FS Form 5394: A Decedent's Treasury Securities, Closed or Small Estate

FS Form 5394 is the form Treasury uses to distribute a dead person’s Treasury securities to the people entitled to them when the estate has already been through a court and closed, or when it is being settled under a state’s small-estate law without a court-appointed representative. Its full title is “Agreement and Request for Disposition of a Decedent’s Treasury Securities,” and the revision used here is dated May 2026.

The three paths, side by side

Treasury does not hand out a single form for a dead owner’s bonds. TreasuryDirect’s page on the death of a savings bond owner starts with who owns the bond, and only then does the estate question arise. If a surviving coowner or beneficiary is named on the bond, it goes directly to that person and does not become part of the estate. If one person is named and has died, or both named people have died, the bond belongs to the estate of the one who died last. For the estate cases, the sources point to different forms depending on how the estate is being handled.

Two rows deserve a comment. The $100,000 ceiling is defined on TreasuryDirect’s page as savings bonds and other Treasury securities that “in total come to $100,000 or less in redemption value as of the date of death,” and FS Form 5336 words the test as redemption and/or par value and includes related payments. And the same page that tells you to use FS Form 5336 says the estate must not have been, and not be going to be, “settled under special provisions of state law relating to small estates.” That is exactly the situation FS Form 5394 exists for, which is why a small-estate affidavit sends you to this form even when the amounts are small. For the no-court route, see our guide to FS Form 5336 for a deceased owner without probate.

What the form says it is for

The use-of-form box says to use it “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 belonging to a decedent’s estate,” but only under one of two circumstances. Part B turns them into check boxes. Box 1 is for an estate that “has been administered, the legal representative discharged, and the estate closed,” and the evidence is a certified copy of the final account or decree of distribution. Box 2 is for an estate being settled “in accordance with State statute,” the form’s examples being Summary Administration, the Small Estates Act, Texas Muniment of Title and Louisiana Judgment of Possession, and the evidence is whatever state law requires.

The instructions put the evidence more precisely. For a closed estate: a certified copy under court seal of the final account or decree of distribution, if any. For a state-statute estate: a certified copy, if filed with the court, of the evidence that distributes the securities or payments or establishes your authority to collect the estate’s proceeds under the state law. Part A requires certified copies of the death certificates for all deceased registrants. If more than one person named on the securities has died, the form asks for the information on the person who died last.

Who is entitled, and who signs

Part C lists everyone who is entitled to the securities or payments, the basis of each person’s entitlement (“legatee” and “surviving spouse” are the form’s own examples), and the age of anyone under 21. A second list names anyone under legal disability, with the nature of the disability, the name and address of the representative and the capacity in which that person acts, such as legal guardian or conservator. The representative of a person under legal disability must submit a certified copy under court seal of the letters of appointment, dated within one year of submission.

The signing rule is broader than the one on FS Form 5336. The application must be signed in ink by:

• all competent persons listed in Part C, Item 1, and Part D, Item 1;
• the legal guardian or similar representative of any person under legal disability listed in Part C, Item 2, or Part D, Item 1; and
• a parent on behalf of any minor listed in Part C, Item 1, or Part D, Item 1.

Where FS Form 5336 lets a single voluntary representative collect on behalf of everyone, this form is an agreement among the people entitled. The signature section has them certify under penalty of perjury that the information is true and agree to the distribution in Part D, and bind themselves, their heirs, legatees, successors and assigns, jointly and severally, to hold the United States harmless and to repay it, with interest, administrative costs and penalties, in the event of loss. They also consent to the release of information about the transaction to anyone with an ownership or entitlement interest.

What each person can elect

Each entitled person gets a separate Part D, and a person who wants different things for different securities needs a separate Part D for each registration or type of distribution. The instructions tell you to describe only the securities and checks that the person named in Item 1 is entitled to, identifying each by series, interest rate, type, CUSIP, call and maturity date as appropriate, with the issue date, face amount, serial or confirmation or check number, and the registration. If a Taxpayer Identification Number appears in the registration but is masked, the instructions ask for the entire number.

