FS Form 5446: Fix a TreasuryDirect Name, SSN or Entity Manager
FS Form 5446 changes a TreasuryDirect name, SSN, birth date, registration or entity manager when the website cannot. Which parts to fill and who must certify.
Most of what you can do in a TreasuryDirect account happens on a screen, which is exactly why the exceptions are so awkward. A misspelled name, a wrong birth date or a trust that has a new trustee does not fit any button on the website, and for those jobs the Treasury keeps a paper form. FS Form 5446, the Offline Transaction Request, is that form, and it is longer than it looks because one document serves ordinary account owners, parents of minors, attorneys-in-fact and the people who run trust, estate and business accounts.
Who does what: the form’s at-a-glance chart
The first page contains a chart that answers the question most readers arrive with, namely which parts to fill out and what proof to send. The table below reproduces its logic, with the evidence column taken from the same page and from the detailed instructions at the back.
| If you are the… | and you are asking to… | complete parts | evidence you must also provide |
|---|---|---|---|
| Account owner, or parent of a minor account owner | Change or correct the account name, correct the Social Security number, or correct the date of birth | A, C and E | None required |
| Account owner, or parent of a minor account owner, and the security is a restricted, converted security | Edit the registration | A, B and E | If the non-converting coowner or beneficiary is deceased, a certified copy of the death certificate |
| Non-converting coowner or beneficiary | Edit the registration | A, B and E | None required |
| Attorney-in-fact | Edit the registration, or change or correct the account name, Social Security number or date of birth | A, B and E for a registration; A, C and E for the personal details | A copy of the power of attorney document, containing the grantor’s signature and witnessed or certified in accordance with applicable state law |
| Entity account manager, or new entity account manager | Change or correct entity account information | A, D-1 and E | A copy of the trust, corporate resolution, letters of appointment, death certificate or similar evidence, as applicable |
| Entity account manager, or new entity account manager | Change or correct the entity account manager’s own information | A, D-3 and E | Same as above |
| Entity account manager, or new entity account manager | Change the manager (information about the new manager) | A, D-4 and E | Same as above |
| Currently acting entity account manager | Change the entity account manager | A, D-2 and E | Copy of the trust, corporate resolution, letters of appointment, death certificate or similar evidence, as applicable |
Two details in the chart are easy to miss. The first is that the form never defines “restricted, converted security,” so if you are not sure whether your bonds fall in that category, the matrix cannot settle it for you. The second is that the attorney-in-fact row appears in two places on the page, once for registration edits and once for the personal-details changes. The instructions at the back are simpler than the chart: whenever you check the attorney-in-fact box, you must provide the power of attorney copy. The evidence for an entity manager is described there as “a copy of the evidence that establishes your authority to request the transaction,” and if that evidence was filed with a court, it “must be under court seal.” The example list adds that letters of appointment should be dated within one year of submission.
Part A: every request starts here
Part A is the only part besides Part E that is never optional. The form states it twice, once on the first page (“Parts A and E must be completed for ALL transactions”) and once in the instructions. In Part A you give the TreasuryDirect account number, the account name and the taxpayer identification number, which is a Social Security number or an Employer Identification Number. You then check the boxes for the transactions you want, and the form allows more than one.
The transactions listed are changing or correcting entity account information, changing or correcting entity account manager information, changing or correcting an account owner’s name, correcting the owner’s Social Security number or date of birth, editing the registration of an existing EE or I savings bond held in TreasuryDirect, and an “Other” line. A second set of boxes asks for your capacity: individual account owner, entity account manager, non-converting coowner or beneficiary, parent of a minor account owner, attorney-in-fact, or other. You can check more than one. Part A also has a box to mark an entity account, which the form describes as a living estate, trust, deceased estate, LLC, corporation, sole proprietorship or partnership.
Part B: editing how bonds are registered
Part B is for people who want the registration of securities held in TreasuryDirect changed. You either check the box to edit all securities in the account or list particular ones, identified by issue date for EE and I bonds, by CUSIP number for Treasury bills, notes, bonds, FRNs and TIPS, or by confirmation number. The form asks for a separate Part B for each new registration requested, and for an extra one if the list of securities does not fit in the space provided.
