Manage Saving Bonds

Changing information about EE or I savings bonds (reissuing)

Note: For these special situations, you want a different page.

Living estates (where a court has appointed a legal guardian for someone who owns bonds)

Trusts (where a trustee wants to cash savings bonds)

Some changes in information result in our reissuing the savings bond. Some do not.

This page tells you whether we need to know about a change and, if we do, how to tell us.

Note: If your savings bond will mature (stop earning interest) in the next month, we will not reissue it. Series EE and I bonds mature 30 years from their issue date.

We also do not reissue old bonds that have stopped earning interest. You should cash them. See Cashing EE and I savings bonds

What changes do NOT require reissuing EE or I bonds?

We do not reissue bonds in these situations. This table tells what to do instead.

The situation	What you should do
You got married or divorced and changed your name	When you cash in a paper EE or I bond, sign both your name that is on the bond and your current name with the reason for the name change. Examples: Mary Smith, Mary Jones (name changed due to marriage) Mary Jones, Mary Smith (name changed due to divorce)
Your name has a minor typo	When you cash in a paper EE or I bond, sign your correct name.
You moved and have a new address	You do not need to do anything. The address on your paper EE or I bond was just to mail it to you. The address does not affect ownership of the bond.
The bond has the wrong Social Security Number (SSN)	If the SSN on the bond shows as ***** and then the last 4 numbers, that is NOT a problem. We do that to protect your privacy. If the SSN is really wrong – We don't reissue a paper bond to correct an SSN. However, on request, we can update our records to have the bond listed with the correct SSN. If your intent is to cash the bond, the SSN doesn’t need to be corrected on our records. When you take the bond to your bank, they will ask you for your SSN. If they won’t cash the bond, you can send it to us with FS Form 1522 on which you can list your correct SSN. To correct the SSN on a paper savings bond, do not send the bonds. Send only this information. Write a letter to us with this information: Your contact information, including your name, address, and phone number The incorrect SSN The correct SSN For each bond that has the wrong SSN, include a list to provide: Serial number of the bond Issue date Denomination (face amount shown on the bond) Registration (Who owns the bond: owner, co-owner [if there is one], and beneficiary [if there is one]) Send the letter to Treasury Retail Securities Services P.O. Box 9150 Minneapolis, MN 55480-9150

When must we reissue EE or I bonds?

We must reissue Series EE and I bonds in these situations:

Correct a major error
Comply with a court-ordered change of a living owner
Change the owner, co-owner, or beneficiary, as regulations allow

Notes:

We reissue EE and I savings bonds in electronic form only. The owner of the reissued EE or I bond must have an account in our online program, TreasuryDirect.
We reissue EE and I savings bonds only in the name of the owner. Later, the owner may add a secondary owner or beneficiary.
Reissuing a bond doesn’t change the issue date of the bond.
When using FS Form 4000, be sure to look through the table on the first page to see who must sign the form for the change you are requesting.

Learn about TreasuryDirect Open a TreasuryDirect account

Correct a major error

For a major error, such as

the first or last name of an owner, co-owner, or beneficiary is not on the bond
a name is misspelled and it's not a minor typo

Fill out and send us FS Form 4000 and the bonds.

A court-ordered change of a living owner

A court has appointed a guardian, conservator, or similar representative for the estate of a living owner. This may happen for

a minor (child)
a person who cannot handle his or her own finances due to age or illness
an absentee

Fill out and send us

FS Form 4000
the bonds
either a court order or letters of appointment

Change the owner, co-owner, or beneficiary

In your TreasuryDirect account, you can:

add another person as secondary owner
add or remove a beneficiary
name a new owner instead of a current living owner
change the name of an owner, co-owner, or beneficiary because of marriage, annulment, divorce, or court order. (Note: This change is allowed but not required.)

Notes about who can make these changes:

A bond owner may change the beneficiary. The beneficiary does not have to agree to the change.
A co-owner whose name has changed may change his or her name. The other co-owner does not need to sign the form.
If 2 living people co-own a bond and want to make a change other than a name change, both must agree and sign the appropriate form:
- If the bond is electronic, FS Form 5446
- If the bond is paper, FS Form 4000

Convert your paper bond EE or I bond to an electronic bond.

Will I have to pay taxes when you reissue the bond?

You are the original owner. We reissued it to someone else. You no longer own it. If you have not been paying tax on the bond's interest every year, you now owe tax on all the interest the bond earned while you owned it. You will not owe tax on interest the bond earns for the new owner.

You are the new owner. You will in the future owe tax on interest the bond earns from the time you became the owner. You do not owe tax on interest the bond earned before you owned it.

See Tax information for EE and I savings bonds

Getting the IRS form about the interest your bonds earned

Each year, we tell you and the IRS about the interest you must report on your federal tax return. (IRS Form 1099-INT)

Electronic bonds

Early in the year, you can get your IRS Form 1099-INT in your TreasuryDirect account.

Go to your TreasuryDirect account.
Select the ManageDirect tab.
Under "Manage My Taxes", choose the relevant year.
Near the top of your "Taxable Transaction Summary", choose the link to view your 1099.

NOTE: Your "Taxable Transaction Summary" is NOT your 1099.