FS Form 1851 is the U.S. Treasury form titled Request to Reissue United States Savings Bonds to a Personal Trust, and it lets the owner of paper Series EE, E, or I savings bonds move those bonds into a personal (living) trust. You file it with the Bureau of the Fiscal Service, and once the Treasury processes it, your reissued EE and I bonds become electronic bonds held inside a TreasuryDirect trust account.
This form sits at the heart of many estate plans, since putting bonds in a trust helps them pass to heirs without probate. Get a serial number wrong, skip the certifying officer’s stamp, or check the wrong tax box, and the Treasury sends the whole package back, costing you weeks. The current version is FS Form 1851 (Revised April 2026), OMB No. 1530-0036, and the Treasury estimates it takes about 15 minutes to complete once you have your facts gathered.
Here is what you will learn in this guide:
- 📋 What FS Form 1851 does and exactly who is allowed to file it
- ✍️ A line-by-line walkthrough of every box, with sample entries you can copy
- 👨👩👧 Three full filled-out examples that follow real people through the form
- ⚠️ The field-level mistakes that get forms rejected and how to dodge them
- 📬 Where to mail the form, what to attach, and what happens after you file
What the Form Is and Who Must File It
FS Form 1851 is a reissue request, not a redemption form. Reissue means the Treasury cancels your old paper bond and issues a replacement registered in a new name, here the name of your personal trust. The form is published by the Bureau of the Fiscal Service within the Department of the Treasury, and it is authorized under 31 U.S.C. Chapter 31, the federal law governing the public debt. The matching regulations live in 31 CFR Part 323, which keeps your holdings confidential.
You use this form only when your bonds are paper and you want them moved into a personal trust you or another natural person created. A personal trust is a trust set up by real people for the benefit of themselves or other real people, such as a revocable living trust. The form names three groups who may file: the owner or both coowners; some other person, as long as the owner or a coowner is a beneficiary of the trust; and for Series EE bonds, some other person if a beneficiary is related to the owner by blood, adoption, or marriage.
A few hard limits matter. HH bonds have all reached final maturity and cannot be reissued into a trust. EE and I bonds cannot be reissued within one month of final maturity. And if your bonds are already electronic in TreasuryDirect, you skip this form entirely and instead open an entity trust account and submit FS Form 5511 to move them. The consequence of filing 1851 for electronic bonds is a flat rejection, because the form’s whole purpose is converting paper into the electronic trust registration.
Before You Start: Documents and Information You Need
Gathering everything first is the single best way to avoid a rejected package, since the Treasury holds incomplete requests and cannot return what you send. Pull these items together before you open the form.
- The paper bonds themselves. You mail the original unsigned bonds, because the Treasury must cancel them; missing bonds mean the reissue cannot happen and you would need FS Form 1048 for a lost-bond claim instead.
- The trust’s Taxpayer Identification Number. This is the trust’s SSN or EIN, used to register the new bonds; a missing or wrong number stalls the reissue and can misroute tax reporting.
- The exact trust name and creation date. The Treasury copies this into the new registration word for word, so a mismatch with your trust document triggers a hold.
- The grantor’s and trustee’s full legal names. These build the registration line; leaving out a co-trustee can invalidate the trust’s authority to act.
- Every bond’s issue date, face amount, and serial number. The Treasury matches each bond to its records, and one wrong digit can reject that bond.
- The current inscription on each bond. That means the full SSN, names with middle initials, and address printed on the bond, used to confirm ownership.
- A TreasuryDirect trust account number (for EE/I bonds). The electronic bonds land here, so without an open account the reissue cannot complete.
- Your tax decision for Item 5. You must know whether you remain the grantor-owner of the deferred interest, since this controls whether a 1099-INT is generated now.
- A certifying officer or notary. Every required signer must sign in front of one, because an uncertified form is automatically returned.
Where to Get the Form and How to Access It
The official, free source for FS Form 1851 is the Treasury’s own site, and you should always download a fresh copy rather than reuse an old PDF. Get the current Revised April 2026 version directly from the FS Form 1851 PDF on TreasuryDirect. You can also reach it from the Forms for Savings Bonds index, which lists every related form in one place.
