How to Fill Out and Submit MFS Account Forms: Signatures and Submission

MFS account forms and applications are downloadable PDFs used to open an account, update account details, move money in or out, or manage a retirement holding at MFS Investment Management. The workflow is the same for almost every form: complete it on screen or by hand, print it, sign it, and mail it to the MFS Service Center in Kansas City. A few tasks, like exchanging shares between MFS funds or changing your cost basis method, can be done online through MFS Access or by fax, but most still require a physical signature on paper.¹

Picking the Right Form

MFS splits its forms library into two groups: non-retirement accounts and individual retirement accounts. Within each group, forms are organized by what you’re doing — opening something new, changing something on an existing account, or taking money out. Picking the wrong form is one of the fastest ways to delay a transaction.

Non-Retirement Accounts

The main account application covers individual, joint, UGMA/UTMA custodial, trust, estate, and organizational accounts, each in its own section of a single PDF.² Corporations, partnerships, and other legal entities use a separate Entity Application. Investors who want their holdings to pass to a named individual at death without probate use the Transfer on Death Agreement Registration Form.¹

Once an account is open, maintenance forms handle the rest. The Service Application sets up features like automatic investments or bank links. The Redemption Authorization Form processes withdrawals. The Fax Exchange Form lets you swap shares between MFS funds by fax. Other forms cover changing your financial advisor, updating your legal name, adjusting your cost basis reporting method, or requesting a 90-day reinstatement after a redemption so you can repurchase without paying a new sales charge.¹

Retirement Accounts

The IRA Forms Kit bundles what you need to open, convert, directly roll over, or transfer a Traditional or Roth IRA. Moving assets from a Traditional IRA into a Roth uses the separate Roth IRA Conversion Form. To add money to an existing IRA, use the Additional Investment Form. Every IRA distribution request must be paired with a Withholding Certificate for Nonperiodic Payments so you can accept the default federal withholding, choose a higher rate, or opt out.³

Employer-sponsored retirement plan accounts held at MFS, such as 401(k) and 403(b) plans, use a different set of redemption and transfer forms than individual IRAs, with their own Medallion Signature Guarantee triggers.

What to Have Ready Before You Start

Federal law requires MFS to verify the identity of anyone who opens an account. Under Section 326 of the USA PATRIOT Act, the firm must collect at minimum your name, date of birth, residential address, and a taxpayer identification number.⁴ Gather the following before you open the PDF:

A Social Security Number or TIN for every person listed on the account. Joint owners, trustees, custodians, and authorized signers each provide their own. Trusts, estates, and organizations also supply an Employer Identification Number for the entity.²
A residential street address. P.O. boxes don’t satisfy the physical-address requirement.
Your MFS account number for any change to an existing account. It’s on your most recent statement or in MFS Access.
Bank routing and account numbers if you’re linking a bank account for purchases or redemption proceeds.
Trust or entity documents where applicable. Trust accounts typically need the first and last pages of the trust agreement showing the trust name, date, trustees, and signatures. Entity accounts may require a Certificate of Incumbency or Evidence of Authority of Assigning Officer form.¹
A copy of the power of attorney if someone other than the account owner is signing.

If the TIN you provide is missing or doesn’t match IRS records, MFS is required to withhold 24% of dividends, capital gain distributions, and redemption proceeds as backup withholding until the issue is fixed.⁵

Filling Out the Form

MFS forms are designed to be completed on screen and then printed. The PDFs have fillable fields. If you’re writing by hand, use black ink and print clearly, since the documents are read by optical character recognition.

The account application is section-based. You complete only the section that matches your account type: Section A for individual or joint, Section B for UGMA/UTMA, Section C for trusts, Section D for organizations and non-MFS retirement plans, and Section E for estates.² Skip sections that don’t apply. Later pages cover investment selections, distribution options, and bank links.

To correct a mistake on a handwritten form, draw a single line through the error, write the correction, and initial it. Correction fluid or heavy scribbling can cause a rejection. For IRA applications, MFS requires an authorized signature from your dealer firm before mailing; if you work with a financial advisor, they handle that step.³

Naming Beneficiaries

When a form asks for beneficiaries, watch the distribution method. Per stirpes means that if a beneficiary predeceases you, their share passes to their children. Per capita, often the default, redistributes a deceased beneficiary’s share to the remaining living beneficiaries. If the form doesn’t explicitly ask you to choose and you want per stirpes, write it next to each beneficiary’s name.

