I Lost My Series I Savings Bond Certificate. What Do I Do?

If you lost your Series I savings bonds or your savings bonds were destroyed, you don't need to panic. All savings bonds are what Wall Street likes to call "registered securities". That means that the United States Treasury records show your name, social security number, and whether or not you have cashed your savings bonds. That means that if you lose your bonds, you can have a replacement bond issued to you with just a little bit of effort on your part.

Reissuing Savings Bonds vs. Replacing Savings Bonds

There is a big difference between replacing lost, mutilated, or destroyed savings bonds and reissuing savings bonds because you want to add a co-owner, beneficiary, remove a divorce spouse from the bonds, etc.

For lost Series I savings bonds, you need to fill out Form PD F 1048. You then mail it back to the Treasury Department's designated address; as of the end of 2009, it was as follows:

Bureau of the Public Debt
P.O. Box 7012
Parkersburg, WV 26106-7012

(Seriously, though, don't rely on that information because the Government may change its internal procedures. You need to verify that the mailing address is still the one to send your savings bond replacement form.)

Within a few weeks, you should receive replacement savings bonds. The original bonds now belong the United States Government and you need to send them back or destroy them if you find them. That's all it takes! A quick trip to get some information notarized, mailed back in to the Government, and viola! New replacement Series I savings bonds show up in the mail.

More About the Series I Savings Bond

You can read our Guide to Investing in Series I Savings Bonds. This will walk you through tons of information about savings bonds, especially the series I savings bond, including how you can add them to your portfolio, annual purchase limits, ownership requirements, tax benefits, and much more.