Confirm the revision date printed in the top-right corner of page 1 before you fill anything in. The Treasury updates these forms, and an outdated version can be rejected because box numbers, certification rules, or mailing addresses may have changed. Reusing a 2015 copy you saved years ago is a common and avoidable error.
You can fill the form two ways. You can type your answers into the fillable PDF on a computer, then print it, which keeps everything legible and reduces handwriting mistakes. Or you can print it blank and complete it in ink. The form itself orders you to “Print in ink or type all information,” so pencil or erasable ink will get the package returned. Do not sign until you are in front of the certifying officer, no matter which method you choose.
Step-by-Step: How to Fill Out FS Form 1851 Line by Line
The form runs across several pages: bond description, trust information, new bond information, a tax notice, the tax statement, and the signature and certification block. Work through each item in order, and use the exact field names printed on the form.
Item 1: Description of Bonds — Total Face Amount
What it asks in plain English. This top line asks for the total dollar value printed on the faces of all the bonds you are moving into the trust.
How to answer it. Add up the face amounts of every bond listed below in Item 1 and write that single total in the blank that reads “in the amount $ ______ (face amount).” Use the printed face value, not what the bond is worth today.
A specific example answer. Margaret Chen is moving three $1,000 I bonds, so she writes 3,000.00 in the face-amount blank.
A nuance or edge case. Face amount is not redemption value. A $1,000 EE bond may be worth $1,800 today, but you still write 1,000 here, because reissue tracks the original denomination.
A common mistake on this field and its direct consequence. Filers write the current cash value instead of face value, which makes the total disagree with the bonds enclosed and forces the Treasury to question the whole request.
A misconception people hold about this field. Many think this figure changes what the trust receives. It does not. The bonds keep their full accrued value; this box is only a description, not a payout amount.
Item 1: Description of Bonds — Issue Date
What it asks in plain English. This column wants the exact month and year each bond was purchased.
How to answer it. Read the issue date printed on the face of each bond and enter it as month and year, such as 03/2004. Each bond gets its own row.
A specific example answer. Margaret Chen lists 03/2004, 09/2004, and 11/2005 for her three I bonds.
A nuance or edge case. The issue date is not the same as the series date or the date you found the bond; use only the “Issue Date” stamped on the bond face.
A common mistake on this field and its direct consequence. Filers guess the year, and a wrong issue date stops the Treasury from matching the bond to its records, which rejects that bond.
A misconception people hold about this field. Some believe a rough date is fine. The Treasury needs the precise month and year because the issue date also drives the one-month-from-maturity rule that can block reissue.
Item 1: Description of Bonds — Face Amount per Bond
What it asks in plain English. This column asks how much each individual bond is worth at its printed denomination.
How to answer it. Write the denomination on each bond’s face, such as $1,000, on its own row next to its issue date and serial number.
A specific example answer. Margaret Chen writes $1,000 on each of her three rows.
A nuance or edge case. Paper EE and I bonds came in set denominations like $50, $100, $500, and $1,000; match exactly what is printed, even if it seems odd.
A common mistake on this field and its direct consequence. Mixing up per-bond face amount with the grand total in the face-amount line creates math that does not add up and slows review.
A misconception people hold about this field. People assume all their bonds share one denomination. List each separately, because a single submission often mixes values.
Item 1: Description of Bonds — Bond Number
What it asks in plain English. This column asks for the unique serial number that identifies each bond.
How to answer it. Copy the serial number exactly from the lower-right corner of the bond, including the letter prefix and suffix, onto each bond’s row.
A specific example answer. Margaret Chen enters L123456789I for her first bond, copying every character.
A nuance or edge case. If you run out of rows, attach a separate list or use FS Form 3500 rather than cramming numbers into the margins.
A common mistake on this field and its direct consequence. Transposing or dropping a digit in the serial number is the top reason a single bond gets kicked back, because the Treasury cannot find it.
