How to Convert Paper Bonds to Electronic in TreasuryDirect

To convert paper bonds to electronic in TreasuryDirect, open a TreasuryDirect account, set up a Conversion Linked Account inside it, enter your bond details to generate a printable manifest, sign the manifest, and mail it with the paper bonds to the Treasury’s Minneapolis retail securities office. The service is free aside from postage, your bonds keep earning interest during processing, and the Treasury asks for at least six weeks from the day it receives your package.¹

Which Paper Bonds You Can Convert

Series E, Series EE, and Series I paper savings bonds in denominations of $25 or more are eligible.² Series H and Series HH bonds are not. All Series HH bonds reached final maturity by August 2024, so any you still hold can only be cashed.

You can convert bonds registered in your name as sole owner, either co-owner, or owner with a named beneficiary.² Bonds registered to someone else can also be submitted, but the Treasury handles them as gift bonds with separate delivery rules covered further down.

Open a TreasuryDirect Account and a Conversion Linked Account

You’ll need an active account at treasurydirect.gov before you can do anything else. Signing up takes about 10 minutes and requires your Social Security number, a U.S. address, an email address, and a checking or savings account to link.

Once you’re logged in, go to ManageDirect, look under Manage My Linked Accounts, and select Establish a Conversion Linked Account. If that option isn’t visible, you already have one.¹ This sub-account is where converted bonds first appear before they show up in your main holdings.

Create Your Conversion Manifest

You may see references online to “FS Form 5396” as the conversion form. That is not the right document. FS Form 5396 is a Direct Deposit Sign-Up Form used for redemption payments and Series HH interest.³ The actual conversion uses a manifest that TreasuryDirect generates for you.

From inside your account, open Manage My Conversions and pick How to Convert My Paper Bonds. The system will step you through each bond: series, serial number, and denomination. Bonds go into a conversion cart. When everything is entered, choose Create a Manifest. TreasuryDirect produces a numbered document listing each bond you added.⁴ Print it, sign it, and keep a copy.

Two details worth slowing down for. Serial numbers sit in the upper right of each paper bond, and a single transposed digit will hold up processing. Denomination is the face value printed on the bond, not what was paid: paper Series EE bonds issued before 2012 were sold at half face value, so a $50 bond cost $25 originally.⁵ Enter what the certificate shows on its face.

Do not sign the back of the paper bonds. The Treasury is explicit: your signature goes on the manifest only.⁶ For a standard conversion where you’re the registered owner, no notarization, signature guarantee, or bank certification is required.

Mail the Bonds to the Treasury

Send the signed manifest and the paper bonds to the address printed on the manifest, currently:

Treasury Retail Securities Services
P.O. Box 9150
Minneapolis, MN 55480-9150⁷

Use certified or registered mail so you have a tracking number and proof of delivery. These are financial instruments moving through the postal system, and a tracking record is your protection if something goes wrong. Postage is the only out-of-pocket cost.¹

How Long Conversion Takes and How to Check Status

Plan on at least six weeks from the day the Treasury receives your envelope. Its own site describes that as a floor, not a promise, and current mail volume has stretched turnaround times.⁷ Your bonds continue to accrue interest the entire time.

You can watch progress inside your account. Each bond on the manifest displays a status: In Progress, Pending, Converted, Returned, Not Received, or Canceled.⁴ The Treasury does not send paper bonds back. Once the electronic record is finalized, the certificate you mailed is no longer valid.⁸

If Your Bonds Are Lost in the Mail

If a mailed package doesn’t arrive, you can request replacements using FS Form 1048. The Treasury will replace the bonds electronically inside your TreasuryDirect account or, if you prefer, cash them.⁸

Which version of FS Form 1048 you file depends on whether you have serial numbers. If you kept your manifest copy, you do. If not, and the bonds were issued in 1974 or later, use the Treasury Hunt tool at treasurydirect.gov to look them up. Bonds issued before 1974 without known serial numbers use a separate version of the form. Unlike the conversion manifest, FS Form 1048 must be signed in front of a notary or certifying official.⁸ This is a strong reason to keep your manifest copy indefinitely.

