How To Get A Savings Bond

Savings Bonds As Gifts

You can give savings bonds for any occasion--birthdays, weddings, graduations--or for no occasion at all.

You have three options: electronic Series EE bonds, electronic Series I bonds, and paper Series I bonds.

Electronic Gift Bonds

(Available in Series EE and Series I)

Electronic savings bonds are available in our online program TreasuryDirect.

To buy an electronic savings bond as a gift:

You must have a TreasuryDirect account
The recipient must have a TreasuryDirect account
You must know the recipient's:

Full name
Social Security Number or Taxpayer Identification Number
TreasuryDirect account number

You can give gift bonds to adults or children. A child under 18 can have a TreasuryDirect account only if a parent or other adult custodian creates a minor linked account.

For instructions on how to buy and deliver a gift bond in TreasuryDirect see:

Video on buying
Video on delivering
Step-by-step tip sheet

Two points:

Keep the bonds in your account until you're ready to deliver them.
You must hold the bonds in your TreasuryDirect account for at least five business days before you deliver them to the gift recipient. The five-day hold protects Treasury against loss, by ensuring the ACH debit has been successfully completed before the funds are moved.

When you deliver the bond to the recipient's TreasuryDirect account, we send him or her an e-mail announcing the gift.

Paper Gift Bonds

(Available in Series I only)

When you file your IRS tax return, you can buy paper Series I savings bonds for yourself or others if you are owed a refund. To buy for someone else, ask for the bond to be issued in the name of the other person.

See Using Your Income Tax Refund to Buy Series I U.S.Savings Bonds.

(We no longer sell savings bonds at banks.)