A misconception people hold about this field. Some think the issue date alone identifies a bond. The serial number is the true unique key, so it must be perfect.
Item 1: Description of Bonds — Inscription
What it asks in plain English. This column asks for the exact ownership details currently printed on each bond.
How to answer it. Write the complete Social Security Number (such as 123-45-6789), the full names including middle names or initials, and the address (street, city, state) as they appear on the bond.
A specific example answer. Margaret Chen writes 123-45-6789, Margaret A. Chen, 482 Oak Lane, Austin, TX.
A nuance or edge case. If the bond shows a coowner or beneficiary, include that person too, because the Treasury verifies every name in the current registration.
A common mistake on this field and its direct consequence. Filers shorten or modernize the name or address, and any difference from the printed bond raises an ownership question that holds the request.
A misconception people hold about this field. People think they should enter their current address. Enter what is printed on the bond; you can update contact details elsewhere.
Item 2: Trust Information
What it asks in plain English. This section asks for the core identity details of the personal trust receiving the bonds.
How to answer it. Enter the Taxpayer Identification Number assigned to the trust, the grantor’s name, the trustee’s name, the date the trust was created, and the names of any beneficiaries if it is an FBO (for-benefit-of) trust. If there is more than one grantor or trustee, list them all.
A specific example answer. Margaret Chen enters her trust’s EIN, grantor Margaret A. Chen, trustee Margaret A. Chen, created 2/1/2025, with no FBO beneficiary line because she is her own beneficiary.
A nuance or edge case. For a trust someone else created where you are the beneficiary, name that other grantor here, since the form allows third-party-created trusts under set conditions.
A common mistake on this field and its direct consequence. Leaving out a co-trustee makes the registration incomplete, and the Treasury cannot confirm who has authority to act for the trust.
A misconception people hold about this field. Many assume the trust always uses a brand-new EIN. A revocable grantor trust often uses the grantor’s SSN, so use whatever number the trust actually carries.
Item 3: New Bond Information — Registration
What it asks in plain English. This section tells the Treasury exactly how to title the reissued bonds and where the electronic EE and I bonds should land.
How to answer it. For Series EE or I bonds, provide the trust’s TreasuryDirect account number and the trust’s SSN or EIN. Then write the “Registration” line showing the trustee’s name, the grantor’s name, and the trust’s creation date.
A specific example answer. Margaret Chen writes Margaret A. Chen, trustee under declaration of trust dated 2/1/2025, matching a sample registration on the form.
A nuance or edge case. With a corporate or institutional trustee of a common trust fund, you also submit FS Form 1455 so the bonds can be reissued in the institution’s name as trustee.
A common mistake on this field and its direct consequence. Filers write the registration in their own words instead of following the Treasury’s sample formats, and a non-conforming title gets rejected as ineligible.
A misconception people hold about this field. People expect new paper bonds to arrive. EE and I bonds are reissued only as electronic bonds in TreasuryDirect, so you must have the trust account open first.
Item 4: Tax Liability Notice
What it asks in plain English. This is not a fill-in box; it is a notice you must read before you touch Item 5.
How to answer it. Read it carefully. It explains that moving bonds into a trust can make accumulated interest taxable now, unless under the grantor trust rules of the Internal Revenue Code you are still treated as the owner of the deferred interest.
A specific example answer. David Okafor reads this and learns that because he can revoke his trust at any time, he is still treated as the owner and can keep deferring the interest.
A nuance or edge case. If you are unsure whether you count as the owner, the notice says you may request a letter ruling from the IRS at the Washington, DC address it lists.
A common mistake on this field and its direct consequence. Skipping this notice leads filers to guess on Item 5, which can trigger an unexpected 1099-INT and a surprise tax bill.
A misconception people hold about this field. Some think reissue into a trust is always a taxable event. With a typical revocable living trust you control, the deferral usually continues.
Item 5: Tax Liability Statement
What it asks in plain English. This required section asks you to certify whether you stay the tax owner of the bonds’ deferred interest.
