FS Form 5336: Cashing a Deceased Owner's Savings Bonds Without Probate

Settling a parent’s or spouse’s affairs rarely stays tidy, and savings bonds can be the loose end that surfaces last. Opening a court-supervised estate just to deal with them can feel out of proportion when the amounts are modest. Treasury has a shortcut for that situation, FS Form 5336, but it comes with a firm dollar ceiling, a strict ranking of who may sign, and a rule that every security goes into one transaction.

The short answer: FS Form 5336 lets one “voluntary representative” ask Treasury to pay, transfer or distribute a deceased person’s securities without any court appointment, but only if the securities and related payments are not worth more than $100,000 at the date of death. Only a surviving spouse, a blood relative or a legally adopted child can use it, in the order of precedence printed on the form. Every security belonging to the estate must be included in a single request. A certifying officer must witness the signature; a notary suffices only if the transaction involves nothing but paper savings bonds.

What a voluntary representative is

The form’s title is “Disposition of Treasury Securities Belonging to a Decedent’s Estate Being Settled Without Administration,” revised April 2026. Its instructions define the role: “A voluntary representative is a person qualified by the Department of the Treasury to request disposition of United States Treasury Securities (Treasury bills, notes, bonds, TIPS, Floating Rate Notes, Savings Bonds, and Savings Notes) and/or related payments (not exceeding $100,000) that belong to a decedent’s estate if the estate is not being administered through the court.”

In plain terms, this is a person with no court-issued authority who is nevertheless allowed to deal with the securities. The form is both the application to be the representative and the request for what you want done. The form says a person uses it “1) to apply to act as voluntary representative, and 2) to request disposition of United States Treasury Securities and/or related payments belonging to the estate.”

The $100,000 ceiling

The most important sentence on the first page is this one: “If the decedent’s securities and/or related payments are worth over $100,000 redemption and/or par value as of the date of death, Treasury regulations require that the estate be administered through the court; in that event, this form may not be used.” The test is measured at the date of death, and it counts redemption value or par value, whichever applies to the type of security. If the total is $100,000 or less, the shortcut is available. If it is $100,001, it is not.

The ceiling is not the only gate. Part A requires you to certify that “a legal representative has not been and will not be appointed through the court and that the estate will not be settled in accordance with the law of the decedent’s domicile (such as Summary Administration, Small Estates Act, Texas Muniment of Title, Louisiana Judgment of Possession, etc.).” If that statement does not apply to you, the form’s answer is “do not complete this form,” and you instead send the securities and all evidence about the estate to the address in the “Where to Send” section. The instructions add that if a court has already appointed a legal representative, if the estate has been administered and is now closed, or if you hold “a document establishing entitlement to the estate (other than an unprobated will),” the form is also the wrong one.

Who is allowed to sign: the order of precedence

Part B opens with the qualification test: “a person must be competent and eighteen years of age or older and be eligible according to the Order of Precedence for Voluntary Representative shown below.” Then comes a warning that surprises people: “Only a blood relative, legally adopted child, or surviving spouse of the decedent can complete and submit this form.” The instructions repeat that this restriction “applies even to a person acting as an attorney-in-fact.”

The order of precedence, as printed on the form, runs like this. You are first in line if you are the surviving spouse. Next is a child of the decedent, but only if there is no competent surviving spouse. After that comes a descendant of a deceased child of the decedent, if none of the above are competent. Then a parent of the decedent, if none of the above are competent. Then a brother or sister of the decedent, with the same condition, and a descendant of a deceased brother or sister. The last box is next of kin of the decedent as determined by the law of the jurisdiction in which the decedent was domiciled at the date of death, with the same condition, and there you write in your relationship to the decedent.

The instructions give a concrete example: “if the decedent leaves a competent surviving spouse and children (over the age of eighteen), the competent surviving spouse must complete this form. If there is no competent surviving spouse, one of the children (over the age of eighteen) must complete this form.” One more rule keeps competing family members from each filing their own request: “We will recognize only ONE voluntary representative to act at any time on behalf of the decedent’s estate.”

Everything goes in at once

The form is firm that no one gets to cherry-pick. The first bullet on page one reads “ALL securities belonging to the decedent’s estate must be included in this transaction.” The instructions repeat it near the end, in the “Where to Send” section: “Use only one form and describe all the securities.” Paper bonds, electronic bonds and marketable Treasuries all belong on one form, signed by one representative.

Part A also asks for the name of the deceased owner (and if more than one person is named on the securities, the one who died last), the decedent’s Social Security number and the state, district or territory of legal residence, together with “certified copies of the death certificates for all deceased registrants.”

