How to Complete the Vanguard Rollover Form: 401(k) to IRA Transfer

Vanguard uses two forms to move retirement money into an IRA: the IRA Adoption Agreement, which opens the receiving traditional or Roth IRA, and the IRA Direct Rollover Authorization, which instructs an employer plan to send the money to that IRA. Both live in the “Completing a Rollover” kit in Vanguard’s Forms Library, and the same steps can be done through Vanguard’s online rollover portal.¹ Completed paperwork goes to PO Box 982901, El Paso, TX 79998 by regular mail, or 5951 Luckett Court, Suite A1, El Paso, TX 79932 by overnight carrier.² Most rollovers finish within two to four weeks.³

Which Vanguard Rollover Form You Need

The form you need depends on where the money sits now and whether you already hold a Vanguard IRA.

Opening a new IRA to receive the money means starting with the IRA Adoption Agreement. Pre-tax assets from a 401(k), 403(b), or governmental 457(b) go into a traditional IRA. Roth assets go into a Roth IRA. If your old plan held both, you will need to open one of each.⁴

Once the receiving account exists, the IRA Direct Rollover Authorization tells your old employer plan to send the balance to it. Both forms are bundled in the same rollover kit in the Forms Library.¹

If you already have a Vanguard IRA and are simply moving an IRA in from another brokerage, you do not use the rollover kit at all. Log in and use Vanguard’s online account transfer process. That move is a trustee-to-trustee transfer and does not count against the IRS one-rollover-per-year limit.

Many old plans will not release funds without a letter of acceptance confirming the receiving IRA exists. Vanguard’s online rollover portal generates this letter as part of the process.⁴ If you are working from paper forms, call Vanguard at 800-523-1188 to request one.

Direct or Indirect Rollover

Before completing anything, decide whether the money will travel directly from the old plan to Vanguard or pass through you first. The choice changes your withholding, your deadline, and your paperwork.

A direct rollover (also called a trustee-to-trustee transfer) sends the money straight from the old custodian to Vanguard. You never touch it, and no federal income tax is withheld.⁵ Vanguard’s online workflow and the Direct Rollover Authorization form are both built for this path.

An indirect rollover pays the money to you, and you have 60 days to deposit it into the IRA yourself. Any distribution from an employer plan is subject to mandatory 20% federal withholding before it reaches you.⁵ To roll the full pre-withholding amount into the IRA, you have to replace that 20% out of pocket; you get it back later as a tax credit when you file. IRA-to-IRA indirect moves do not carry the mandatory 20%, though optional withholding can still apply. The 60-day clock runs the same either way.⁶

What to Gather Before You Start

Have the following ready:

Your Social Security number, date of birth, and mailing address as the IRS has them.
The full legal name of the current custodian, your account number there, and a plan administrator phone number.
Your Vanguard account number, which you receive after the Adoption Agreement is processed. It goes on the Direct Rollover Authorization form.
The rollover amount, whether the full balance or a specific figure. Any required minimum distribution owed for the year cannot be included; it must be paid out to you as income first.⁷

Getting the Check Payee Right

If your old plan is cutting a physical check, the payee line matters. Ask for it to read “Vanguard FBO [your name as registered at Vanguard]” and include your Vanguard account number.² The “for benefit of” wording tells Vanguard the deposit is a rollover rather than a regular annual contribution, which keeps it from being coded against your contribution limit.

If the check comes payable to you instead, you can still complete an indirect rollover. Just remember the 60 days run from the date the distribution was issued, not the date the check landed in your mailbox. Endorse it and send it in promptly.

Medallion Signature Guarantee

Large transfers may require a Medallion Signature Guarantee, a stamp from a bank or brokerage that vouches for your signature and carries a liability guarantee from the stamping institution. It has to be done in person; a notary will not substitute. The dollar threshold that triggers the requirement varies, so check with both the sending and receiving firms before you mail anything.