The distribution choices depend on what the security is:

The instructions add several limits. Securities cannot be transferred from one series or term to another. Eligible securities can be transferred within Legacy Treasury Direct but not into it from outside. Savings bonds within one month of final maturity cannot be reissued, and the instructions explain that reissue or transfer is not an option if there is not enough time to process it before the security matures, in which case payment is issued instead. The form says all savings bonds of Series A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, J and K, and all savings notes, have reached final maturity. Individual savings bonds may not be split, while marketable securities may be distributed in full or in increments of $100. Interest that is due or becomes due on estate securities is paid to the person who receives them “unless otherwise requested.”

Anyone who wants a Series EE or I bond reissued or transferred needs a TreasuryDirect account number. The form’s note says that reissued EE and I bonds are no longer paper; they are electronic, in TreasuryDirect. Since October 28, 2026, ID.me has been the only login for TreasuryDirect, according to TreasuryDirect’s FAQ. Our guide to TreasuryDirect without ID.me summarizes what the FAQ covers. For a payment by direct deposit, the person named must provide the bank details, and the instructions say that all persons requesting payment must sign in Part E; if the money goes to an account in someone else’s name, that person or a representative who can authorize the deposit must also sign.

TreasuryDirect’s court-appointed page adds a note about Series HH bonds: all of them have reached final maturity, so they can no longer be reissued and must be redeemed. They can still be distributed, with FS Form 1455 or FS Form 5336, to a person who then completes FS Form 1522.

Certification: a certifying officer, not a notary

The form is blunt: “Sign in ink in the presence of a certifying officer and provide the requested information.” The instructions define the step: each person whose signature is required must appear before an authorized certifying individual, establish identification and sign in that person’s presence. The certifying individual must affix the seal or stamp used when certifying requests for payment, and “Authorized certifying individuals are available at most banking institutions, including credit unions. Certification by a notary isn’t acceptable.”

Acceptable stamps are a financial institution’s official seal or stamp (Signature Guaranteed, Endorsement Guaranteed, corporate, or issuing or paying agent, the last with name, location and either a four-digit identification number or a nine-digit routing number) and the stamp of a Treasury-recognized Signature Guarantee Program or other Treasury-approved Medallion Program. Notary seals are not on the list. The certifying officer must fill in the names of the persons who appeared and the date, and an original signature is required if a Medallion stamp is used. Compare this with the other forms in our table of notary and certifying-officer rules. Because several heirs sign, TreasuryDirect’s forms page advises waiting to sign until you are with the certifying person.

What to send, and what it will not do

The form says to send the form “without instruction pages,” all securities and related checks, and any necessary evidence to Treasury Retail Securities Services, PO Box 9150, Minneapolis, MN 55480-9150. TreasuryDirect’s court-appointed page adds that bonds go in unsigned, and that the package should include a certified signature for each person required, any paperwork the form asks for, a death certificate for each deceased person on the bonds, and the court or small-estate documentation. Legal evidence cannot be returned, so it recommends legible copies with visible stamps or seals.

Treasury also reserves the right in any case to require additional evidence, and the instructions warn that in some circumstances it may ask for further forms or information, in which case it will provide them. The form estimates about 30 minutes to complete and gives no processing time. If a bond turns up missing, TreasuryDirect’s page on non-administered estates names FS Form 1048 for the claim; the sources do not describe how that claim is combined with FS Form 5394. Heirs who want to keep an EE or I bond rather than cash it are sent to FS Form 4000 on TreasuryDirect’s court-appointed page, and the bond is reissued electronically.

Sources

• FS Form 5394, Agreement and Request for Disposition of a Decedent’s Treasury Securities (rev. May 2026), including its instructions: https://www.treasurydirect.gov/forms/sav5394.pdf
• 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
• TreasuryDirect, Death of a savings bond owner: https://www.treasurydirect.gov/savings-bonds/manage-bonds/death-of-owner/
• TreasuryDirect, Non-administered estates: https://www.treasurydirect.gov/savings-bonds/manage-bonds/death-of-owner/non-administered-estates/
• TreasuryDirect, Court-appointed representatives: https://www.treasurydirect.gov/savings-bonds/manage-bonds/death-of-owner/court-appointed-representatives/
• TreasuryDirect, Forms for Savings Bonds: https://www.treasurydirect.gov/savings-bonds/forms/
• TreasuryDirect, FAQs about ID.me, read November 2, 2026: https://www.treasurydirect.gov/savings-bonds/help-center/faqs/idme-faq/