Sometimes, savings bonds are held in a trust by a person for the benefit of another person.
The trustor is the person, institution, or organization who creates a trust. The trustor is sometimes called the maker, donor, grantor, or settler.
A trustee is a person appointed to manage a trust. A trust can have more than one trustee.
If you are a trustee, this page tells you how to cash the trust's savings bonds; change the trustee on a bond; move savings bonds into a trust; distribute savings bonds from a trust; file a claim for a lost, stolen, or destroyed bond; or check if the person you are the trustee for owns or owned bonds you can't find.
Important notes for all these tasks
- When you send us a bond, leave it unsigned.
- We can't return what you send us. Therefore, send only copies of important documents like the relevant pages of the trust document. Be sure that everything is legible on the copy.
- Be sure that all forms you send us are complete, signed, and certified according to the instructions on the form. Incomplete or inaccurate submissions delay processing.
- Each form is available online.
- Each form has instructions on how to fill it out and where to send it.
Cash (redeem) savings bonds in a trust
If you are a trustee in the registration on the bond, and you want to cash the bond, send us
- FS Form 1522
- The unsigned bond(s) you want to cash
If you are NOT a trustee in the registration on the bond, and you want to cash the bond, send us
- FS Form 1522
- The unsigned bond(s) you want to cash
- A copy of the trust document (or specific relevant pages) or certification of trust if authorized for your state
- For testamentary trusts, a copy of the certified will under court seal
Change the trustee on a bond held in a trust
When you change the trustee, we reissue the bond.
HH bonds: We reissue HH bonds in paper form.
EE and I bonds: We reissue EE and I bonds only in electronic form. The trustee who will now manage the bond owned by the trust must have a trust account in our online program, TreasuryDirect. Please note, the trustee who manages the trust account must have the authority to act alone on behalf of the trust.
Learn about TreasuryDirect Open a TreasuryDirect account
To have us change the trustee and reissue a bond that is already in the trust, send us
- FS Form 4000
- HH bonds only: FS Form 5396
- The unsigned bond(s) you want us to reissue
- A copy of the trust document (or specific relevant pages)
Move savings bonds into a trust
When you move savings bonds that are not now in a trust into a trust, we reissue the bonds.
HH bonds: We reissue HH bonds in paper form.
EE and I bonds: We reissue EE and I bonds only in electronic form. The trustee must set up a TreasuryDirect Trust account for the reissued bonds. Please note, the trustee who manages the trust account must have the authority to act alone on behalf of the trust.
Learn about TreasuryDirect Open a TreasuryDirect account
To have us reissue bonds that are not now in a trust into a trust, send us
- FS Form 1851
- HH bonds only: FS Form 5396
- The bond owner(s) must complete and sign the form. For EE and I bonds, the trustee should also sign the form.
- The unsigned bond(s) you want us to reissue
Distribute savings bonds from a trust
In settling an estate, you may ask us to take bonds registered in trust form and distribute them to different people who are entitled to those bonds.
As with reissuing:
- The new owner of an HH bond will receive a paper bond.
- The new owner of an EE or I bond will receive an electronic bond. To hold an electronic bond, the owner must have an account in our online program, TreasuryDirect.
Learn about TreasuryDirect Open a TreasuryDirect account
To have us distribute savings bonds held in a trust, send us
- FS Form 1455
- The appropriate one of the following for each entitled person, signed by them.
- To cash the bond: FS Form 1522
- To reissue the bond into a different trust: FS Form 1851
- To reissue the bond, but not into a trust: FS Form 4000
- HH bonds only: If reissuing the bond to a person or trust: FS Form 5396
- The unsigned bonds you want us to distribute
- If the trustee named on the bonds is no longer acting: A copy of the trust document (or specific relevant pages)
If different people have to sign the different forms, you may want them to send us the signed forms separately. We allow that. However, we hold individual pieces of the request until we have everything before processing the request. You may also gather everything related to this situation and send it all in one package.
File a claim for lost, stolen, or destroyed savings bonds in a trust
To file a claim, send us:
- FS Form 1048
- If the trustee named on the bonds is no longer acting: A copy of the trust document (or specific relevant pages)
On FS Form 1048, you have the option of getting cash for the bond or getting a replacement bond. Replacement HH bonds are on paper. Replacement EE or I bonds are electronic.
Check for other savings bonds
If you think the trust or the person you are the trustee for might have bonds that you can't find, you can use our Treasury Hunt database to search for them. We update the database every month.
To search, you need the bond owner's Social Security Number (SSN) or Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN or EIN) or name and state.
If the search turns up bonds for you, you'll get information on how to claim and cash them.
Search Treasury Hunt
More information about savings bonds and trusts
Questions and Answers About Trusts
Trust Transactions: United States Savings Bonds and Notes
