Washington unclaimed savings bonds are claimed free in one of 2 ways: from the Department of Revenue's Unclaimed Property Section when the state holds the paper bond, or from Treasury with FS Form 1048 when it does not. Washington has no savings bond statute and no savings bond escheat lawsuit.
Washington's own bond case is Yiatchos v. Yiatchos (1964). It decides when a spouse can contest a POD (payable on death) beneficiary, and it is a survivorship case, not an unclaimed-property case. Facts are current as of November 11, 2026; the state site was checked November 12.
ClaimMyBonds is a private, independent guide, not the Department of Revenue, Treasury, TreasuryDirect or Treasury Hunt, and we cannot search their records for you. For how other states compare, see our hub on savings bonds and state unclaimed property offices.
Does Washington Hold Unclaimed Savings Bonds?
Washington holds a US savings bond only when its Unclaimed Property Section has physically received the paper bond, such as one from an abandoned safe deposit box.
It does not hold bonds that exist only on Treasury's records. RCW chapter 63.30 contains no savings bond text, and our sources contain no Washington list of held bonds.
| Attribute | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Agency | Washington Department of Revenue, Unclaimed Property Section | NAUPA listing |
| Program site | ucp.dor.wa.gov | State program, checked November 12, 2026 |
| General statute | RCW chapter 63.30, Revised Uniform Unclaimed Property Act; owner claims RCW 63.30.530 to 63.30.560 | RCW |
| Savings bond text in the statute | None | RCW chapter 63.30, full text |
| Bond escheat law or lawsuit | None in our sources | 80 FR 80259; court records |
| Bond case | Yiatchos v. Yiatchos, 376 U.S. 306 (1964): survivorship, not escheat | U.S. Reports |
| Agreement with Treasury for bond records | None publicly known | Checked November 11, 2026 |
| Cost of a claim | Free | Treasury and state programs charge no claim fee |
Washington and savings bonds at a glance, as of November 11, 2026. Sources: NAUPA listing, RCW chapter 63.30, 80 FR 80259, court records.
The only published count of matured unredeemed bonds is 103,064,737, all series, as of September 30, 2026 (Fiscal Data), and Treasury publishes no dollar total. Missouri runs the only verified state search for bonds by name. See how owners claim unclaimed savings bonds.
Which Washington Agency Handles Unclaimed Savings Bonds
The Washington Department of Revenue administers unclaimed property under RCW chapter 63.30, the Revised Uniform Unclaimed Property Act, through its Unclaimed Property Section.
An owner files a claim under RCW 63.30.530, "Claim for property by person claiming to be owner," through RCW 63.30.560. The program site, checked November 12, 2026, is ucp.dor.wa.gov, and claims are free. Type the address yourself, and never follow a letter, ad or directory site.
Washington Department of Revenue, Unclaimed Property Section
P.O. Box 34053, Seattle, WA 98124-1053
Phone: (360) 534-1502
Program site: https://ucp.dor.wa.gov/ (checked November 12, 2026)
Statute: RCW chapter 63.30; owner claims RCW 63.30.530 to 63.30.560
Source: address and phone as listed by NAUPA; statute from app.leg.wa.gov, as of November 11, 2026. ClaimMyBonds is not affiliated with the Washington Department of Revenue.
How to Search Washington Unclaimed Property for a Savings Bond
Search Washington unclaimed property for a savings bond under the owner's name on ucp.dor.wa.gov, and claim any paper bond the Department of Revenue holds for free.
No agreement for Washington to receive Treasury bond records is publicly known (as of November 11, 2026), so the search covers only bonds the state holds. The 4 steps are below.
- Type ucp.dor.wa.gov yourself, never through a link in a letter, text or ad.
- Search the 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, POD beneficiary, deceased owner or spouse.
- Claim each match and keep a record of each claim you file.
How to Claim a Savings Bond From the Washington Department of Revenue
Claiming a savings bond from the Washington Department of Revenue costs nothing, and RCW 63.30.530 is the section under which a person claiming to be the owner files. We found no Washington claim form, document list, payment method or decision time in our sources.
Follow the steps on ucp.dor.wa.gov, or call the Unclaimed Property Section at (360) 534-1502. A returned bond stays registered to the person named on it, so the federal rules below still decide who owns it.
Cashing a Savings Bond Washington Returns to You
A paper savings bond Washington returns 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 are not required to (FS Publication 0022, Rev. October 2022), and Series H and HH bonds go to Treasury only.
FS Form 1522 needs a notary or certifying officer only above $1,000 total current redemption value. No deadline applies to cashing; see how to cash savings bonds. The interest is federally taxable but exempt from state and local income tax (31 U.S.C. 3124(a)).
