Savings Bond Signature Certification: Who Certifies and How

Signature certification for a savings bond is the step where an authorized officer watches you sign FS Form 1522, verifies your ID, and stamps the form so the Bureau of the Fiscal Service will honor your request. The Treasury requires it before it will pay out paper bonds worth more than $1,000 or process most ownership changes.¹ The process is short once you know who qualifies to certify, what to bring, and the one mistake that gets forms rejected.

When You Actually Need a Certified Signature

The $1,000 threshold is the main trigger. If the total redemption value of the paper bonds you are cashing is $1,000 or less, many banks that act as paying agents will cash them at the counter with just a valid ID. Above that amount, FS Form 1522 and a certified signature become part of the transaction.²

Certification is also required regardless of dollar amount when the transaction is anything more complicated than a straight cash-out. Changing ownership, adding or removing a co-owner, handling bonds that belong to a deceased owner’s estate, or redeeming bonds for someone who is legally incapacitated all require it. These rules sit in the federal regulations covering both Series EE bonds and Series I paper bonds.³

Electronic bonds held in a TreasuryDirect account are a separate world. They rely on the site’s own login and authentication, so paper certification doesn’t apply to them.

Who Can Certify Your Signature

The list of authorized certifying officers inside the United States is wider than most bondholders assume:³

Any officer or expressly authorized employee of a bank, trust company, credit union, or member of the Federal Home Loan Bank System. This is where most people go.
Officers or authorized employees of organizations that serve as issuing or paying agents for savings bonds.
Any judge, clerk, or deputy clerk of a U.S. court.
U.S. Attorneys, U.S. Commissioners, and certain Internal Revenue Service officials.
Commissioned or warrant officers of the Armed Forces, but only for service members, their families, and civilian employees at military installations.
Notaries public. FS Form 1522 lists a notary’s seal as an acceptable form of certification for paper bond redemptions.²

The notary point trips people up because a common belief holds that notaries cannot certify savings bond signatures at all. The reality is more nuanced. For paper bond redemptions on FS Form 1522, a notary seal works. For certain TreasuryDirect account transactions governed by a different regulation, notaries are not listed among the authorized certifiers inside the United States.⁴ Always read the instructions on the specific form you are using.

Some banks will only certify for their own customers. Same with medallion guarantees. If you don’t have an account at a participating institution, you can open a basic one, use a notary for FS Form 1522, or visit a federal court clerk’s office. Military families can use a commissioned officer on their installation.⁵

Don’t Confuse This With a Medallion Signature Guarantee

The two get mixed up constantly. A medallion signature guarantee comes from a financial institution participating in one of three Treasury-recognized programs: STAMP, SEMP, or MSP.⁵ Medallion stamps are for security transfers, not redemptions.⁶ If you are cashing a bond, you need standard signature certification. A bank’s regular corporate seal, a paying agent stamp, or a notary seal is what the form calls for. Asking for a medallion when you need certification (or the reverse) is a common reason people get bounced from a branch and told the bank cannot help.

What to Bring to the Appointment

Showing up prepared is what makes this a ten-minute stop instead of a wasted trip. Bring:

The physical paper bonds you want to redeem.
FS Form 1522, downloaded from TreasuryDirect and filled out except for the signature line.²
A current government-issued photo ID, such as a driver’s license or passport. The certifying officer has to verify your identity to their own satisfaction.
The bond serial numbers and your Social Security number, ready to enter on the form.

If you are acting on someone else’s behalf, bring the legal papers that prove your authority: letters of administration or letters testamentary and certified death certificates for an estate, or a power of attorney or court-ordered guardianship for someone who is incapacitated. The certifying officer needs to see originals or certified copies before approving the request.

How the Certification Itself Works

Do not sign the form before you arrive. This is the single most common mistake. The certifying officer must watch you sign, and a pre-signed form will be rejected.² Complete every other field in advance, but leave the signature line empty.

At the appointment, the officer looks at your photo ID, compares it to what you have written on the form, and then asks you to sign. After you sign, the officer applies the institution’s official seal or stamp on the form and adds their own signature, title, and the date.⁷ The stamp needs to be clear and legible. A smudged or partial impression can hold up processing while the Bureau tries to verify the institution’s credentials.

If You Are Outside the United States

U.S. citizens abroad have a shorter list of options, but the options exist:⁶

A U.S. diplomatic or consular official, using the office’s official seal or stamp.
An officer at a foreign branch of a U.S. bank, using the institution’s seal or signature guarantee stamp.
A foreign notary or oath-administering officer whose authority is then certified by a U.S. diplomatic or consular official. This adds a step.

If none of these are accessible, federal regulations let the Treasury accept other proof of identity at its discretion, but this is rare and usually means contacting the Bureau of the Fiscal Service directly first.³

Mailing the Certified Form

Once the form is stamped, mail it along with the physical bonds to:

Treasury Retail Securities Services
P.O. Box 9150
Minneapolis, MN 55480-9150²

Use certified or registered mail. You are sending irreplaceable paper certificates through the postal system, and a tracking number is worth the small extra cost. Processing generally runs four to six weeks. Estate cases and busy periods can take longer. Once the Bureau confirms the certification, it deposits the funds into the bank account you designated on the form.

1
TreasuryDirect. Cashing EE or I Savings Bonds
2
TreasuryDirect. FS Form 1522 – Special Form of Request for Payment of United States Savings and Retirement Securities
3
eCFR. 31 CFR 315.55 – Individuals Authorized to Certify
4
eCFR. 31 CFR 363.43 – What Are the Procedures for Certifying My Signature
5
Investor.gov. Medallion Signature Guarantees: Preventing the Unauthorized Transfer of Securities
6
TreasuryDirect. Signature Certification
7
eCFR. 31 CFR 315.56 – General Instructions and Liability