Relief, by the issue of a substitute bond or by payment, is authorized for the loss, theft, destruction, mutilation, or defacement of a bond after receipt by the owner or his or her representative. As a condition for granting relief, the Commissioner of the Fiscal Service, as designee of the Secretary of the Treasury, may require a bond of indemnity, in the form, and with the surety, or security, he considers necessary to protect the interests of the United States. In all cases the savings bond must be identified by serial number and the applicant must submit satisfactory evidence of the loss, theft, or destruction, or a satisfactory explanation of the mutilation or defacement.

(a) If the serial numbers of the lost, stolen, or destroyed bonds are known, the claimant should execute an application for relief on the appropriate form and submit it to the Bureau of the Fiscal Service, Parkersburg, WV 26101.

(b) If the bond serial number is not known, the claimant must provide sufficient information to enable the Bureau of the Fiscal Service to identify the bond by serial number. See § 353.29(c). The Bureau will furnish the proper application form and instructions.

(c) If applicable, a defaced bond and all available fragments of a mutilated bond should be submitted to the Bureau.

(d) The application must be made by the person or persons (including both coowners, if living) authorized under these regulations to request payment of the bond. In addition:

(1) If the bond is in beneficiary form and the owner and beneficiary are both living, both will ordinarily be required to join in the application.

(2) If a minor named on a bond as owner, coowner, or beneficiary is not of sufficient competency and understanding to request payment, both parents will ordinarily be required to join in the application.

(e) If the application is approved on or before February 14, 2014, relief will be granted either by the issuance of a bond bearing the same issue date as the bond for which the claim was filed or by payment. If the application is approved after February 14, 2014, relief for Series HH bonds will be granted either by the issuance of a bond bearing the same issue date as the bond for which the claim was filed or by payment, and relief for Series EE bonds will be granted either by the issuance of a book-entry bond bearing the same issue date as the bond for which the claim was filed or by payment.

If a bond issued on any transaction is not received, the issuing agent must be notified as promptly as possible and given all information about the non-receipt. An appropriate form and instructions will be provided. If the application is approved on or before February 14, 2014, relief will be granted by the issuance of a bond bearing the same issue date as the bond that was not received. If the application is approved after February 14, 2014, relief for Series HH bonds will be granted by the issuance of a bond bearing the same issue date as the bond that was not received, and relief for Series EE bonds will be granted either by the issuance of a book-entry bond bearing the same issue date as the bond that was not received or by payment. Also, relief is authorized for the issuance of bonds for which the Secretary has not received payment, in order to preserve public confidence in dealing with issuing agents.

(a) If a bond reported lost, stolen, destroyed, or not received, is recovered or received before relief is granted, the Bureau of the Fiscal Service, Parkersburg, WV 26101, must be notified promptly.

(b) A bond for which relief has been granted is the property of the United States and, if recovered, must be promptly submitted to the Bureau of the Fiscal Service, Parkersburg, WV 26101, for cancellation.

(a) General. The Bureau of the Fiscal Service will adjudicate claims for lost, stolen or destroyed bonds on the basis of records created and regularly maintained in the ordinary course of business.

(b) Claims filed 10 years after payment. A bond for which no claim has been filed within 10 years of the recorded date of redemption will be presumed to have been properly paid. If a claim is subsequently filed, a photographic copy of the bond will not be available to support the disallowance.

(c) Claims filed six years after final maturity. No claim filed six years or more after the final maturity of a savings bond will be entertained unless the claimant supplies the serial number of the bond.