If Washington Does Not Hold Your Savings Bond: Claim From Treasury With FS Form 1048
Claim a bond Washington does not hold from Treasury with FS Form 1048 (Rev. March 2026): Treasury searches its own records for lost, stolen or destroyed paper bonds, and the form is free.
TreasuryDirect states: "As of September 30, 2025, the Treasury Hunt® tool is no longer available." The address treasuryhunt.gov now redirects to that notice, and no online replacement exists.
Mail the FS Form 1048 claim for lost savings bonds to Treasury Retail Securities Services, P.O. Box 9150, Minneapolis, MN 55480-9150, or call 844-284-2676. Sign it before a notary or certifying officer. Lost bond searches take eleven months or longer (TreasuryDirect, November 11, 2026).
Without the serial number, Treasury asks for the issue date or range, the face amount, the inscription with the complete Social Security number, and the names and addresses. A claim filed 6 years or more after final maturity needs the serial number (31 CFR 315.29(c), 353.29(c)).
The Beneficiary vs Spouse Rule: What Yiatchos v. Yiatchos Decided
A POD beneficiary of savings bonds bought with Washington community funds must be recognized as the owner, unless the purchase defrauded the wife's property rights or breached a trust (Yiatchos v. Yiatchos, 376 U.S. 306, decided March 9, 1964). Even then, the beneficiary takes at least the husband's half.
A POD beneficiary is the person named to receive the bond at the owner's death, and community funds are the money the case treated as the spouses' shared property. Fraud is a federal question guided by state property law, and a wife who consented to or ratified the purchase was not defrauded.
Yiatchos applies the fraud exception from Free v. Bland (1962) to a POD bond and sets its terms. See POD savings bonds for what a beneficiary gets.
How the Yiatchos Case Reached the Supreme Court From Washington
Yiatchos v. Yiatchos came to the US Supreme Court on certiorari to the Supreme Court of Washington, which had decided the case at 60 Wash. 2d 179, 373 P.2d 125. Justice White wrote the opinion, and the table gives the record.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Court | Supreme Court of the United States, on certiorari to the Supreme Court of Washington |
| Docket | No. 48, October Term 1963 |
| Argued | January 7, 1964 |
| Decided | March 9, 1964 |
| Opinion | Justice White |
| Decision below | 60 Wash. 2d 179, 373 P.2d 125 |
| Outcome | Reversed in part, vacated in part and remanded |
| Rule | 4 parts: the exception, the federal question, consent, at least half |
| Citation | 376 U.S. 306 |
Yiatchos v. Yiatchos at a glance. Source: U.S. Reports volume 376, page 306 (Library of Congress PDF).
The remand left the fraud question to the facts, so the opinion states a rule, not a result for every family. Our sources do not give the parties, the bonds or the remand's outcome.
Who Takes a Washington Owner's Savings Bonds, Registration by Registration
4 registrations decide who takes a Washington owner's savings bonds at death, and the spouse rule reaches only one of them, the POD bond. The table sets each against its federal rule.
| Registration | Who takes | Rule | Spouse rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner alone | The estate | 31 CFR 353.70(a) | Not a survivorship case |
| "OR" co-owner | The survivor | 353.70(b)(1); Free v. Bland | Fraud excepted; see savings bond co-owner rules |
| POD, paper | The beneficiary | 353.70(c)(1) | Yiatchos: at least half |
| Beneficiary, electronic | The beneficiary | 31 CFR 363.20 | Not decided in our sources |
Who takes at death, by registration. Sources: eCFR title 31 parts 353 and 363 (as of November 11, 2026); 369 U.S. 663; 376 U.S. 306.
Treasury accepts no notice of an adverse claim or pending proceedings (31 CFR 353.20(c)), and it does not recognize a judgment that impairs survivorship (353.20(a)).
A spouse who believes a purchase defrauded community property therefore sues the beneficiary in court and never asks Treasury. Ask a Washington attorney how the rule applies to a particular family.
Where the Spouse Rule Stops: Co-Owner Bonds, Electronic Bonds and Divorce Decrees
The spouse rule from Yiatchos does not change the co-owner rule: a surviving co-owner owns the bond outright under 31 CFR 353.70(b)(1). In Free v.
Bland, 369 U.S. 663 (1962), the Court held that this right overrides inconsistent Texas community property law, except for fraud or a breach of trust tantamount to it. See Texas unclaimed savings bonds and community property rules.
On electronic bonds, a TreasuryDirect beneficiary takes "despite any attempted testamentary disposition or any applicable local law to the contrary" (31 CFR 363.20(b)(2)(iv)), and the owner may change the beneficiary without consent. Yiatchos predates electronic bonds, and our sources do not decide whether it reaches them. Ask a Washington attorney.
