How to Fill Out and Submit a Money Order Research Request Form

A money order research request form is how you ask the issuer to look up what happened to a money order you bought — whether it was cashed, and if so, by whom. You file the form with the company that issued it (USPS, Western Union, or MoneyGram), pay a fee, and wait for the result. If the money order was cashed, you get a photocopy showing the endorsement. If it wasn’t, you can get a refund or replacement. The form, the fee, and the timing all depend on which issuer you’re dealing with, so start there.

Check the Status Online First

Before you pay anything, see whether the answer is already sitting in a free online lookup. USPS lets you enter the serial number, Post Office number, and dollar amount from your receipt at tools.usps.com and returns the most recent status on file.¹ If it shows the money order was cashed and that’s all you needed to know, you’re done.

Western Union has an online request form at westernunion.com that submits the research digitally and returns results by email.² MoneyGram runs an online portal for checking status and submitting replacement requests.³ Formal research costs money and takes weeks. A five-minute lookup is worth trying first.

What You Need From Your Receipt

Every issuer wants roughly the same information, and almost all of it lives on the receipt you got at purchase. Keep that receipt. It’s the single most useful piece of paper in this process.

Serial number. USPS money orders use the first 10 digits printed on the money order and receipt. Western Union uses an 11-digit number.⁴⁵
Exact dollar amount as issued.
Date of purchase from the receipt.
Purchase location: the post office, retail store, or agent with the address and any branch or agent number.⁵
Payee name, if you filled one in.
Your name, mailing address, phone, and email for online requests.

USPS also requires a valid photo ID at the counter — driver’s license, state ID, military ID, alien registration card, or passport.⁶

Filing With USPS (PS Form 6401)

USPS uses PS Form 6401, “Money Order Inquiry.” You have to file it in person at a post office. There’s no mail-in or online version to start the request. The fee is $21.00 per money order, paid at the counter with stamps or a meter strip.⁷ One form and one fee per money order.

Complete Section A in black ink. Fill in the serial number, the date and dollar amount from your receipt, the Post Office number, and your name and mailing address. The phone number field is optional. Sign and date it, then take it to the service window with your receipt and photo ID.⁶

The clerk checks your receipt against the form, collects the fee, completes Section B, and mails the original to the St. Louis Accounting Service Center at PO Box 80453, St. Louis, MO 63180-0453. You don’t pick between a photocopy and a refund. USPS decides based on what happened. Cashed money orders come back as photocopies. Uncashed ones get refunded, but not until at least 60 days after the original issue date.⁶

Filing With Western Union

Western Union charges a $15.00 non-refundable administrative fee per money order, paid by money order or check made out to Western Union Financial Services, Inc.⁵ You can file with the downloadable PDF or the online form.

The form asks for the 11-digit money order number, the exact dollar amount, the date and approximate time of purchase, the store name and address, and whether you wrote in a payee.⁵ The online version collects the same details and emails results. Western Union says approved refunds process within five business days.²

You’ll get one of two outcomes by email. If the money order was cashed, you receive a photocopy of the front and back. If it wasn’t, you get a link to request the refund.⁸ Signing the form is your sworn statement, under penalty of criminal and civil sanctions, that you’re the original purchaser and haven’t already cashed or transferred the money order.

Filing With MoneyGram

MoneyGram runs research requests through its online portal. A photocopy of a cashed money order costs $18.00. A refund on an uncashed money order works differently: you submit the request online, MoneyGram emails you a reference number within about seven business days, and you take that reference number and your ID to a MoneyGram location to pick up the refund in person. The refund fee depends on the face value and comes out of the refund itself rather than being paid upfront.³

If You Lost the Receipt

It’s harder without the receipt, but not impossible. For USPS, PS Form 6401 is still your only route — the no-fee local replacement option requires the original receipt, so the inquiry form is the way forward.⁹ Fill in whatever you can remember: the approximate date, the post office, the dollar amount. Bring photo ID. Expect it to take longer.

Western Union’s form was built for lost, stolen, or misplaced receipts in the first place.⁵ Without proof of purchase, Western Union runs a manual search and reports results within two to four weeks.² The more you can supply — store, approximate date, dollar amount — the better the search.

Going forward, photograph the receipt the moment you get it and store it separately from the money order. One habit, avoided headache.

If the Money Order Came Back Cashed but Looks Forged

A standard research request confirms whether the money order was cashed and shows you the endorsement. If that endorsement points to forgery — an altered payee, changed amount, or unauthorized signature — you need a separate forgery claim, which has stricter requirements than a research inquiry.

Western Union requires forgery claims within 11 months of the payment date. You mail a notarized Purchaser’s or Payee’s Affidavit, a signed acknowledgment letter, and supporting evidence (copies of the money order before alteration, invoices, a letter from the intended payee, or a police report) to PO Box 6033, Englewood, CO 80155, Attention: M13M. Western Union then decides whether to forward a collection request to the Bank of First Deposit and sends you a written response within 30 days.¹⁰ USPS and MoneyGram run their own forgery processes. In every case, move fast: the longer you wait, the harder it is for the issuer to recover funds from the accepting bank.

Don’t Sit On an Old Money Order

Money orders from the major issuers don’t technically expire, but the value can shrink. USPS money orders never expire and never lose value to service charges. They cash for the full face amount no matter how old they are.⁷

Western Union and MoneyGram work differently. Western Union money orders uncashed for one to three years (depending on state law) start accruing a monthly service charge of $1.50, deducted from the face value. Some states set different amounts: California caps it at $0.25 per month, Texas at $1.00, and Connecticut and Puerto Rico prohibit the charge entirely.¹¹ MoneyGram also begins deducting a monthly charge after the first year, with the specific amount printed on the back of the money order.

After enough time — generally three to five years, depending on the state — the remaining balance goes to the state as unclaimed property. At that point the issuer can’t refund you anymore, and you’d file a claim with the state treasury or controller’s office instead. If you’re holding an old uncashed money order, deposit it now rather than later.

1
United States Postal Service. Money Orders
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Western Union. Money Order Request Form
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MoneyGram. Money Order Frequently Asked Questions
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United States Postal Service. Missing, Lost, or Stolen U.S. Money Order Forms
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Western Union. Money Order Research or Photocopy Request
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United States Postal Service. PS Form 6401 – Money Order Inquiry
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United States Postal Service. Sending Money Orders
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Western Union. Money Order Research Request Form
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United States Postal Service. PS Form 6401 No Longer Required for Local Money Order Replacement Requests
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Western Union. Forgery – Purchasers Affidavit
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Western Union. Retail Money Order Terms and Conditions