How to answer it. Check box “a” if you will be treated as owner of the deferred interest, which keeps the interest tax-deferred with no reporting now. Check box “b” if you will not, which causes the interest to be reported to the IRS for the reissue year and a 1099-INT to be issued.
A specific example answer. David Okafor, who controls his revocable trust, checks box a so his interest keeps growing tax-deferred.
A nuance or edge case. If you check “b” and the bonds are in coownership form like “John Smith OR Jane Smith,” you must also name the principal coowner and that person’s SSN, since they carry the tax liability.
A common mistake on this field and its direct consequence. Leaving both boxes blank voids the section, and the Treasury cannot process the form without a tax election.
A misconception people hold about this field. Filers think this choice is reversible later. The statement also applies to all future transactions by the same owner for that trust, so choose carefully.
Item 6: Signatures and Certification
What it asks in plain English. This block is where the required people sign, under penalty of perjury, in front of an official who verifies their identity.
How to answer it. The owner or both coowners and the acting trustee sign in ink, but only in the presence of a notary or authorized certifying officer. Each signer prints their name, SSN, mailing address, daytime phone, and email. For EE and I bonds, the trustee who is the TreasuryDirect account manager must also sign to agree to electronic reissue.
A specific example answer. David Okafor and his certifying officer at his credit union complete the block; the officer affixes a Signature Guaranteed medallion stamp next to David’s original signature.
A nuance or edge case. If a required signer has died, you submit a certified copy of the death certificate, since the Treasury still needs to account for that person’s interest.
A common mistake on this field and its direct consequence. Signing the form at home before reaching the notary voids the certification, and the Treasury returns the entire package unprocessed.
A misconception people hold about this field. Many assume any notary is enough. The Treasury also accepts financial-institution medallion and signature-guarantee stamps, and a plain notary may be rejected by some banks for bond work, so confirm acceptable certification first.
Three Filled-Out Examples Using Real Scenarios
These three scenarios follow named filers through the most common 1851 situations, showing what each person enters in the major sections.
Scenario 1: Single owner moving I bonds into her revocable living trust. Margaret Chen, a retiree in Austin, wants her three paper I bonds inside her living trust so they skip probate.
| Form Section | What Margaret Enters |
|---|---|
| Item 1 – Total face amount | 3,000.00 |
| Item 1 – Issue dates | 03/2004, 09/2004, 11/2005 |
| Item 1 – Face amount per bond | $1,000 each |
| Item 1 – Bond numbers | L123456789I and two others, copied exactly |
| Item 1 – Inscription | 123-45-6789, Margaret A. Chen, 482 Oak Lane, Austin, TX |
| Item 2 – Trust information | EIN, grantor Margaret A. Chen, trustee Margaret A. Chen, created 2/1/2025 |
| Item 3 – Registration | Margaret A. Chen, trustee under declaration of trust dated 2/1/2025 |
| Item 5 – Tax statement | Box a checked (stays tax-deferred) |
| Item 6 – Signatures | Margaret signs in front of a bank certifying officer |
Scenario 2: Married couple moving coowned EE bonds into a joint trust. John and Jane Smith hold paper EE bonds as coowners and want them in their joint revocable trust.
| Form Section | What John and Jane Enter |
|---|---|
| Item 1 – Total face amount | 5,000.00 |
| Item 1 – Issue dates | 06/2002 through 01/2006, one per bond |
| Item 1 – Bond numbers | Each EE serial number copied exactly |
| Item 1 – Inscription | 987-65-4321, John Smith OR Jane Smith, 12 Pine St, Denver, CO |
| Item 2 – Trust information | Trust EIN, grantors John Smith and Jane Smith, trustees John Smith and Jane Smith, created 5/10/2024 |
| Item 3 – Registration | John Smith and Jane Smith, trustees under agreement dated 5/10/2024 |
| Item 5 – Tax statement | Box a checked; both treated as owners |
| Item 6 – Signatures | Both coowners and the account-manager trustee sign before a certifying officer |
Scenario 3: Owner moving bonds into a trust managed by a separate trustee. David Okafor owns paper EE bonds and wants them in a trust where his daughter Grace is the trustee, with David as beneficiary.
