To get your signature notarized, take your driver’s license or state identification card to a bank and fill out Form PD F 4000. Sign Form PD F 4000 in front of the certifying officer, who will sign and stamp it.
What is the procedure for changing the name on a savings bond?
How to Change the Names on US Savings Bonds
- For instructions on how to modify the registered name on your securities, go to “Manage Account.”
- Take any signature-verification forms to your bank for a Treasury-approved verification.
What is the procedure for changing the owner of my savings bonds?
The name of a single owner or two co-owners will be printed on a US savings bond. The savings bond can only be cashed by a listed owner. To change the owner of a savings bond, a reissue request must be made to the US Treasury together with the bond.
What is the procedure for adding a beneficiary to a savings bond?
You must register ownership of the securities in “beneficiary” form in order to do so. Simply put, you register ownership in your name, followed by the phrases “payable on death to” and the beneficiary’s name. A person, not an entity, must be the recipient. Parts 315.6 and 353.6 of the 31 C.F.R.) You must state if the beneficiary is a minor, for example, “payable on death to Jasmine Martin, a juvenile.” Ownership will be transferred to the person you named after your death.
You’ll have complete control over these assets, just as you do with corporate securities. To sell or give away the securities, you don’t need the beneficiary’s permission, and you can name a new beneficiary at any moment by filling out new ownership documentation.
There can only be one principal owner and one payable-on-death beneficiary, which is a significant limitation when adding a payable-on-death beneficiary. If the securities are co-owned by two or more peoplefor example, you and your spouseyou can’t specify a payable-on-death beneficiary. In that case, the best you can do is create a right of survivorship, so that when the first co-owner dies, the remaining co-owner receives the securities. The survivor could then designate a beneficiary.
Is it possible to transfer a savings bond to another person?
Yes. The owner of EE and I Bonds can transfer them to another person with a TreasuryDirect account; however, you must wait five business days from the purchase date to do so.
A savings bond can be transferred to another TreasuryDirect account in whole or in part. See What is the procedure for transferring savings bonds from one TreasuryDirect account to another?
What happens if I transfer savings bonds to another TreasuryDirect customer? Will the recipient’s purchasing limit be affected?
When you transfer savings bonds to another customer, the value of the transfer is deducted from the yearly purchase limit for each savings bond type for the year in which the transfer happens.
Is it possible to move marketable securities from one TreasuryDirect account to another or to a broker/dealer account?
Yes. Marketable Securities can be transferred in $100 increments. You can send a portion or the entire value of a single investment or a group of securities to a single recipient or financial institution. See What is the procedure for transferring marketable securities from my TreasuryDirect account?
No, you must transfer marketable securities from your TreasuryDirect account to a broker/dealer account in order to sell them.
The securities can be sold by the broker/dealer on your behalf.
Is it possible to transfer marketable securities from a non-TreasuryDirect account to my TreasuryDirect account?
Yes. You can contact your broker to have marketable securities from another account transferred as an Incoming External Transfer to your TreasuryDirect account. Customer Service will handle your request and add issued securities to your Current Holdings. For maturity and interest payments, incoming transfers are issued with your primary bank information as the payment destination (if applicable). For specific instructions, see Learn More About Transfers.
Is it possible to transfer marketable securities from my old TreasuryDirect account to my new TreasuryDirect account?
Yes. Complete a Security Move Request, FS Form 5179, to transfer assets from Legacy Treasury Direct to your TreasuryDirect account. Incoming transfers are deposited into your TreasuryDirect account’s Current Holdings.
What happens if I transfer a marketable security that was initially slated for deposit in my C of I before it matures?
Any purchases you have scheduled utilizing Zero-Percent C of I as the source of funds may be impacted if you elect to transfer a marketable security prior to maturity. If funds are inadequate to cover the purchase request, the purchases may be canceled.
What if the form of registration for transferring marketable securities from an outside broker to my TreasuryDirect account is invalid?
We shall refuse any inbound security transfer request that has an invalid form of registration.
What if the marketable security I want to move in from another outside account is registered with the words “OR,” “AND,” or “With Right of Survivorship”?
Regardless of the method of registration prior to the transfer, a security transferred from an outside account into a TreasuryDirect account will be transferred in the name of the individual account owner in single owner form. The registration can be changed to any allowable registration after the transfer is accomplished.
What is the procedure for cashing a savings bond that is not in my name?
If you are not identified as the owner or co-owner on the bond, you must produce legal evidence or other documentation to establish you are entitled to cash the bond, regardless of where you cash it. (Legal evidence is not returned.)
It is important to note that savings bonds cannot be transferred. You can’t cash a bond that belongs to someone else or that you bought on an internet auction site. (See Death of a Savings Bond Owner if you inherit a bond through the death of the bond owner.)
Is it possible to have many beneficiaries on a savings bond?
When buying US savings bonds, the way you label them impacts who truly owns them and can cash them in later. Sole ownership is established when you place your name on the title or purchase them as a gift for someone else in his name. Co-owners are two people listed on the title. You can name a beneficiary, but co-owners and beneficiaries have different rights to the bond.
Is it possible to choose a beneficiary for my TreasuryDirect account?
You can name beneficiaries for your retirement funds if you have them with a private financial institution. Non-retirement accounts can also be designated as Pay On Death (POD) or Transfer On Death (TOD) at some financial institutions.
Do bonds have recipients?
There is only one owner listed. Only that person is allowed to conduct business. The bond becomes part of his or her inheritance if he or she dies.
This is referred to as exclusive ownership in the case of electronic bonds.
Single ownership for paper bonds.
Transactions can only be made by the owner.
If he or she passes away, the beneficiary becomes the sole owner of the property.
An entity cannot be the beneficiary.
Although each owner may cash without the other’s knowledge or agreement, most other transactions require both owners’ signatures.
On an EE savings bond, what does POD stand for?
Beneficiary and owner. Transactions can only be made by the owner. If he or she passes away, the beneficiary becomes the sole owner of the property. An entity cannot be the beneficiary. “PAYABLE ON DEATH,” or “POD,” is written on the registration.
What is the procedure for converting paper bonds to electronic bonds?
When you do a SmartExchange, you exchange your paper savings bonds for electronic savings bonds kept in TreasuryDirect, an online system that allows you to access your Treasury assets at any time.
- If you don’t already have one, sign up for a TreasuryDirect account. To get started, simply fill out our simple online application.
- To create your Conversion Linked Account, click the icon. The Account Info page for that account will appear after you do so.
- Select the ManageDirect tab from the drop-down menu. A menu titled “Manage my Conversions” can be found on the ManageDirect page.
- Click the “How to Convert My Paper Bonds” link from the “Manage My Conversions” menu. This page includes step-by-step directions to help you complete the task. We recommend printing this page so you can refer to it when you’re getting started.
Gather your Series E, EE, and I savings bonds and sort them according to their titles and connectors (“OR,” “POD,” or “beneficiary”). Grouping your bonds by registration will make the process of entering the bonds you want to convert much easier.
If you need to access your Conversion Linked Account at a later time, go to your principal Account Summary page and look for “My Converted Bonds” in the account listing under “Linked Accounts Information.”
You will no longer need to keep track of paper securities once you have completed the SmartExchange.
See “Convert Your Paper Savings Bonds Using SmartExchange” for additional information and other benefits.