How to Track a Money Order by Serial Number: Issuers and Deadlines

To track a money order by serial number, take the number printed on your purchase receipt to the issuer that sold it — USPS, Western Union, or MoneyGram — and submit it through their online tracking tool, by phone, or in person. The issuer looks up the transaction and tells you whether the money order is still outstanding or has already been cashed. That single lookup is the whole trace; everything else (a refund, a replacement, a fraud report) depends on what the lookup returns.

Find the Serial Number on Your Receipt

The receipt you got at the counter is the document that makes tracking possible. It carries the serial number, the dollar amount, and the date and location of purchase. Keep it. Without the serial number the issuer cannot easily pull your record, and searching without it is a separate, slower, paid process.

The number looks different depending on who sold you the money order:

The number is usually printed near the top or bottom of the receipt stub, with the date and purchase location alongside it.

Check the Status With the Issuer

USPS

You can check a USPS money order online through the USPS Money Orders Application, or in person at any Post Office.4USPS. Money Orders – The Basics For an in-person check, bring your receipt and a government-issued photo ID and ask to fill out PS Form 6401, the Money Order Inquiry form.5USPS. PS Form 6401 – Money Order Inquiry The clerk processes it and tells you whether the money order has been cashed.

USPS no longer sells international money orders, but older ones can still be traced with the same PS Form 6401, and there is no fee for an international money order inquiry.6USPS. Sending Money Internationally

Western Union

Western Union runs an online tracking portal where you enter the 10-digit MTCN to see whether the money order has been processed.7Western Union. Track Your Money Transfer The status updates in real time and tells you whether the item is outstanding or already cashed.

MoneyGram

MoneyGram’s tracker asks for the authorization or reference number along with your last name and returns the current status of the money order.3MoneyGram. Track a Transfer As with Western Union, if the tool shows the money order is still unclaimed, you can then decide whether to file for a refund or replacement.

If You Do Not Have the Serial Number

Losing the receipt makes a trace harder and more expensive, not impossible. Each issuer runs a search process for customers who no longer have the number, and each charges a non-refundable fee. The more accurate detail you can provide about the original purchase — amount, date, location, payee — the better the odds of a hit.

  • USPS: fill out PS Form 6401 with as much information as you can recall and mail it to the St. Louis Accounting Service Center, General Accounting Branch, PO Box 80453, St. Louis, MO 63180-0453.4USPS. Money Orders – The Basics
  • Western Union: complete the Money Order Research Request form and include a $30 non-refundable administrative fee, payable by money order or check.8Western Union. Money Order Research Request Form
  • MoneyGram: complete the MO Search form with the exact purchase date, exact dollar amount, payee name, and the store name and address, and include a $40 non-refundable processing fee.9MoneyGram. MO Search Form

MoneyGram will only search the exact date of purchase you list, and results come back by email, so the address you write on the form has to be one you can access.9MoneyGram. MO Search Form

What the Result of the Trace Tells You

A trace produces one of two answers, and each points you somewhere different.

If the money order has not been cashed, you can file for a refund or replacement with the issuer. USPS handles this through PS Form 6401 at any Post Office for a $21 processing fee; confirming that a money order is lost or stolen can take up to 30 days, and a full investigation may take up to 60 days from the purchase date.10USPS. Money Orders Western Union processes refund requests online, typically within five business days when proof of purchase is available, or within two to four weeks when a search is required first.11Western Union. Money Order Refund Request MoneyGram accepts replacement requests only online, only after at least two weeks have passed since the money order was mailed and the status has been verified through its tracking tool, with processing taking about seven business days.12MoneyGram. Help for MoneyGram Money Orders

If the money order has already been cashed and you are not the one who cashed it, the issuer will not refund you, but it will provide a copy of the endorsed document showing the signature used. That copy is your primary evidence. Report the incident to the appropriate authorities: for USPS money orders, the United States Postal Inspection Service at 1-877-876-2455 or online,13United States Postal Inspection Service. Report a Crime and for any issuer, the Federal Trade Commission at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.14Federal Trade Commission. ReportFraud.ftc.gov A local police report is worth filing too, since you may need the report number to support a later claim against whoever cashed the money order.

Deadlines Worth Watching

USPS will not issue a replacement until at least 60 days after the original purchase date, and no claim for improper payment is permitted more than one year after the money order was paid.4USPS. Money Orders – The Basics USPS also does not offer stop-payment orders on postal money orders, so the trace and inquiry process is the only route. If you suspect a problem, run the trace early rather than late; the one-year window closes on both sides of it.