To find U.S. savings bonds in your name, start with your state’s unclaimed property program through unclaimed.org, the free search tool run by the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators.1National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators. Unclaimed Property Programs If nothing turns up, file FS Form 1048 with the Bureau of the Fiscal Service to claim bonds that may be missing, lost, or destroyed. Once you locate them, electronic bonds can be redeemed inside TreasuryDirect and paper bonds can usually be cashed at a bank. Bonds that have reached final maturity stop earning interest, so there is a real cost to leaving them sitting.
Gather This Information First
Before you open any search tool or fill out any form, pull together what identifies the owner. The most important item is the Social Security number of the person who bought the bond. After that, write down every legal name the owner has used, including maiden names and former married names, along with any addresses that were current around the time the bonds were purchased.
You do not need the serial numbers. The search databases and claim forms are built for people who lost track of that detail long ago. Approximate purchase dates or dollar amounts help narrow things down, but a name and Social Security number alone can produce matches.
If you are searching on behalf of someone who has died, you will also need a certified death certificate and documentation of your relationship to the owner.
Search State Unclaimed Property Databases
Under the SECURE Act 2.0, the Treasury now shares data on matured, unredeemed savings bonds with individual states so those states can help reunite bonds with their owners. A bond qualifies for this sharing if it is more than three years past final maturity, exists in paper form (or in electronic form without valid bank information on file), and has not been redeemed.2TreasuryDirect. 2024 Report to Congress Under the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 The shared information can only be used to locate the owner. The bond itself is not transferred to the state.
Go to unclaimed.org, which links to every state’s unclaimed property database.1National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators. Unclaimed Property Programs Search each state where the owner ever lived, not just the current one. Results may also appear on MissingMoney.com, a companion site that searches multiple participating states at once.
Treasury Hunt Has Been Retired
Older articles may point you to the Treasury Hunt search tool on TreasuryDirect. That resource was shut down on September 30, 2025, as part of the SECURE Act 2.0 changes. Inquiries about unredeemed savings bonds now run through the state unclaimed property programs.3TreasuryDirect. Treasury Hunt
If the Search Turns Up Nothing, File FS Form 1048
When the unclaimed property search comes back empty, or when you know you had paper bonds that were lost, stolen, or destroyed, the next step is FS Form 1048, the official Treasury claim form.4TreasuryDirect. Get Help for Lost, Stolen, or Destroyed EE or I Savings Bond
You will need the owner’s Social Security number and approximate purchase dates. For bonds issued in 1974 or later, the form instructions walk you through an alternative lookup if you do not have serial numbers. FS Form 1048 must be signed in the presence of a notary or certifying officer, then mailed to the address printed on the form.
If Treasury finds a match, you can choose to receive a replacement bond electronically in a TreasuryDirect account, or have Treasury cash the bond and send payment.4TreasuryDirect. Get Help for Lost, Stolen, or Destroyed EE or I Savings Bond The electronic option requires a TreasuryDirect account if you do not already have one.
Bonds You Already Hold Electronically
If the bonds were purchased through TreasuryDirect, or if you previously converted paper bonds to electronic form, log into your TreasuryDirect account. The bonds, their current values, and their maturity dates are all visible there. Electronic bonds that have reached final maturity are automatically moved into a Certificate of Indebtedness within your account.
Why Timing Matters: Maturity and Interest
Series EE and Series I bonds both earn interest for 30 years from their issue date.5eCFR. Subpart B – Maturities, Redemption Values, and Investment Yields of Series EE Savings Bonds6TreasuryDirect. I Bonds Once a bond reaches 30 years, it stops accruing interest. A bond that matured years ago is earning nothing, and you may owe tax on the accumulated interest whether or not you cash it.
Older Series HH bonds, discontinued in 2004, earned interest for 20 years.7TreasuryDirect. Cashing HH Savings Bonds Every remaining HH bond has now passed that mark, so any you find are fully matured and should be redeemed.
