FS Form 1522: cashing paper savings bonds by mail
Treasury's request-for-payment form for paper savings bonds, section by section, from the official PDF and TreasuryDirect.
FS Form 1522 is how you cash paper savings bonds without a bank: fill in the bonds, your bank account and your signature, and mail it to Treasury with the bonds. This page goes through the form as Treasury wrote it, the $1,000 signature rule, where to send it, and what happens next.
Download FS Form 1522 from TreasuryDirect (PDF) · TreasuryDirect's help video
- FS Form 1522 is Treasury's "Special Form of Request for Payment of United States Savings and Retirement Securities Where Use of a Detached Request Is Authorized": the form you mail with paper savings bonds to have Treasury cash them (TreasuryDirect forms).
- It is for paper securities only (TreasuryDirect). Electronic bonds are cashed inside a TreasuryDirect account (TreasuryDirect).
- If the bonds total $1,000 or less, no certification is needed: sign and enclose a copy of a current driver's license, passport, state ID, or military ID. Over $1,000, you sign in front of a notary or certifying officer (FS Form 1522 (PDF)).
- Mail the form and the bonds to Treasury Retail Securities Services, P.O. Box 9150, Minneapolis, MN 55480-9150 (FS Form 1522 (PDF)).
- Treasury pays by direct deposit to the bank account you list on the form, and mails a 1099-INT the following January (TreasuryDirect).
When you need FS Form 1522
There are two ways to cash a paper EE or I bond: at a bank where you have an account, if it cashes savings bonds, or by mail to Treasury with FS Form 1522 (TreasuryDirect: cashing EE or I bonds). There is no dollar threshold that forces you to use the form: Treasury says it has "no limit on the value or number of savings bonds you can cash at one time" by mail, while banks set their own limits or do not cash bonds at all. The $1,000 figure people associate with this form is the signature rule (below), not a limit.
The form is the usual route when:
- your bank will not cash the bonds, or will not cash that many at once;
- the bonds are a series banks cannot cash: HH, H, and the older A, B, C, D, F, G, J and K series all go to Treasury (cashing HH bonds, historical and retired bonds, Treasury's guide for banks);
- you are a parent cashing a young child's bond and cannot find a bank to do it (cashing bonds for a young child);
- you are cashing as an attorney-in-fact: banks may not pay bonds presented by one, and Treasury's power-of-attorney instructions say the attorney-in-fact completes FS Form 1522 (FS Publication 0105).
Bonds of a deceased owner, trusts, and bonds held outside the United States have their own instructions, sometimes with different forms: see inherited savings bonds and cashing paper bonds outside the United States.
Filling it out, section by section
From the form and its instructions (FS Form 1522 (PDF)). Print in ink or type.
| Section | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| 1. Description of bonds | The name(s) of the person(s) shown on the bonds, then each bond's issue date and serial number. Out of room? Attach a list or FS Form 3500 (continuation sheet). |
| 2. Direct deposit | The payee's Social Security Number (or EIN for an estate, trust or other entity), the name(s) on the bank account, the account number and type (checking or savings), the bank's name and phone number, and its nine-digit routing number (which begins with 0, 1, 2 or 3). |
| 3. Signature | Sign in ink and print your name, address, daytime phone and email. By signing you certify your taxpayer identification number and backup withholding status, and that you are a U.S. person. If your name has changed since the bond was issued, sign with both names and how it changed (the form's example: "Miss Mary T. Jones now by marriage Mrs. Mary T. Smith"). |
| Certification block | Completed by the notary or certifying officer, if your bonds total more than $1,000. Leave it blank at $1,000 or less if you enclose an ID copy. |
Who may sign: the owner, a co-owner, a surviving beneficiary, the legal representative of the estate of a deceased or incompetent owner, people entitled to a deceased owner's estate, or others entitled to payment under the savings bond regulations. A minor may sign if the notary or certifying officer judges them competent to understand the transaction (FS Form 1522 (PDF)).
What the redemption value is: the form tells you to look it up in TreasuryDirect's Savings Bond Calculator. This site's calculator and value tables use the same Treasury value file, and add up a whole stack of bonds.
Signature certification: the $1,000 line
The form's rule (FS Form 1522 (PDF)):
- Total current redemption value of $1,000 or less: your signature does not need to be certified. Sign the form and enclose a current copy of your driver's license, passport, state ID, or military ID.
- More than $1,000: each person whose signature is required must appear before a notary or authorized certifying officer, prove their identity, and sign in that person's presence. The certifier adds their seal or stamp.