| Form Section | What David and Grace Enter |
|---|---|
| Item 1 – Total face amount | 2,000.00 |
| Item 1 – Issue dates | 08/2003 and 02/2005 |
| Item 1 – Bond numbers | Both EE serial numbers copied exactly |
| Item 1 – Inscription | 555-22-1111, David Okafor, 9 Birch Rd, Tampa, FL |
| Item 2 – Trust information | Trust EIN, grantor David Okafor, trustee Grace Okafor, created 3/3/2025, FBO David Okafor |
| Item 3 – Registration | Grace Okafor, trustee under agreement with David Okafor dated 3/3/2025 FBO David Okafor |
| Item 5 – Tax statement | Box a checked; David retains owner treatment |
| Item 6 – Signatures | David signs as owner; Grace signs as account-manager trustee, both certified |
How to File the Completed Form
FS Form 1851 is a mail-only form; there is no online portal, fax, or in-person counter for it. After everyone has signed and the form is certified, you assemble the package and send it through the mail.
- Where to mail. Send the form, the unsigned bonds, and any supporting documents to Treasury Retail Securities Services, P.O. Box 9150, Minneapolis, MN 55480-9150, the address printed in the “Where to Send” instructions on the form.
- Fee. There is no filing fee for reissuing bonds into a trust, so you pay only for postage and any certification service.
- Payment and certification cost. Banks and credit unions often certify or medallion-stamp for free for their customers; outside notaries may charge a small fee.
- Processing time. Treasury savings-bond processing has run long in recent years, so plan for several weeks to a few months, and call ahead if you are near a maturity deadline.
- Proof of filing. Keep a full photocopy of the signed, certified form and a list of the serial numbers, and use tracked or certified mail so you have proof of delivery; the Treasury cannot return what you send.
For questions before you mail, you can reach Treasury Retail Securities Services by phone at 844-284-2676, and general guidance lives on the trusts and savings bonds page. Never send the form to the Parkersburg, WV address in the Paperwork Reduction Act notice; that address is only for comments about the form.
What Happens After You File
Once the Treasury receives a complete, certified package, it cancels your old paper bonds and reissues them in the trust’s registration. For Series EE and I bonds, the replacements are electronic and appear in the trust’s TreasuryDirect account, not as new paper certificates. This is why the trust account must already be open and named in Item 3.
If anything is missing, incomplete, or inconsistent, the Treasury holds the request and may write to ask for more, since it reserves the right to require additional evidence. A wrong serial number, a blank tax box, or an uncertified signature each restart the clock, and because they cannot return your bonds, fixing errors can take weeks. This is the practical reason to mail a clean, complete package the first time.
After reissue, the trust controls the bonds, and the bonds continue earning interest under the same terms. Your Item 5 election then governs how interest is reported going forward, including for future transactions on that trust. The account manager trustee can later manage, redeem, or distribute the bonds through TreasuryDirect.
Mistakes to Avoid When Filling Out the Form
Each field on FS Form 1851 is its own chance to slip, so watch these specific errors.
- Using the form for electronic bonds. It is rejected outright; electronic bonds need a trust account and FS Form 5511 instead.
- Signing before reaching the certifying officer. The certification is void, and the entire package comes back.
- Transposing a serial number. The Treasury cannot match that bond, so it is kicked out of the request.
- Writing redemption value instead of face value. The totals disagree with the enclosed bonds and trigger review.
- Leaving Item 5 blank. Without a tax election, the form cannot be processed at all.
- Skipping a co-trustee in Item 2. The trust’s authority looks incomplete and the request stalls.
- Inventing your own registration wording. A non-conforming title is rejected as an ineligible registration.
- Signing the bonds you enclose. Bonds must be sent unsigned, or the Treasury treats them as improperly presented.
- Forgetting the trustee’s account-manager signature. EE and I reissue into TreasuryDirect cannot proceed without it.