What Changes After Conversion

Converted bonds keep their original issue dates, interest rates, and maturity schedules. A 2005 Series I bond still carries the same fixed rate and inflation adjustments it had on paper. TreasuryDirect displays the current redemption value automatically, so the old habit of running numbers through the savings bond calculator falls away.

All future actions happen in the account. You can change beneficiaries, add or remove co-owners, and cash bonds directly online. The Current Holdings tab shows principal and interest earned to date.

Redemption Timing

Conversion does not reset the one-year holding period. If you’ve owned the paper bond for more than a year, it’s redeemable as soon as the electronic version posts. If it’s less than a year old, you still wait until the anniversary.⁹

The five-year penalty carries over too. Cash a bond within five years of its original issue date and you forfeit the last three months of interest.¹⁰

Partial Redemption

Paper bonds could only be cashed in full. Electronic bonds can be partially redeemed in amounts of $25 or more, as long as at least $25 stays in the bond. A $1,200 bond can pay out $300 while the remaining $900 keeps earning.¹⁰

Taxes on the Conversion Itself

Converting from paper to electronic is not a taxable event, provided the bond is still earning interest and ownership doesn’t change.¹ Interest keeps accruing and remains tax-deferred until you cash the bond or it hits final maturity at 30 years. When you do redeem, TreasuryDirect posts a 1099-INT to your account by January 31 of the following year.¹¹

Ownership changes are the exception. If a bond is reissued into someone else’s name during conversion, all interest earned up to that point is reported on a 1099-INT in the original owner’s name.¹¹ The new owner is only responsible for interest earned after the reissue.

Converting Bonds Registered to Someone Else

Bonds registered to another person don’t land in your account as your own. The Treasury treats them as gift bonds. An unmatured bond registered to someone else gets converted into your Conversion Linked Account and must then be delivered to the TreasuryDirect account of the person actually named on it.² That person needs their own account to receive it. Co-owner bonds can be delivered to either co-owner.

Bonds that have already reached final maturity follow stricter rules. The Treasury converts, automatically redeems, and parks the proceeds in a zero-percent certificate of indebtedness until you direct them to the registered owner’s TreasuryDirect account.² Entities cannot convert bonds registered to other people or organizations.

Converting Bonds After an Owner’s Death

A surviving co-owner or named beneficiary can have a paper bond reissued electronically into their own TreasuryDirect account. You need the account open first, and the reissued bond will be registered in your name alone. Once it’s yours, you can add a new secondary owner or beneficiary.¹²

If you’re the legal representative of an estate and the bonds are registered solely to the deceased, expect more paperwork: typically FS Form 4000, a certified copy of your letters of appointment, and the death certificate, with the form signed in front of a notary or certifying official. After reissue into the estate or the heir, the bonds live electronically in TreasuryDirect. Reissue to a different name can generate a 1099-INT for accumulated interest, as noted above.

1
TreasuryDirect. Converting EE or I Paper Bonds to Electronic Bonds
2
eCFR. 31 CFR Part 363 Subpart E – Conversion of a Definitive Savings Bond
3
Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Fiscal Service. FS Form 5396 – Direct Deposit Sign-Up Form
4
TreasuryDirect. User Guide Sections 161 Through 170
5
eCFR. 31 CFR Part 351 – Offering of United States Savings Bonds, Series EE
6
TreasuryDirect. How Do I…?
7
TreasuryDirect. Contact Us – TreasuryDirect
8
TreasuryDirect. Get Help for Lost, Stolen, or Destroyed EE or I Savings Bond
9
TreasuryDirect. EE Bonds
10
TreasuryDirect. Cashing EE or I Savings Bonds
11
TreasuryDirect. Tax Information for EE and I Bonds
12
TreasuryDirect. Inheriting as a Co-Owner or Beneficiary