When You Need a Medallion Signature Guarantee

A Medallion Signature Guarantee is a stamp from a participating financial institution that verifies your identity and makes the guaranteeing institution financially liable if your signature turns out to be forged. It’s not the same as a notary seal, which only witnesses a signature.⁶

For MFS retirement plan redemptions, a Medallion Signature Guarantee is required when:

Your total distribution exceeds $100,000.
No named trustee is listed on the account, or the named trustee can’t sign.
You’re requesting the check be made payable to a new plan or IRA trustee.
The plan address on the form differs from the address MFS has on file.
You notified MFS of an address change within the last 30 days.⁷

Non-retirement accounts have similar triggers. Changing a bank link, sending redemption proceeds to a third party, or modifying the account registration will generally require one. Get the stamp at a bank or brokerage where you already hold an account; many institutions provide it free to existing customers, while non-customers may pay a fee that can run up to $100.⁶

Where to Send the Signed Form

Almost every MFS form ends with the same instruction: print, sign, and mail. The address depends on how quickly you need it to arrive.

Regular mail: MFS Service Center, Inc., PO Box 219341, Kansas City, MO 64121-9341.
Overnight or express delivery: MFS Service Center, Inc., Suite 219341, 801 Pennsylvania Ave, Kansas City, MO 64105-1307.⁸

Certified mail adds tracking and proof of delivery, worth the cost for large distributions or registration changes. Exchanges between MFS funds can go by fax using the Fax Exchange Form, and some maintenance tasks like changing your cost basis method can be done in MFS Access without mailing anything.¹

After MFS Receives Your Form

Timing matters because of forward pricing. Federal regulations require every mutual fund purchase, redemption, or exchange to execute at the next net asset value calculated after MFS receives your order, not the price on the day you filled out the form or mailed it.⁹ MFS funds typically calculate NAV at the close of the New York Stock Exchange each business day, 4:00 p.m. Eastern. Orders received and processed before the cutoff get that day’s price; anything after gets the next business day’s price.

Once a trade executes, the standard settlement cycle is T+1, meaning it settles on the next business day after the trade date.¹⁰ Redemption checks are mailed after settlement. If a form is incomplete or has mismatched information, MFS sends a notice explaining what’s missing. Posted transactions and pending requests are visible in MFS Access.

RMD Timing for IRA Holders

If you hold an MFS Traditional IRA or an inherited retirement account, required minimum distributions create a hard annual deadline tied to submitting a redemption form. Under current rules, RMDs begin in the year you turn 73 if you were born between 1951 and 1959. For those born after 1959, the starting age rises to 75 beginning in 2033. Your first RMD is due by April 1 of the year after you reach the applicable age; every subsequent RMD is due by December 31.¹¹

Missing an RMD triggers a 25% excise tax on the amount you should have withdrawn. If you correct it within two years, the penalty drops to 10%.¹¹ Between mail transit, processing, forward pricing, and settlement, don’t wait until the last week of December to send an RMD redemption request. Build in at least two to three weeks of lead time.

The Withholding Certificate that accompanies an IRA distribution form lets you control federal tax withholding. The IRS default rate for nonperiodic IRA distributions is 10%; you can elect a higher rate or opt out on the certificate.³ Opting out doesn’t eliminate the tax; it means you owe it when you file.

1
MFS Investment Management. Forms and Applications
2
MFS. MFS Investment Account Forms
3
MFS. Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs)
4
Federal Register. Customer Identification Programs, Anti-Money Laundering Programs, and Beneficial Ownership
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Internal Revenue Service. Publication 15 (2026), (Circular E), Employer’s Tax Guide
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Investor.gov. Medallion Signature Guarantees: Preventing the Unauthorized Transfer of Securities
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MFS. Retirement Plan Redemption Authorization Form
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MFS. Contact MFS
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eCFR. 17 CFR 270.22c-1 – Pricing of Redeemable Securities
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FINRA. Understanding Settlement Cycles: What Does T+1 Mean for You?
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Internal Revenue Service. Retirement Topics – Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs)