds of a deceased parent or relative
- Found old savings bonds
- Help after a state contacts you about savings bonds
New York Unclaimed Savings Bonds FAQ
How do I find out if I have unclaimed savings bonds?
Search the state program for a paper bond a state holds, and file FS Form 1048 with Treasury for every other bond. No national savings bond name search exists since Treasury Hunt closed on September 30, 2025. Start with the guide to find lost or missing savings bonds.
Is a letter about New York unclaimed funds legit?
Check any letter by typing osc.ny.gov/unclaimed-funds yourself, never through a link in the letter, because New York law says the owner can get funds from the Comptroller "without paying a fee." A finder agreement must be written, notarized and capped at 15 percent (section 1416). Read about savings bond scams.
How can I contact the Office of the New York State Comptroller?
Write to the Office of the New York State Comptroller, Office of Unclaimed Funds, 110 State Street, 8th Floor, Albany, NY 12236, or start at osc.ny.gov/unclaimed-funds (as of November 11, 2026). For Treasury, call 844-284-2676, Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm ET. We found no state phone number.
What is the dormancy period for savings bonds in New York?
No New York dormancy period turns a savings bond the state does not hold into state property: the Third Circuit held in 2012 that matured bonds are not abandoned under federal law. Article XII-A's presumption runs after 7 consecutive years (section 1216), and NAUPA lists 3 years for the debt (bonds) property type.
Bonds have no redemption deadline (EO 13968, 85 FR 83745), and interest stops at final maturity, as explained under when savings bonds mature. State presumptions are not a Treasury deadline.
Can New York get savings bond records from Treasury?
No state, New York included, is publicly known to have signed the information-sharing agreement that 31 CFR 323.11(b) requires before Treasury shares owners' names and addresses (as of November 11, 2026).
A state may use those records only to locate owners, never to escheat them, and may not release them to the public without Treasury's prior written approval (31 CFR 323.11(c); 89 FR 102735, December 18, 2024). No SSNs, denominations or serial numbers are shared. See what states can receive from Treasury.
How do I find out if a savings bond was cashed?
For a paper EE or I bond, ask your bank first. If the bank cannot tell you, an owner or co-owner sends Treasury Retail Securities Services a signed letter listing the serial numbers, not the bonds, at P.O. Box 9150, Minneapolis, MN 55480-9150. Heirs use the death-of-owner route. The Comptroller shows only property New York holds, so it cannot say whether a bond was cashed.
Can I still use Treasury Hunt to find New York savings bonds?
No: Treasury Hunt has not been available since September 30, 2025. Use osc.ny.gov/unclaimed-funds for property New York holds and FS Form 1048 for the rest. Read why Treasury Hunt is closed.
Sources and method: how we check every statute and docket.