How to Cash a Bond Check
Bonds are secured debt agreements in which one party agrees to loan a sum of money to another party for a set period of time. When the bond term ends, the bondholder receives a refund that often takes the form of a check. Corporations and government entities issue bond checks to investors who sell marketable bonds while courthouses issue bond refund checks to people who post bail. In theory, you can cash a bond check at your own bank or the bank that issued the bond check, although some banks have rules in place that make some checks difficult to cash.
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Instructions
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Review the bond check to determine the bank that the funds are drawn against. Look online or in a local phone directory to see if the bank in question has any branch locations in your area. If no such branches exist you can attempt to cash the bond check at your own bank.
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Take the bond check to either the issuing bank or your own bank. Provide the teller with an acceptable form of identification. Every bank must have a written customer identification program on file that includes a list of the types of ID that the bank will accept for check cashing transactions. Under federal law, an acceptable ID must include your name, date of birth, residential address and an ID number. Many banks only accept passports and drivers licenses.
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Turn the bond over and sign your name on the top endorsement line on the back of the check. If you are cashing the bond at your own bank then you should also write your account number underneath your signature. If you cash the check at the drawee bank then you may have to provide a thumbprint or fingerprint signature on the face of the check.
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Hand the check to the teller and ask if you have to pay a check cashing fee. Some banks charge such fees when non account holders cash checks, although you do not have to pay such a fee at your own bank.
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Tell the teller how you would like to receive your cash. If you cash a check for several thousand dollars the teller may require you to accept $50 or $100 bills since it would take too long to count out smaller denominations of bills.
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Tips & Warnings
When federal savings bonds mature you do not receive a disbursement check but you can cash the actual bond coupon at a local bank. You must sign the bond and provide the bank with an acceptable form of ID. You can cash savings bonds at most institutions even if you are not an account holder.
Banks can refuse to cash checks for non account holders and your own bank may refuse to cash a check drawn against another bank if the face amount of the bond check exceeds your account balance. Furthermore, if the bond check exceeds $10,000, you should allow yourself extra time to cash the bond check since the teller must complete a Large Currency Transaction Report. These reports provide the federal government with information about large cash transactions and are designed to help government agencies combat illegal activities.