Submitting the Forms

Three routes get the paperwork to Vanguard.

Online. Fastest. Vanguard’s rollover portal walks you through three steps: pick or open the receiving IRA, contact the old plan to initiate the transfer, and deposit the funds. Supporting documents can be uploaded through your account after you log in.³
Regular mail. Vanguard, PO Box 982901, El Paso, TX 79998.²
Overnight or courier. Vanguard, 5951 Luckett Court, Suite A1, El Paso, TX 79932. Use this when you are sending a rollover check or a form with a Medallion stamp so you have tracking.²

What Happens After Vanguard Receives the Money

The funds land in the settlement fund inside your IRA, which is a money market fund earning minimal interest. They are not automatically invested. Log in and choose your investments once the rollover settles.⁴ This step is easy to miss if you assume the new IRA mirrors your old plan’s allocation.

Most rollovers take two to four weeks end to end.³ The pace usually depends on the sending plan. Direct electronic rollovers tend to settle faster than paper check rollovers, which add mail time. Vanguard confirms receipt of the paperwork and again when funds post, and you can watch the progress in the account activity view.

IRS Rules That Can Undo a Rollover

Three rules cause most of the trouble.

The 60-Day Deadline

For an indirect rollover, you have 60 days from the date you receive the distribution to deposit it into an eligible retirement account. Miss the window and the whole distribution becomes taxable income for the year, plus a possible 10% early withdrawal penalty if you are under 59½.⁶

One IRA-to-IRA Rollover Per 12 Months

You get one IRA-to-IRA indirect rollover per 12-month period, aggregated across all of your IRAs (traditional, Roth, SEP, and SIMPLE). A second one within that window turns the funds into taxable income and can trigger a 6% excess contribution penalty for each year they remain. The limit does not apply to trustee-to-trustee transfers, rollovers from employer plans to IRAs, Roth conversions, or plan-to-plan rollovers.⁶ Another reason the direct route is cleaner.

RMDs Cannot Be Rolled Over

If you are old enough that a required minimum distribution applies, that year’s RMD must come out to you first. The IRS does not permit RMD amounts to move into another retirement account.⁷ Roll one in by accident and it becomes an excess contribution that you have to withdraw and correct.

Tax Forms That Show Up Later

A properly executed rollover is not taxable, but it still generates paperwork. Your old custodian issues a Form 1099-R for the distribution. On a direct rollover, box 2a (taxable amount) should read zero and box 7 should carry distribution code G, which signals to the IRS that the money went straight into another retirement account.⁸ Vanguard reports the incoming amount on Form 5498, which arrives the following spring. Keep both together; if the IRS ever asks whether the distribution was rolled over, those two forms are your proof.

For an indirect rollover, the 1099-R shows the full amount as potentially taxable. You report it on your return and mark the rollover portion on the appropriate line. If you replaced the 20% withheld from an employer plan, the whole distribution is non-taxable and the withholding becomes a tax payment credit.

A Note on Inherited Accounts

If you inherited the retirement account, the standard rollover forms may not apply. A surviving spouse can roll inherited assets into their own IRA and use the normal Vanguard process. A non-spouse beneficiary cannot; the assets have to move into a new inherited IRA titled in the deceased owner’s name for your benefit, and no future contributions are allowed. Vanguard handles inheritance transfers through a change-of-ownership workflow, either online or by calling 877-662-7447.⁹

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Vanguard. Vanguard Forms Library
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Vanguard. Your Guide to Completing a Rollover
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Vanguard. Rollovers
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Vanguard. 401k Rollover to an IRA
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Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 413, Rollovers From Retirement Plans
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Internal Revenue Service. Rollovers of Retirement Plan and IRA Distributions
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Internal Revenue Service. Publication 590-B, Distributions From Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs)
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Internal Revenue Service. 2025 Instructions for Forms 1099-R and 5498
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Vanguard. Inheriting an Account