- Sending originals you need back. The Treasury cannot return documents, so a mailed original trust document is gone for good.
- Using an outdated form version. An old revision may not match current rules and can be returned.
- Reissuing within one month of maturity. EE and I bonds that close to final maturity cannot be reissued.
Do’s and Don’ts
These quick rules capture the habits that keep a 1851 package moving.
Do’s
- Do download a fresh form from TreasuryDirect, because the April 2026 revision is the version the Treasury expects.
- Do copy serial numbers character by character, since one wrong digit rejects a bond.
- Do open the trust’s TreasuryDirect account first, because EE and I bonds reissue only as electronic.
- Do read Item 4 before checking Item 5, so your tax election is correct.
- Do use tracked mail, since the Treasury cannot replace a lost package.
- Do keep a full copy of the signed, certified form for your records.
Don’ts
- Don’t sign at home, because off-site signatures void the certification.
- Don’t sign the bonds, since enclosed bonds must stay blank.
- Don’t mail original trust documents when copies will do, because nothing is returned.
- Don’t guess issue dates, as a wrong date can block reissue near maturity.
- Don’t paraphrase the registration, because only the Treasury’s formats are accepted.
- Don’t use this form for HH or electronic bonds, since neither qualifies.
Pros and Cons of Filing on Your Own vs. With Help
Many people complete FS Form 1851 alone, while others lean on an estate-planning attorney; weighing both helps you decide.
Pros of filing on your own
- No professional fee, because the form has no filing cost and you supply the trust details.
- Full control over your own bond and trust information, which you know best.
- Speed, since you can mail the moment your certification is done.
- Privacy, because fewer people handle your SSN and trust facts.
- Learning value, as you understand your own estate plan more deeply.
Cons of filing on your own
- Registration errors are easy, and a wrong title gets rejected.
- Tax missteps on Item 5 can create a surprise 1099-INT.
- Slow fixes, because each rejected package adds weeks.
- Complex trusts with co-trustees or institutional trustees raise tricky form questions.
- No second set of eyes to catch a transposed serial number before mailing.
FAQs
Is FS Form 1851 only for paper savings bonds?
Yes. You use it only when your bonds are paper. Electronic bonds go into a trust by opening an entity trust account and filing FS Form 5511 instead.
Will I get new paper bonds back after I file?
No. Series EE and I bonds are reissued only as electronic bonds in a TreasuryDirect trust account, never as new paper certificates.
Can I move HH bonds into a trust with this form?
No. All HH bonds have reached final maturity and cannot be reissued into a trust registration at all.
Is there a filing fee for FS Form 1851?
No. The Treasury charges no fee to reissue bonds into a personal trust; you pay only postage and any certification cost.
Do I write the bond’s current value or its face value in Item 1?
No, not the current value. Write the printed face amount, such as $1,000, because Item 1 describes the bond, not its payout.
Do I list every bond’s serial number separately?
Yes. Each bond needs its own row with its exact serial number, and you attach a list or FS Form 3500 if you run out of space.
Should I check box “a” or box “b” in Item 5?
Yes, you must check one. Check “a” if you stay the tax owner of the deferred interest, or “b” if you do not and accept a 1099-INT now.
Do I need a notary, or can a bank stamp work?
Yes, a bank can work. The Treasury accepts a notary seal, a financial-institution signature-guarantee or medallion stamp, or an approved Medallion Program stamp.
Can I sign the form at home before mailing it?
No. Every required signer must sign in the presence of the notary or certifying officer, or the certification is void.
Do I sign the actual bonds I enclose?
No. Send the bonds unsigned, because signed bonds are treated as improperly presented and delay the request.
Does the trustee have to sign if I am moving EE or I bonds?
Yes. The trustee who is the TreasuryDirect account manager must sign to agree to electronic reissue into the trust account.
Where do I mail the completed form?
Yes, there is one address. Mail it with the unsigned bonds to Treasury Retail Securities Services, P.O. Box 9150, Minneapolis, MN 55480-9150.
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