How to Fill Out and Submit BEP Form 5283: Mutilated Currency Request

BEP Form 5283 is the Bureau of Engraving and Printing’s request form for examining mutilated U.S. paper currency for possible redemption. You fill it out as a PDF on the BEP website, print and sign it, and send it in with the damaged bills — by mail or in person — to the BEP in Washington, D.C. There is no fee, and approved claims are paid by ACH transfer to the bank account you list on the form.¹

When You Need This Form

Form 5283 is only for currency too damaged for a bank to accept. Worn, dirty, or lightly torn notes that a bill counter can still read are “unfit,” not mutilated, and your bank will exchange them at face value. The BEP handles the harder cases: bills charred by fire, waterlogged and moldy, eaten by chemicals, or blown apart.²

Two rules govern payout. If clearly more than half of a note remains and enough of its security features survive for identification, examiners redeem it at face value. If half or less remains, or the security features are too degraded, the BEP’s Director must be satisfied that the missing portion was totally destroyed before approving payment. That decision is final, which is why the written explanation you give on the form matters.²

One boundary worth naming: this form does not cover coins. The U.S. Mint’s mutilated coin redemption program ended in October 2024, and there is currently no federal redemption path for bent or partial coins.

Filling Out the Form

The form is a fillable PDF on the BEP website. You complete it in your browser, and the system won’t let you print until every required field is done. If you can’t use the digital version, contact the Mutilated Currency Division for a hard copy.³

You’ll need to provide:

Whether you’re filing as an individual or as the executor or administrator of a deceased person’s estate. If the latter, you also enter the deceased person’s full legal name.
Your full name, mailing address, phone number, and email. Completing the form on the BEP site with your email turns on real-time status updates.¹
Your best estimate of the total value being submitted. Examiners use it as a starting reference.
Your bank’s name and routing number and your account number. The BEP pays claims electronically, so this field is essential. Claims of $500 or more require valid banking information from a U.S. financial institution.
A written description of how the currency became mutilated: the event, the date, and the type of damage. Be specific. If a basement flooded and the cash sat in standing water for two weeks, say so. This narrative helps examiners anticipate what they’ll encounter and supports your claim when less than half of any note survives.

The form does not ask for a Social Security Number or Taxpayer Identification Number. Under the BEP’s Privacy Act notice, furnishing the information is voluntary, but blank required fields will delay or block your claim.³

Packaging the Currency

This is where most claims go wrong. Damaged bills are fragile, and how you package them decides whether examiners can identify enough of each note to redeem it. The BEP has stated that failure to follow its packing directions can result in denial.⁴

The core rule is to disturb the fragments as little as possible. If the cash was inside a purse, lockbox, or other container when it was damaged, leave it there. The container protects the pieces and gives examiners context about how they were arranged. If you must remove fragments, send the container and everything else that was inside it.

From there, match your handling to the condition of the bills:

Brittle or crumbling bills go in cotton and are boxed exactly as found. Don’t separate individual notes.
Flat but damaged bills stay flat. Do not roll, fold, laminate, tape, or glue them.
Rolled currency stays rolled. Don’t try to unroll or straighten it.
Carefully remove any coins or other metal objects, because metal breaks up paper currency in transit. Send coins separately, keeping in mind that the federal mutilated coin program is no longer active.

Place the wrapped or cotton-packed currency in a sturdy box. Standard envelopes offer no protection and will likely be destroyed by postal sorting equipment.⁴

Submitting the Form and the Currency

You have two options: mail the package or drop it off. Either way, a fully completed and signed Form 5283 goes inside with the currency.¹

By Mail

Ship to:

Bureau of Engraving and Printing
Room 344A
14th and C Streets, SW
Washington, DC 20228¹

USPS Registered Mail is the strongest option. Every handler signs for it, and you can buy up to $50,000 in indemnity coverage at a Post Office.⁵ Add a return receipt so you know when the BEP has the package.

In Person

Walk-in deliveries go to the BEP’s Washington, D.C. facility. Use the Annex building visitor entrance on 14th Street, SW, on the Department of Agriculture side of 14th Street, and check in at security. Drop-off hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time, excluding federal holidays.¹

The service is free. The BEP charges no examination fee, no processing fee, and does not reimburse shipping.⁶

After You Submit

The Mutilated Currency Division works claims first-in, first-out. Examinations are painstaking manual work: fused or deteriorated fragments are physically separated, and each note is pieced together enough to verify denomination and authenticity. Depending on the complexity of the damage, the process can take many months.

To check on a pending claim, email mcdstatus@bep.gov or call the toll-free line at (866) 575-2361.⁷ If you completed the form online with your email, you should also get updates electronically.

How You Get Paid

Under Executive Order 14247, the Treasury Department transitioned to electronic payments for all federal disbursements as of September 30, 2025. Approved mutilated currency claims are paid by ACH transfer to the bank account listed on your Form 5283.⁸ Accurate banking information is non-negotiable; without it, payment stalls even after examiners finish.

When Claims Get Denied

The BEP will not redeem currency in these situations:⁹

Intentional mutilation or an attempt to defraud the government. The entire submission is destroyed or retained as evidence.
Currency connected to, or intended to further, any criminal scheme, which gets the same treatment.
Material misrepresentation of facts in the claim.
Remnants that can’t be identified as United States currency.
Less than half of a note remaining without a convincing account of how the missing portion was totally destroyed.

The Director of the BEP has final say on redemption decisions, and the BEP does not describe a formal appeals process. Your initial submission is the case you get to make, so the written explanation of the damage and the way you package the fragments carry real weight.²

1
Bureau of Engraving and Printing. How to Submit a Request for Mutilated Currency Examination
2
eCFR. 31 CFR 100.5 – Mutilated Paper Currency
3
Bureau of Engraving and Printing. BEP Form 5283 Instructions for Submitting a Request for Examination of Mutilated Currency for Possible Redemption
4
Bureau of Engraving and Printing. Mutilated Currency Packing Directions
5
USPS. Shipping Insurance and Delivery Services
6
Bureau of Engraving and Printing. Mutilated Currency FAQs
7
Federal Reserve Financial Services. Mutilated Currency
8
Federal Register. Transition to Electronic Payments and Disbursements
9
Bureau of Engraving and Printing. Mutilated Currency Redemption