What you can ask Treasury to do

Part C lists three choices, and you mark the one or ones that apply. The first is payment to yourself as voluntary representative, on behalf of everyone entitled to share in the estate, except for unmatured marketable securities. The second is transfer of unmatured marketable securities to a financial institution, broker or dealer account in your name, to be sold on behalf of all persons entitled. The third is distribution of the securities and related payments to the persons entitled under the law of the decedent’s domicile; if you check this one, the other two cannot be checked.

Payment under the first option is by direct deposit for savings bonds, paper or electronic, and for matured electronic marketable securities. The form is careful about the exception, and we reproduce it exactly: “Payment for paper marketable securities will be made by check. (This does NOT include savings bonds. Payment for savings bonds will be made by direct deposit.)” So a decedent’s paper savings bond is paid by deposit into the account you name, while a paper Treasury bond certificate would be paid by check.

If the estate has unmatured marketable securities, Part E handles the transfer to a brokerage. Three warnings sit in the instructions: “All scheduled reinvestments will be cancelled at the time of transfer”; “Only original signatures and forms will be accepted (stamped signatures are not acceptable)”; and “TRANSFER REQUESTS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED WITH ALTERATIONS OR CORRECTIONS.” The form also notes that “Securities CANNOT be transferred to a checking or savings account since they can only accept money.”

Distribution, splits and the trust restriction

When you choose distribution in Part F, you complete one section for each person entitled, giving that person’s name, Social Security number, telephone number, address and email, and describing only the securities that person is to receive. The form allows for three distributees on its face. The rules that govern the split are quoted from the form: “Individual savings bonds (Series EE, E, I, HH, and H) may not be split. Each savings bond must be distributed, in its entirety, to an entitled individual. Marketable securities may be distributed in full or in increments of $100. Savings bonds issued in electronic form must be at least $25.”

Arithmetic keeps this practical. A $5,000 marketable Treasury can be divided between two people in $100 pieces, so $2,500 and $2,500 works, while a single paper Series EE bond cannot be cut in half and must go whole to one person. Treasury also needs follow-up paperwork from each person who receives something: “In all cases, we need an additional form or forms from the distributee as indicated in Part F.” For paper savings bonds, a person who wants payment must submit FS Form 1522, which we explain in our guide on cashing paper savings bonds by mail, and a person who wants the bonds reissued to himself or herself must submit FS Form 4000. Those entitled to electronic securities held in TreasuryDirect must submit FS Form 5511 for transfer or FS Form 5512 for redemption. The form adds that “Savings bonds within one month of final maturity cannot be reissued.” And on the topic that causes the most trouble for families with trusts: “You cannot use this form to distribute bonds or to make payment to a trust.”

Signing and certification

Part G is where the representative takes on responsibility. By signing, you certify under penalty of perjury that the information is true and that you are eligible to act, and you agree to “distribute payment made to me as voluntary representative” to the persons entitled under the law of the decedent’s domicile. The form states plainly that “The United States is not liable to any person for the improper distribution of payments or securities,” and you bind yourself to “hold the United States harmless” and to repay any loss. The instructions also describe payment to the representative as being “for the convenience of the United States” and note that it “does not determine ownership of the securities or their proceeds.” You are collecting on behalf of the others, not claiming their share.

The certification rule is the one that splits this form from the others. The signature block says: “Sign in ink in the presence of a certifying officer and provide the requested information, OR if your transaction is for paper savings bonds only, you can appear before a notary or a certifying officer.” The notary’s own instructions repeat it: “A notary may certify only for a transaction that involves just paper savings bonds.” Combine that with the all-securities-in-one-transaction rule and the practical effect is that one electronic or marketable security in the estate sends the whole request to a bank or credit union. You can see how this compares with the other forms in our table of notary and certifying-officer rules.

Mailing it

The form says to “mail this form (without instruction pages), mail all securities and/or related checks, and mail any necessary evidence” to Treasury Retail Securities Services, P.O. Box 9150, Minneapolis, MN 55480-9150, with the warning “Legal evidence or documentation you submit cannot be returned.” Treasury also “reserves the right in any particular case to require the submission of additional evidence and/or the formal administration of the estate.” The form estimates about 30 minutes to complete and says nothing about how long processing takes, so do not promise relatives a date.

If the holdings include I bonds, our guide on the best time to redeem an I bond is worth a read, and the savings hub covers the neighboring decisions.

Sources

• FS Form 5336, Disposition of Treasury Securities Belonging to a Decedent’s Estate Being Settled Without Administration (rev. April 2026): https://www.treasurydirect.gov/forms/sav5336.pdf
• FS Form 1522 (rev. April 2026): https://www.treasurydirect.gov/forms/sav1522.pdf
• FS Form 4000 (rev. April 2026): https://www.treasurydirect.gov/forms/sav4000.pdf
• FS Form 5511 (rev. March 2026): https://www.treasurydirect.gov/forms/pdf5511.pdf