You can cash savings bonds without a bank account by mailing the paper certificates to the U.S. Treasury with FS Form 1522; the Treasury will send a check to the address on the form. A second option is walking into a bank or credit union that redeems bonds for non-customers, but those policies vary widely and many branches decline. Either way, have a valid government photo ID, your Social Security number, and the physical bond certificates ready before you start.
What to Gather Before You Start
Federal regulations require proof of identity before any savings bond is paid. Under 31 CFR Part 353, only the named owner, co-owner, or a legally authorized representative can receive payment.1eCFR. 31 CFR Part 353 – Regulations Governing Definitive United States Savings Bonds, Series EE and HH The name on your unexpired ID has to match the name printed on the bond. A driver’s license or U.S. passport is standard.
You’ll also need your Social Security number, which the Treasury uses to report the interest for federal tax purposes. And you need the actual paper certificates. Paper bonds are surrendered permanently when they’re cashed, so no certificate means no standard redemption. There is a separate replacement process if your bonds are lost or destroyed, covered at the end.
Mailing Your Bonds to the Treasury
This is the reliable path when no bank will help. Download FS Form 1522 from TreasuryDirect and fill in the issue date and serial number for every bond you’re redeeming.2TreasuryDirect. Cashing EE or I Savings Bonds If you have more bonds than the form has room for, attach a separate list or use the supplemental FS Form 3500.3TreasuryDirect. FS Form 1522 Special Form of Request for Payment of United States Savings and Retirement Securities Confirm your mailing address on the form is current, because that’s where your check will go.
When You Need a Signature Certification
If the total redemption value is more than $1,000, your signature has to be certified before you mail the form. At $1,000 or less, no certification is needed. You sign in front of a notary public or an authorized certifying officer.3TreasuryDirect. FS Form 1522 Special Form of Request for Payment of United States Savings and Retirement Securities
Certifying officers work at banks, trust companies, credit unions, and organizations that are members of the Federal Home Loan Bank System. You don’t need an account at these institutions. You just need an officer there to verify your identity and stamp the form.4eCFR. 31 CFR 353.55 – Individuals Authorized to Certify If a notary does it, the form must carry the notary’s official seal or stamp.
Where to Send the Package
Send the completed FS Form 1522 with all the physical bond certificates to:
Treasury Retail Securities Services
P.O. Box 9150
Minneapolis, MN 55480-91503TreasuryDirect. FS Form 1522 Special Form of Request for Payment of United States Savings and Retirement Securities
Use certified or registered mail. You’re putting valuable financial instruments in the postal system, and a tracking number and proof of delivery protect you if anything goes missing.
How Long It Takes
The Treasury currently advises at least six weeks to process a mail-in redemption when the bonds are in your name. Requests for bonds not in your name, such as those belonging to a deceased family member, take at least two months.5TreasuryDirect. Contact Us Since you don’t have a bank account for direct deposit, the Bureau of the Fiscal Service will mail a Treasury check to the address on your form.
Trying a Bank or Credit Union as a Non-Customer
Some banks and credit unions will redeem savings bonds for people who don’t hold accounts there. It is never guaranteed. Each branch sets its own policy, and many decline because of fraud risk. Smaller community banks and credit unions are usually more flexible than large national chains.
Institutions that do offer this service often cap the amount they’ll pay out to a non-customer in a single visit and may ask for a second piece of identification beyond your photo ID. Call before you go. Confirm the branch handles bond redemptions for non-customers, and ask about dollar limits and extra documents. Checking with several locations improves your odds of finding one that will help.
Cashing the Treasury Check Without a Bank
Once the check arrives, you still have to turn it into cash. A few options work without an account:
- Retail check-cashing stores cash government checks for a fee, generally around 1% to 4% of the check amount depending on the company and location.
- Large retailers cash government checks too. Walmart, for example, handles them at its Money Center locations, and fees at major retailers tend to run lower than at dedicated check cashers.6Walmart. Money Center
- Some bank branches will cash a Treasury check over the counter for non-customers, since the check is drawn on the U.S. Treasury itself. Policies vary.
Check-cashing fees come straight out of the interest your bonds earned. For a large redemption the cost can be real. If the total is substantial, it may be worth opening a basic no-fee checking account at a credit union just to deposit the check.
Waiting Periods and Early-Redemption Penalties
Both Series EE and Series I bonds must be held for at least one year before they can be cashed. A request submitted before that will be refused.2TreasuryDirect. Cashing EE or I Savings Bonds
If you cash a bond you’ve held for less than five years, you lose the last three months of interest. Redeeming at 18 months means you receive 15 months’ worth of interest.7TreasuryDirect. I Bonds After five years the penalty goes away. Both EE and I bonds keep earning interest for up to 30 years from the issue date.8TreasuryDirect. Comparing EE and I Bonds Once a bond hits 30 years it stops earning, so there’s no reason to keep holding it.
Taxes on the Interest
Interest on savings bonds is subject to federal income tax but exempt from state and local income tax.9TreasuryDirect. Tax Information for EE and I Bonds Most bondholders defer reporting until the year they cash the bond or it matures, which means you may owe tax on decades of accumulated interest in a single year.
When your redemption produces $10 or more in reportable interest, the entity that pays you, whether the Treasury or a bank, issues a Form 1099-INT to you and to the IRS.10Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Forms 1099-INT and 1099-OID Include that interest as income on your federal return for the year you cashed the bond, and plan for the bill in advance if the bonds have been accruing for many years.
If You Can’t Find the Paper Certificates
Standard redemption needs the physical bonds. If yours are lost, stolen, or destroyed, the Treasury handles the claim through FS Form 1048, and you can request either a replacement issued as an electronic bond in a TreasuryDirect account or direct payment.11TreasuryDirect. Get Help for Lost, Stolen, or Destroyed EE or I Savings Bond If you don’t know the serial numbers and the bonds were issued in 1974 or later, the Treasury Hunt tool on TreasuryDirect.gov can search for them and produce a version of the form with a reference number that allows processing without serial numbers. Bonds issued before 1974 have their own version of FS Form 1048. If you later find an original certificate that has already been replaced or paid, mail it to Treasury Retail Securities Services, P.O. Box 9150, Minneapolis, MN 55480-9150.