Treasury recognizes a divorce decree that ratifies or confirms a property settlement disposing of bonds (31 CFR 353.22(a); 315.22(a), 360.22(a), 363.45(c)). A decree is a separate route from the 4 registrations above, and our sources do not say how it meets the Yiatchos rule. Ask a Washington attorney about a particular decree.
Why Washington Has No Savings Bond Escheat Law or Lawsuit
Washington has no savings bond escheat law: RCW chapter 63.30 contains no savings bond text. Washington is also not among the 16 state title-escheat statutes Treasury lists for 2000 to 2015 (80 FR 80259, December 24, 2015). Escheat means a state takes ownership of unclaimed property.
Treasury may, at its discretion, pay a state for a paper bond at final maturity that the state holds and owns by court judgment (31 CFR 315.88, 353.88). LaTurner v. United States, 933 F.3d 1354 (Fed. Cir. August 13, 2019), cert. denied October 5, 2020, bars title to bonds a state does not hold.
In our sources Washington got no 2004 or 2006 Treasury letter. It was not a Third Circuit appellant (2012), an Estes plaintiff, a LaTurner amicus or one of the 10 suits dismissed November 30, 2020. Yiatchos is a survivorship case, not an unclaimed-property case.
Washington Savings Bonds After the Owner Dies: Estate Routes and Taxes
Federal savings bond rules, not Washington 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)), subject only to the Yiatchos exception for POD bonds. See savings bonds after death.
A bond registered to the owner alone goes to the estate (353.70(a)), and administration is required above $100,000 in redemption value at the date of death (353.71). FS Form 5336 (Rev.
April 2026) serves estates not administered; FS Form 5394 (Rev. May 2026) serves closed estates and small-estate procedures. We state no Washington small-estate rule; ask the estate's attorney.
In a community property state, each spouse reports half of the federally taxable interest when filing separately (IRS Publication 550 (2025)). Interest earned before death is income in respect of a decedent unless the final return reported it. A tax professional decides the treatment.
Paid Helpers and Third Parties in Washington Claims
Treasury pays a savings bond only to its registered owner or another person entitled (31 CFR 353.39(b)), so a paid helper in a Washington claim never receives the bond money itself. No Treasury rule sets a helper's fee, and we state no Washington cap or registration rule; see savings bond recovery services.
More Guides for Washington Bond Owners, Spouses and Heirs
8 related guides cover situations a Washington claim or a spouse's question does not.
- Savings bonds in divorce
- A deceased owner's TreasuryDirect account
- Savings bonds in probate
- Taxes on inherited savings bonds
- Savings bonds of a deceased parent or relative
- Found old savings bonds
- What banks cash savings bonds
- Help after a state contacts you about savings bonds
Washington Unclaimed Savings Bonds FAQ
Can I search for unclaimed savings bonds by name in Washington?
Search ucp.dor.wa.gov by name only for paper bonds Washington holds; for every other bond, file FS Form 1048 with Treasury, because no public site searches Treasury's savings bond records by name. Missouri runs the only verified live state bond name search (November 11, 2026); see Missouri unclaimed savings bonds.
Can I find lost savings bonds by Social Security number?
No: no public tool searches Treasury's savings bond records by Social Security number since Treasury Hunt closed on September 30, 2025. FS Form 1048 asks for the complete number on the bond's inscription so Treasury can search for you. See the savings bond lookup guide.
Is Treasury Hunt still available for Washington bond owners?
No: "As of September 30, 2025, the Treasury Hunt® tool is no longer available," and treasuryhunt.gov now redirects to that TreasuryDirect notice. See why Treasury Hunt is closed and what owners use instead.
Did the Unclaimed Savings Bond Act become law?
No: the Unclaimed Savings Bond Act (H.R. 4085 and S. 2854, 117th Congress) was not enacted (89 FR 102735 preamble). SECURE 2.0 (section 122, Pub. L. 117-328, December 29, 2022) requires Treasury to share owner names and addresses with states. Treasury's 2024 rule (31 CFR 323.11) limits that to states that sign an agreement, for locating owners only, with no escheat.
Do US savings bonds ever expire?
No: savings bonds never expire and no deadline applies to cashing them (Executive Order 13968, 85 FR 83745); they stop earning interest at final maturity. See when savings bonds mature for each series.
Can Washington get savings bond records from Treasury?
No state, Washington 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). The data is for locating owners only, with no Social Security numbers or serials, no escheat and no public release without Treasury's advance written approval (89 FR 102735, December 18, 2024). See what states can receive from Treasury.
Compiled from named primary sources; how we check every statute and court record.