How to Claim Destroyed Savings Bonds

Savings bonds are safe investment instruments offered by the US Treasury. Since they must be held for a number of years before they reach maturity, people tend to forget they have them and never cash them in. Many savings bonds that have been collecting dust in basements, attics and garages are eventually ruined or lost altogether. If yours are lost, stolen, destroyed, or even mutilated, the Bureau of the Public Debt will replace them for free as long as they can establish that the bonds have not been cashed yet. So if your savings bonds have been destroyed in a fire, lost in the mail or stolen from your safe deposit box, they can be reclaimed.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Bank officer or notary to certify request
• Envelope
• Postage stamp
• Claim form

How to Reclaim Lost, Stolen, Destroyed or Mutilated Savings Bonds

1. Gather as much information as you can about your bonds. Were they issued in your name, or did you receive them as a child in your parent's name? Were they issued with your Social Security number on the front, or that of the person who purchased the bonds for you?
2. Download a PD F 1048 form from the Bureau of the Public Debt or request one by mail or telephone (see Resources below). You can complete the online form then print it out to have it notarized. The website will not save a copy for you, so print an extra for your records.
3. Put your Social Security number and name on the PD F 1048. Also include the issue dates of the bonds and address provided, if you know them.
4. List the bond serial numbers and face values on the form. If you don't know the serial numbers or the denominations, simply put "unknown" in the space on the form.
5. Include a certified copy of the death certificate if the bond owner is deceased.
6. Remember to indicate whether you want replacement bonds, payment by check, or payment by direct deposit and include the address where you want this sent.
7. Sign the form in the presence of a certifying officer, usually a notary at a bank. Have your parents sign the form if you are a minor. Then mail the form to the Department of the Treasury, Bureau of the Public Debt, at the appropriate address listed on the form.

Tips & Warnings

• Submit a claim for lost, stolen, or destroyed bonds even if you think they may be too old. The U.S. Department of the Treasury has information on bonds dating back to the 1940s.