How to Redeem Series E Savings Bonds: Bank, Mail, and Inheritance

You can redeem Series E savings bonds either by walking them into a bank with photo ID, or by mailing them to the Treasury with a signature-certified FS Form 1522. Every Series E bond has already reached final maturity and stopped earning interest, so there’s no reason to keep holding them. The bank route takes about 15 minutes; the mail route takes a few weeks but has no dollar limit.

Check the Bond’s Value Before You Do Anything

The number printed on the front of a Series E bond is its face value, not what it’s worth today. These bonds were sold at 75 percent of face value, so a $100 bond cost $75, and they accrued interest for decades before hitting final maturity. Every Series E bond had matured by 2010, which means the current value is fixed and won’t grow no matter how long you wait.

Look up the exact redemption value using the Savings Bond Calculator on the TreasuryDirect website. You’ll need the series (E), the denomination printed on the bond, and the issue date. The calculator returns the total value including all accrued interest, which is the number you’ll actually receive.

What You Need to Redeem

At minimum: the physical paper bond and a current government-issued photo ID such as a driver’s license or passport. In person at a bank, that’s usually enough. Mailing to the Treasury takes more preparation, including a certified signature on FS Form 1522.

Signature Certification

For mail redemptions, your signature on the bond’s “Request for Payment” section or on FS Form 1522 must be certified by an authorized official. Do not sign in advance. The certifying official watches you sign, then applies the institution’s seal or stamp. Authorized officials include officers and employees at banks and credit unions, as well as notary publics.¹ A notary typically charges $5 to $15 depending on your state.

The Forms You May Need

FS Form 1522 is the main form for requesting payment of paper savings bonds by mail. It covers owners, co-owners, surviving beneficiaries, and legal representatives of an estate.²
FS Form 5396 is the direct deposit sign-up form. Include it if you want the payment sent electronically to your bank account instead of by paper check.³
FS Form 1048 is for bonds that are lost, stolen, or too damaged to read.

All forms are available on TreasuryDirect and must be filled out in permanent ink.

Cashing at a Bank

A bank is the fastest option. Bring the bonds and your photo ID, and the teller verifies the bond, processes the transaction, and either gives you cash or deposits the funds. Many banks handle this on the spot.

The complication is that banks set their own rules. Some cash bonds only for existing customers with established accounts, some cap how much they’ll redeem in a single visit, and a few won’t cash savings bonds at all. Call ahead. Ask whether the branch cashes savings bonds and whether it applies a per-transaction dollar limit.⁴ If your bank won’t cooperate, or you have a large stack of bonds, mailing them to the Treasury avoids these limits entirely.

Cashing by Mail Through the Treasury

The Treasury sets no limit on the value or number of bonds you can redeem at once.⁴ The steps:

Complete FS Form 1522 with your personal information, the bond details, and how you want to be paid. If you want direct deposit, also complete FS Form 5396 with your bank routing and account numbers.
Get your signature on FS Form 1522 certified in person at a bank, credit union, or notary.
Mail the signed and certified forms, the original paper bonds, and a copy of your photo ID to Treasury Retail Securities Services, P.O. Box 9150, Minneapolis, MN 55480-9150.⁵

Use certified mail with return receipt. These are paper certificates worth real money, and you want proof of delivery. The Treasury processes submissions and issues payment within a few weeks, by direct deposit or mailed check depending on what you elected.

If the Bond Owner Has Died

How you redeem a deceased person’s bonds depends on how they were registered and whether the estate goes through probate.

Surviving Co-Owner or Named Beneficiary

If the bond lists a co-owner, the surviving co-owner becomes the sole owner and can redeem the bond normally with a certified death certificate, the bond, and photo ID.⁶ The same works for a named beneficiary after the owner’s death: present the certified death certificate and you become the sole owner.