The new registration is spelled out in Part B, item 2. The instructions are firm on one point: “The account owner must be named as the owner/primary owner in the registration of the securities held in his or her TreasuryDirect account.” If you want a secondary owner or a beneficiary shown, you check the matching box and give that person’s name and Social Security number, which the form marks as required for each person named. The page does not explain what a secondary owner may do, so for that you would need a separate source such as the reissue form discussed in our guide to FS Form 4000.
Part C: a person’s name, Social Security number or date of birth
Part C covers four things for an individual account, and each is a sworn statement. To change a name, you certify that the owner’s name was legally changed by marriage, divorce, adoption, naturalization, court order or another reason you explain, and you write the new legal name. To correct a name, you certify that it is incorrectly shown and give the correct legal name. To correct a Social Security number or a date of birth, you certify the same thing and write the right number or date. The instructions add that evidence “may be required” when a name has changed, without saying what kind, so the safe approach is to ask Treasury before mailing.
Part D: trusts, estates, businesses and their managers
Part D is divided into four sections, and which one you use depends on who you are.
- D-1 changes or corrects the entity account itself: a new entity name with an explanation, a corrected name, or a corrected taxpayer identification number. This section must be provided by the entity account manager. Its fine print is important: moving an account from a Social Security number to an EIN, or the reverse, is not a correction. The form says you “must establish a new TreasuryDirect account.”
- D-2 is the consent of the manager who is leaving. The current manager authorizes the Bureau of the Fiscal Service in Parkersburg, West Virginia, to remove his or her personal information from the entity account and name a successor. The form says the new manager completes D-4 and signs Part E in front of a certifying officer.
- D-3 updates the current manager’s own details: a legal name change, a corrected name, or a corrected Social Security number or date of birth.
- D-4 is the new manager’s information: name, Social Security number, date of birth, home address, phone numbers, driver’s license or state ID number with issuing state and expiration date, e-mail address, and whether Treasury should mail correspondence to the entity’s address or the manager’s.
The new-manager section also requires evidence explaining why the change is happening. The form’s examples include a certified copy of the trust document when a successor trustee takes over, a letter of resignation when the current administrator or trustee resigned, the new partnership agreement, the corporate resolution or articles of organization, letters of appointment for a new guardian or legal representative, and a death certificate if the current manager is deceased. A note then sets the rule for who signs: the current manager must complete Parts A and D-2 and sign in Part E, and if he or she cannot, you must provide evidence of why, such as a certified copy of a death certificate.
What the form says about estates, and what it does not
The first page tells readers who are dealing with a decedent’s estate to “see the instructions for examples of when this form may or may not be used.” The instructions in the revision we read, however, contain no such examples. What they do contain is narrower: a deceased estate is listed as one of the entity account types, a death certificate appears as evidence in several places, and letters of appointment are named as evidence of a new representative’s authority. Whether a particular estate task belongs on this form is something the text we have cannot answer. FS Form 4000 lists 844-284-2676 for bond-related inquiries, which makes that number a reasonable place to ask before you spend a trip to the bank. Our guide to FS Form 5336 for a deceased owner without probate covers a different form for a deceased owner’s bonds.
Part E: the signature, and why a notary will not do
Part E deserves the slowest reading, because the signing rule differs from the one on some neighboring forms. Everyone signing certifies under penalty of perjury that the information is true and correct, agrees to the changes shown, and binds themselves to hold the United States harmless and to repay it for any loss resulting from the request, including interest, administrative costs and penalties. Then comes the rule itself: “Sign in ink in the presence of a certifying officer and provide the requested information. Notary certification is not acceptable.”
The instructions explain what counts. Each applicant must appear before the officer, establish identification to the officer’s satisfaction and sign in the officer’s presence. The officer then completes the certification block and imprints the seal or stamp. For certifications in the United States, the instructions say “the certifying officer must be authorized to bind his or her institution by his or her acts and guarantee signatures to assignments of securities or certify assignments of securities,” and then repeat: “Certification by a notary isn’t acceptable.”
The acceptable stamps are the financial institution’s official seal or stamp (a Signature Guaranteed or Endorsement Guaranteed stamp, a corporate seal, or an issuing or paying agent stamp that shows the 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. If a Medallion stamp is used, the officer’s instructions require an original signature. The form has room for two signatures, and it says to use the next page to certify a second signature. A parent signing for a minor certifies that the request is made on the minor’s behalf, for the minor’s benefit. Our table of every TreasuryDirect form shows how this compares with the forms that do accept notaries, such as FS Form 5444 to unlock an account.