Accepted seals and stamps, per the form: a notary's seal or stamp; a financial institution's official seal or stamp (signature guaranteed, endorsement guaranteed, corporate, or issuing/paying agent stamp with the institution's identification or routing number); or the stamp of a Treasury-recognized signature guarantee or Medallion program. The form notes that certifying officers are available at financial institutions, including credit unions, in the United States. Treasury's signature certification page lists everyone who may certify, including judges or clerks of U.S. courts and, for Armed Forces personnel, commissioned or warrant officers. Do not sign ahead of time: wait until you are with the certifier (TreasuryDirect forms).
Where to mail it and what to include
Unless you are told otherwise, the form says to send it, the bonds, and any other forms, evidence or identification to:
Treasury Retail Securities Services, P.O. Box 9150, Minneapolis, MN 55480-9150
Phone: 844-284-2676 (toll free)
- The bonds themselves. Treasury says to send the physical bonds, signed or unsigned, with the form (TreasuryDirect forms).
- An ID copy, if your bonds total $1,000 or less and you did not have your signature certified (FS Form 1522 (PDF)).
- Legal evidence, such as a death certificate, if you are not the person named on the bonds. Treasury does not return it; a photocopy is fine if the stamp or seal is legible (TreasuryDirect forms).
- In a declared disaster area, write DISASTER on the envelope and the top of the form's first page; Treasury gives those requests priority (TreasuryDirect).
Treasury's instruction is to send the form and bonds "to us at the address on FS Form 1522" (TreasuryDirect). Addresses can change, so check the current PDF before you mail anything.
How payment arrives, and how long it takes
Treasury pays by direct deposit to the account in section 2 of the form (FS Form 1522 (PDF); TreasuryDirect). If Treasury cashes your paper bond, it mails you the 1099-INT for your tax return the following January (TreasuryDirect); the interest is subject to federal income tax and exempt from state and local income tax (see savings bond taxes).
How long it takes: TreasuryDirect's contact page says: "If you are named on the bonds and send them in with your request, processing may take three months or longer." For transactions you are authorized to complete on bonds not in your name, it says: "Transactions you are authorized to complete, but that are not in your name, require five months or longer to process." (Read .) The other route for paper EE, I and E bonds is a bank or credit union that cashes them: see where to cash savings bonds.
Related forms
Described as TreasuryDirect's forms page describes them (TreasuryDirect: forms for savings bonds):
| Form | What it is for |
|---|---|
| FS Form 3500 | Continuation sheet for listing securities: list additional bonds for payment and attach it to a form. |
| FS Form 2778-1 | Certification attachment: additional signature boxes and signature certifications to attach to a form. |
| FS Form 1048 | Claim for lost, stolen, or destroyed savings bonds: request payment or replacement. |
| FS Form 5336 | Disposition of Treasury securities belonging to a decedent's estate being settled without administration. |
| FS Form 4000 | Request to reissue paper savings bonds (except reissue to a personal trust). |
| FS Form 5188 | Durable power of attorney for securities and savings bonds transactions. |
| FS Form 5512 | TreasuryDirect redemption and/or bank change request, for an account in TreasuryDirect. Not for paper savings bonds. |
| FS Form 5511 | TreasuryDirect transfer request: transfer securities you hold in TreasuryDirect. |
Frequently asked questions
What is FS Form 1522?
It is the Treasury form used to request payment of paper U.S. savings bonds, savings notes, and retirement bonds by mail: "Special Form of Request for Payment of United States Savings and Retirement Securities Where Use of a Detached Request Is Authorized." It is for paper securities only.
Does FS Form 1522 need to be notarized?
Only if the bonds' current redemption value totals more than $1,000. At $1,000 or less you can sign and enclose a copy of a current driver's license, passport, state ID, or military ID. Over $1,000 you sign in front of a notary or certifying officer, such as one at a bank or credit union, who adds a seal or stamp.
Where do I mail FS Form 1522?
The form says to send it with the bonds to Treasury Retail Securities Services, P.O. Box 9150, Minneapolis, MN 55480-9150, unless you are instructed otherwise. Check the current PDF on TreasuryDirect before mailing.
How does Treasury pay when you cash bonds with FS Form 1522?
By direct deposit to the bank account you list in section 2 of the form. Treasury mails the 1099-INT for the interest the following January.
Do I have to use FS Form 1522 to cash savings bonds?
No. Paper EE, I and E bonds can also be cashed at a bank or credit union that offers the service. The form is the mail route, and the only route for HH bonds and the older series banks cannot cash. Electronic bonds are cashed in TreasuryDirect, not with this form.
Related: Can you cash savings bonds early? · Where to cash savings bonds · How much a savings bond costs · How to cash savings bonds · Savings bond calculator · Savings bond taxes · Inherited savings bonds · Matured savings bonds.
Form details are quoted from the FS Form 1522 PDF and TreasuryDirect pages linked above; Treasury revises its forms, so always mail the current version. This site is independent of the Treasury and is not legal or tax advice.