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Moving Treasury Securities Between Legacy, Direct, and Brokerage Accounts

Treasury securities can be held in different recordkeeping systems, and moving them is not always the same as selling them. Older Legacy Treasury Direct accounts have restrictions that differ from current online accounts, while a bank or broker uses the commercial book-entry system. This guide explains those arrangements and the transfer paperwork associated with each. It is especially useful when you inherit an older account or want to sell a security currently held directly with Treasury.

Adapted from public-domain educational material published by U.S. Treasury. Fynoptic has organized and edited the material and added introductory and practical guidance. Sources were reviewed on October 28, 2026; original publication dates, where available, are listed below.

Legacy Treasury Direct

If you have an account at Treasury and it has

  • 11 numbers and no letters, it is a Legacy Treasury Direct account
    (Example: 1200—345—6789)
  • a letter followed by 9 numbers, it is a TreasuryDirect account
    (Example: A123—456—789)

We are phasing out our old program, Legacy Treasury Direct.

To buy, reinvest, and hold new securities with us, we urge you to open and use an account in our newer program: TreasuryDirect.

Open a TreasuryDirect account

No – Can no longer do in Legacy Treasury Direct

Open a new account

Buy securities

Reinvest securities

Transfer securities from outside Legacy Treasury Direct into your Legacy Treasury Direct account

Yes – Can still do in Legacy Treasury Direct

Keep securities that are in your Legacy Treasury Direct account until they mature

Get the interest payments we owe you on those securities

Get your money when those securities mature (redeem a security)

Get your IRS Form 1099-INT (the form that tells the IRS about money you made from your securities that may be subject to federal tax)

Tell us to pay taxes early for you through withholding

Sell your securities before they mature
To sell securities, you must transfer them to a bank, broker, or dealer.

Transfer your securities to

  • a TreasuryDirect account
  • a bank, broker, or dealer
  • another account within Legacy Treasury Direct

Change the registration for your account, as long as the Taxpayer Identification Number (Social Security Number or Employer Identification Number) stays the same

Change some information in your account: banking information, your address, your phone number

Get your account balance and your Statement of Account

Getting interest payments and the money when your security matures

When an interest payment is due and when your security matures, we automatically deposit the money into the bank account listed in your Legacy Treasury Direct account. You do not have to do anything.

Getting your IRS Form 1099–INT for each tax year

IRS Form 1099–INT tells the IRS about interest and gains or losses that may be subject to federal tax.

At the beginning of each year, we mail you your 1099–INT with information on the securities that earned interest or gains or losses in the previous year.

Note: Even if you have redeemed or transferred all the securities you had in Legacy Treasury Direct, be sure to keep your address current in your Legacy Treasury Direct account until you get your final tax statement.

If you need a duplicate 1099-INT form for your Legacy Treasury Direct account for the current tax year, call us

If you need an 1099-INT form for your Legacy Treasury Direct account for an earlier year, write to us.

Telling us to pay taxes early for you through withholding

If we hold your securities, we can ease your tax burden by paying withholding taxes for you during the year. Each time we pay interest or redeem a security for you, we pay part to you and part to the IRS for the taxes on that money. The 1099 you get for that year shows what you earned and the amount of taxes we already paid for you through withholding.

We can withhold up to 50 percent of the money you earn.

To withhold taxes on securities in your Legacy Treasury Direct account, call or write to us to tell us what you want us to withhold. You will need your account number and the percentage you want us to withhold.

Transferring securities that are in Legacy Treasury Direct

For any kind of transfer — either within or from Legacy Treasury Direct, you must fill out Form 5179 and mail it as directed on the form.

For each type of transfer (to another Legacy Treasury Direct account, to a TreasuryDirect account, or to a bank, broker, or dealer), you will need specific information. Review the form before you start so you know what information to gather to fill out the form correctly.