No Living Person Named, No Probate

When everyone named on the bonds has died and the estate isn’t going through formal court administration, the Treasury allows a “voluntary representative” to handle redemption, but only if the total redemption value of bonds and other Treasury securities in the estate is $100,000 or less as of the date of death.⁷

The voluntary representative must be at least 18 and must be a surviving spouse, blood relative, legally adopted child, or next of kin in the order set by state law. You complete FS Form 5336, obtain certified death certificates for every deceased person named on the bonds, and mail everything, including the unsigned bonds, to the Minneapolis address. Individual bonds cannot be split; each must be cashed or distributed for its full amount.⁷

Estate Over $100,000 or in Probate

If the bond value exceeds $100,000 or the estate is going through formal probate, the court-appointed legal representative handles redemption. Letters of appointment must be dated within one year of the submission.⁶

If the Bond Is Registered to a Minor

A parent can redeem a bond registered in a child’s name if the child is too young to understand a request for payment. The parent must be the child’s natural or adoptive parent and must either live with the child or have legal custody.⁸

On the back of the bond, the parent writes a certification stating that they are the parent, that the child lives with them or that they have legal custody, the child’s age, and that the child is not old enough to make the request. The parent then signs “on behalf of [child’s name], a minor” and includes the child’s Social Security number. For mail redemptions, put the same information on FS Form 1522.⁸

Lost, Stolen, or Damaged Bonds

A missing or unreadable bond doesn’t mean the money is gone. The Treasury keeps records of every savings bond issued and can replace the bond or pay you directly. Submit FS Form 1048 with whatever details you have: series, approximate issue date, denomination, serial number if known, and the owner’s Social Security number.⁹ Partial information is often enough; the Treasury can frequently locate bonds using just a Social Security number and approximate dates. Mail the form to the Minneapolis address.

Federal Tax on the Interest

The interest earned over the bond’s lifetime is subject to federal income tax. The original purchase price isn’t taxed, only the difference between what was paid and the redemption value. Savings bond interest is exempt from state and local income taxes.¹⁰

When the Tax Is Owed

Most people defer reporting savings bond interest until they cash the bond. The IRS rule is that interest must be reported in the earlier of the year you redeem the bond or the year it reaches final maturity.¹¹ Since every Series E bond matured by 2010, the interest technically became reportable no later than the year of final maturity, even on bonds still sitting in a drawer.

In practice, the 1099-INT is generated when you actually cash the bond, and the IRS expects you to report the interest in that year to the extent you didn’t report it earlier.¹² If you’re holding a large pile of long-matured bonds, it’s worth a conversation with a tax professional before you redeem. The accumulated interest can be substantial.

The 1099-INT

When you cash bonds at a bank, the bank sends a 1099-INT either shortly after the transaction or by January 31 of the following year. When the Treasury processes redemption directly, the 1099-INT is available by January 31 of the following year.¹⁰ It reports the full lifetime interest earned by the bond. If your total taxable interest for the year is more than $1,500, you’ll need to file Schedule B with your Form 1040.¹²

Inherited Bonds

Inheriting Series E bonds means inheriting the unreported interest along with them. If the executor didn’t include the accrued interest on the deceased owner’s final tax return, whoever acquires the bonds picks up the tax when they cash them, or at the latest in the year of final maturity.¹¹ The 1099-INT is issued in the name and Social Security number of the person cashing the bond and covers all interest earned over the bond’s entire life.¹⁰ For larger estates, an executor can sometimes choose to report all accrued interest on the decedent’s final return, which may produce a lower combined tax bill depending on the tax brackets involved.

1
TreasuryDirect. Signature Certification
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TreasuryDirect. FS Form 1522 – Special Form of Request for Payment
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TreasuryDirect. FS Form 5396 – Direct Deposit Sign-Up Form
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TreasuryDirect. Cashing EE or I Savings Bonds
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TreasuryDirect. Contact Us
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eCFR. 31 CFR Part 353 Subpart L – Deceased Owner, Coowner or Beneficiary
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TreasuryDirect. Non-Administered Estates
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TreasuryDirect. Cashing Paper Bonds for a Young Child
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TreasuryDirect. Get Help for Lost, Stolen, or Destroyed EE or I Savings Bond
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TreasuryDirect. Tax Information for EE and I Bonds
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Internal Revenue Service. Publication 550 – Investment Income and Expenses
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Internal Revenue Service. Savings Bonds