One timing detail: interest on savings bonds accrues on the first day of each month.8eCFR. 31 CFR 359.16 – When Does Interest Accrue on Series I Savings Bonds Cashing on or after the first captures that month’s interest; cashing on the last day of the prior month misses it.
How to Cash the Bonds Once You Find Them
Electronic Bonds in TreasuryDirect
Bonds held in TreasuryDirect can be redeemed straight from your account. Funds go to the bank account linked to your profile, usually within one business day. You can cash all or part of an electronic bond, so long as you cash at least $25 at a time (or the entire remaining value if less than $25 is left).
Paper Bonds at a Bank
Most banks and credit unions will cash paper EE and I bonds, with a few catches worth knowing before you go. A paper bond must be cashed for its full value; you cannot redeem part of it and keep the rest.9TreasuryDirect. Cash EE or I Savings Bonds Many institutions will only cash bonds for existing customers, and some require you to have held an account for at least 12 months.10Federal Reserve Financial Services. Savings Bond Redemptions Frequently Asked Questions Banks also set their own dollar limits per visit. Call first.
Mailing Bonds Directly to Treasury
If your bank will not help, or you are cashing bonds that came through the FS Form 1048 process, mail them to the Bureau of the Fiscal Service with FS Form 1522 to request payment. The signature rules depend on how much is at stake. If the total is $1,000 or less, you can skip the notary and enclose a copy of your driver’s license, passport, or state ID. Above $1,000, you must sign the form in front of a notary or certifying officer.11TreasuryDirect. FS Form 1522 – Special Form of Request for Payment of United States Savings and Retirement Securities
Claiming Bonds After the Owner Has Died
What you do depends on how the bond was registered and whether the estate is going through court.
Surviving Co-Owner or Named Beneficiary
If you are listed on the bond as a co-owner or payable-on-death beneficiary, the bond is yours automatically when the other person dies. It does not become part of the estate.12TreasuryDirect. Death of a Savings Bond Owner Bring paper bonds and a death certificate to your bank to cash them, or request reissue into your own TreasuryDirect account.
Estate With a Court-Appointed Representative
When no surviving co-owner or beneficiary is named and the estate’s Treasury securities total more than $100,000 in redemption value, the estate must go through court.12TreasuryDirect. Death of a Savings Bond Owner The executor or administrator can redeem the bonds to the estate by submitting FS Form 1522 with a certified signature, a death certificate, and proof of appointment, or distribute the bonds to specific heirs using FS Form 1455. Either way, the unsigned paper bonds go to the Bureau of the Fiscal Service with the court documentation. If the representative has already been discharged by the time the bonds surface, FS Form 5394 is used instead, along with the final account or decree of distribution.13TreasuryDirect. Court-Appointed Representatives
Small Estate, No Court Administration
If everyone named on the bond has died, the estate is not going through court, and the total redemption value of all Treasury securities in the estate is $100,000 or less, a “voluntary representative” can handle the bonds. That person completes FS Form 5336 and signs it in front of a certifying officer.14TreasuryDirect. Non-Administered Estates If the total is over $100,000, court administration is required and FS Form 5336 cannot be used.15TreasuryDirect. FS Form 5336 – Disposition of Treasury Securities Belonging to a Decedent’s Estate Being Settled Without Administration
Expect a Tax Bill on Long-Matured Bonds
Savings bond interest is subject to federal income tax but exempt from state and local income tax. When you cash a bond or it reaches final maturity, a Form 1099-INT reports the full interest earned over the bond’s life. Bonds in TreasuryDirect show the 1099-INT in your account by January 31 of the following year.16TreasuryDirect. Tax Information for EE and I Bonds
This is where finders of old bonds get hit. Most owners defer the interest, meaning it is reported in the year the bond is cashed or matures. If the bond matured years ago, federal income tax on the entire accumulated interest was owed for the year it hit final maturity, whether or not it was ever cashed. Sitting on a matured bond does not delay the tax.