How to Correct Mistakes on Series EE Bonds

The Treasury Department can reissue savings bonds that were incorrect.

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As of Jan. 1, 2012, the Treasury Department stopped issuing paper Series EE savings bonds. People who still own paper bonds should examine them to be sure the bonds were correctly issued. If you own a bond with incorrect information printed on it, contact the Treasury Department to have it reissued.

Step 1

Examine your Series EE bonds for errors. The Treasury Department reissues bonds only when the mistakes would make it impossible for the owners to redeem them. The Treasury Department will not reissue a bond if the name contains a minor typographical error, or if the bondholder has moved and the bond shows the previous address. The department also will not reissue your bonds to correct the Social Security number. But it will correct the number for its records. Treasury uses your Social Security number as a way to index and find your savings bonds records, not for tax reporting.

Step 2

Review your Series EE bonds to see whether the mistakes meet the Treasury Department’s reissue criteria. If you cannot redeem the bonds because of a misspelled name, go to the Treasury Department’s website, TreasuryDirect.gov. Look at the menu across the top of the page and click on Forms. Under the Forms for Individual/Personal Use heading, click on Savings Bonds Forms. Scroll down the page until you come to the List of Available Forms. Scroll down further to the Reissue Forms heading and look for Form PDF 4000, Request to Reissue United States Savings Bonds.

Step 3

Click on the PDF link beside Form 4000. Once the form has downloaded, fill in the information online. You cannot save the form, so print out a copy once you have completed it. The form must be medallion-stamped by a financial institution officer or your stockbroker. Do not sign the form until you are in front of one of these individuals. Make a copy of the stamped form for your records. Mail the form and the bonds to one of two addresses: Bureau of the Public Debt, P.O. Box 7012, Parkersburg, WV 26106-7012; or Treasury Retail Securities Site, P.O. Box 214, Minneapolis, MN 55480-0214.

Step 4

Correct your Social Security number by writing a letter to the Treasury Department. Include your name and address, the incorrect Social Security number, and the correct one. For each bond issued with an incorrect Social Security number include the bond’s serial number, the date it was issued, the denomination printed on the bond’s face, and the name of the registered owner, or the names of any co-owners or beneficiaries in your letter. Do not send the bonds. Mail the letter to Securities Account Branch, Accounting Control Branch, Bureau of the Public Debt, P.O. Box 7012, Parkersburg, WV 26106-7012.