Putting the pages together and mailing them
Assembly is simple but strict. Complete only the parts that apply, attach them together in alphabetical order, and add any other forms and evidence. Multiple copies of a part can be sent together if needed. Everything goes to Treasury Retail Securities Services, PO Box 9150, Minneapolis, MN 55480-9150, and the form warns that legal evidence or documentation you submit cannot be returned, so keep your own copies of anything you send. The Commissioner of the Fiscal Service also reserves the right to require additional evidence in any case. The form estimates “about 30 minutes to complete,” which is the time to fill it in, and it publishes no processing time. The Parkersburg, West Virginia address printed at the end is for comments on the form only.
Where ID.me changes the picture
TreasuryDirect now uses ID.me as its only online login, and its FAQ touches three situations that used to belong to this form. If the name on the TreasuryDirect account differs from the name in your ID.me Wallet, “the name on your TreasuryDirect account will automatically update to match the name in your ID.me Wallet once you complete setting up your ID.me login.” After setup, the FAQ says you can update your name in the ID.me Wallet yourself, and the FAQ says TreasuryDirect updates “the next time you authenticate/log into TreasuryDirect.” For entity accounts, ID.me verifies the individual manager, not the entity, so the person in charge, such as the trustee or someone holding a power of attorney, must verify personally first. The FAQ then adds that “the business or trust details can still be updated with help from TreasuryDirect Customer Support.”
What the FAQ leaves out is just as useful to know. It does not say that those routes replace FS Form 5446, it does not address Social Security number or date of birth corrections at all, and it does not describe changing an entity account manager. The sensible reading is that a name mismatch may fix itself during linking, while anything else on this form still needs to be confirmed with Customer Support first. The rest of the changeover is covered in TreasuryDirect without ID.me, and a signature from a bank officer is still needed for the other mail-in forms, including FS Form 5512 to cash bonds by mail.
Sources
- FS Form 5446, TreasuryDirect Offline Transaction Request (rev. April 2026), including its instructions and mailing address: https://www.treasurydirect.gov/forms/sav5446.pdf
- TreasuryDirect, FAQs about ID.me, read November 2, 2026: https://www.treasurydirect.gov/savings-bonds/help-center/faqs/idme-faq/
Quick answers
What is FS Form 5446 used for?
The form says to use it to request TreasuryDirect account transactions that cannot be completed online. It covers changing or correcting an account owner's name, Social Security number or date of birth, editing the registration of securities held in the account, and changing or correcting entity account information or the entity account manager.
Can a notary certify FS Form 5446?
No. The form says to sign in ink in the presence of a certifying officer and states "Notary certification is not acceptable." Its instructions repeat that certification by a notary is not acceptable and require an officer authorized to guarantee signatures or certify assignments of securities.
Do I need one form for each TreasuryDirect account?
Yes. The instructions say to complete a separate FS Form 5446 for each TreasuryDirect account number. Parts A and E are required for every request, and you add only the other parts that match what you are changing.
Do I still need FS Form 5446 now that TreasuryDirect uses ID.me?
TreasuryDirect's ID.me FAQ says a name that differs from your ID.me Wallet is updated automatically to match it once you link the two, and that name changes can be made in the ID.me Wallet itself. It does not say whether that replaces FS Form 5446, and it says nothing about Social Security number or date of birth corrections, so ask Customer Support before mailing.
Can I switch a TreasuryDirect account between an SSN and an EIN with this form?
No. Part D-1 says that to change the taxpayer identification number on a TreasuryDirect account from a Social Security number to an Employer Identification Number, or the reverse, you must establish a new TreasuryDirect account. The form can only correct a number that was entered incorrectly.
Where do I mail FS Form 5446?
To Treasury Retail Securities Services, PO Box 9150, Minneapolis, MN 55480-9150. The form notes that legal evidence or documentation you submit cannot be returned, and it does not state a processing time.
Educational content only. finbarrow is an independent editorial publication, not a licensed financial advisor, broker, tax preparer, or attorney. Verify rates and terms with the issuer or relevant regulator. See disclaimers and funding disclosures.