Contacting us

For any questions you have about your Legacy Treasury Direct account or if you need a form and don't want to download it from this website, contact us:

Call Us Write Us

Transferring From One System To Another

Your marketable Treasury securities may be held in any of these three systems:

  • The commercial book-entry system
    (where a bank, broker, or dealer holds your securities)
  • TreasuryDirect
    (our current system where you may have an online account)
  • Legacy Treasury Direct
    (our previous system, which is phasing out)

From TreasuryDirect to the commercial book-entry system

To transfer a security to a bank, broker, or dealer, you need this information from them:

  • The Financial Institution's Wire Name
  • The routing number (ABA number) for that financial institution
  • The agent or broker's name and phone number
  • The name and account number of the account into which the security is going

When you have that information:

  1. Go to your TreasuryDirect account.
  2. Choose the Manage Direct tab.
  3. Identify the security or securities you want to transfer.
  4. Choose External Transfer.
  5. Open the link for FS Form 5511, "TreasuryDirect Transfer Request."
  6. Fill out the required information and follow the instructions on the form.

From the commercial book-entry system to TreasuryDirect

You must have a TreasuryDirect account to transfer the security into.

If you need to get one, open a TreasuryDirect account.

Once you have a TreasuryDirect account:

  1. Contact the bank, broker, or dealer who holds the security.
  2. Give them this information for the transfer:
    • Receiving bank name (all caps; no spaces): TREASURYDIRECT
    • ABA number: 051736158
    • Your TreasuryDirect account number

Within TreasuryDirect

You may transfer a security to a primary account, custom account, or minor linked account.

If you are transferring the security to another primary account, you will need the recipient's Social Security Number and TreasuryDirect account number.

To transfer a security from one TreasuryDirect account to another:

  1. Go to your TreasuryDirect account.
  2. Choose the Manage Direct tab.
  3. Choose the option for making this type of transfer.
  4. Fill out the required information.

From Legacy Treasury Direct to the commercial book-entry system, to TreasuryDirect, or transferring within Legacy Treasury Direct

For any kind of transfer from or within Legacy Treasury Direct, you must fill out Form 5179 and mail it as directed on the form.

For each type of transfer to a bank, broker, or dealer, a TreasuryDirect account, or another Legacy Treasury Direct account, you need specific information.

Review the form before you start so you know what information to gather to fill out the form correctly.

If you are transferring to a bank, broker, or dealer, contact them to get the information you need for Form 5179.

Dealing With Old Paper Treasury Marketable Securities

This page is about paper Treasury Bills, Treasury Notes, and Treasury Bonds.

Treasury Bonds are different from U.S. Savings Bonds
EE Bonds, E Bonds, I Bonds, and HH Bonds are U.S. Savings Bonds. For information on what to do with paper U.S. Savings Bonds, see Converting EE or I paper bonds to electronic bonds, Cashing EE or I savings bonds, or Cashing HH savings bonds.

Treasury marketable securities are now only issued electronically.

If you have a paper Treasury marketable security, it has already matured and is no longer earning interest. You might consider cashing it.

Cashing

To cash paper Treasury Bonds or coupons, send them to us. The process is different depending on whether the bonds are Bearer bonds or Registered bonds.

Bearer bonds:

  • Using insured registered mail, send us the bonds and any coupons.
  • Include a letter providing payment instructions and the address to which we should mail the redemption check.
  • Include a completed IRS Form W-9.

Registered bonds:

The principal is paid to the registered owner or assignee on presentation of the security to us. We recommend you use registered mail.

If you want your redemption check issued...

  • ...in the same name(s) as the registration, leave the assignment area on the back of the bond blank.
  • ...in a different name from the one on the registration, assign the security by entering the name(s) and address on the "assignee line." You must sign in the presence of an authorized certifying officer at a bank or other financial institution.

Mailing Address

Treasury Retail Securities Services
P.O. Box 9150
Minneapolis, MN 55480-9150

Shipping Address

Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis
90 Hennepin Ave.
Minneapolis, MN 55401

Called Bonds

Treasury "called" some bonds before they matured, causing the bonds to stop earning interest earlier than they otherwise would have. These bonds were certain ones issued before 1985.

You can cash called paper bonds by following the instructions above, under "Cashing."

Questions

For questions about a paper Treasury marketable security, contact us:

Putting this into practice

Identify the holding system before choosing a form or contacting a broker. Keep the account number, security identifier, registration, and maturity date available. If a sale is the objective, confirm the receiving institution's requirements and allow time for the transfer before assuming the security is available to trade.

Sources and further reading

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