FS Form 5336: Voluntary Representative for a Small Estate

Updated November 8, 2026. Quick answer: FS Form 5336 lets one qualifying family member collect or distribute a dead person’s Treasury securities and savings bonds when no court is administering the estate. The form’s own ceiling is $100,000 in redemption and/or par value at the date of death, and signing it certifies that no court representative has been or will be appointed. The 2026 revision (OMB No. 1530-0055) is signed in front of a certifying officer, comes with certified death certificates, and goes to Treasury Retail Securities Services, PO Box 9150, Minneapolis, MN 55480-9150.

What FS Form 5336 does

Treasury’s description of the form: “A person applying to act as voluntary representative of a decedent’s estate that is not being administered uses this form 1) to apply to act as voluntary representative, and 2) to request disposition of United States Treasury Securities and/or related payments belonging to the estate.”

Three rules sit at the top of the form:

• “ALL securities belonging to the decedent’s estate must be included in this transaction.”
• “We will recognize only ONE voluntary representative to act at any time on behalf of the decedent’s estate.”
• “You cannot use this form to distribute bonds or to make payment to a trust.”

For the bigger picture on what happens to a parent’s or spouse’s bonds, start at inherited savings bonds.

The $100,000 line and the no-court certification

The size limit is stated on the first page: “If the decedent’s securities and/or related payments are worth over $100,000 redemption and/or par value as of the date of death, Treasury regulations require that the estate be administered through the court; in that event, this form may not be used.” The instructions repeat it as related payments “not exceeding $100,000”.

Part A adds a second condition. By signing, the applicant certifies that no legal representative has been or will be appointed through the court and that the estate will not be settled under the law of the decedent’s home state. The form names as examples Summary Administration, a Small Estates Act, a Texas Muniment of Title and a Louisiana Judgment of Possession. The form sends those estates elsewhere: “If the above statement does not apply, do not complete this form. Instead, send the securities and all evidence and/or documentation concerning the estate to the appropriate address in “WHERE TO SEND,” near the end of this form.” A state small-estate procedure is the situation FS Form 5394 covers, and a court-appointed executor or administrator uses FS Form 1455.

Who can sign as voluntary representative

The form limits the field: “Only a blood relative, legally adopted child, or surviving spouse of the decedent can complete and submit this form.” The instructions add that “This restriction applies even to a person acting as an attorney-in-fact.” Within that group Part B sets an order of precedence, and the box a person marks must be the first one that fits:

The instructions illustrate it this way: “if the decedent leaves a competent surviving spouse and children (over the age of eighteen), the competent surviving spouse must complete this form.” A person must also be competent and at least eighteen years old.

The three things Part C lets the representative ask for

A representative who takes payment or a transfer is not declared the owner. The instructions say “Payment to a voluntary representative is for the convenience of the United States and does not determine ownership of the securities or their proceeds.” The representative also “unconditionally guarantees that he or she will make distribution of the proceeds to the persons entitled by the law of the decedent’s domicile at the date of death.”

What the people who receive the bonds must do next

Part F is only the first step for a distribution. For paper savings bonds, the form says an entitled person who wants payment must submit FS Form 1522, one who wants the bond reissued to himself or herself must submit FS Form 4000, and one who wants it reissued to a trust must submit FS Form 1851.

“A person entitled to electronic securities held in TreasuryDirect must submit FS Form 5511 for transfer or FS Form 5512 for redemption.” Those are covered at the FS Form 5511 transfer page and FS Form 5512.

Two limits matter when splitting an estate: “Individual savings bonds (Series EE, E, I, HH, and H) may not be split.” “Savings bonds issued in electronic form must be at least $25.”

Signature, certification and what to mail

“Sign in ink in the presence of a certifying officer and provide the requested information, OR if your transaction is for paper savings bonds only, you can appear before a notary or a certifying officer.” The instructions confirm “A notary may certify only for a transaction that involves just paper savings bonds.” The seal or stamp must be one of these: an official seal or stamp of a financial institution (Signature Guaranteed, Endorsement Guaranteed, Corporate, or Issuing or paying agent), or the seal or stamp of a Treasury-recognized Signature Guarantee Program or other Treasury-approved Medallion Program. Certifying officers are available at financial institutions, including credit unions; see what to do when a Medallion guarantee is refused.

Attach “certified copies of the death certificates for all deceased registrants” and send the securities and any related checks with the form. “Legal evidence or documentation you submit cannot be returned.” Mail it to Treasury Retail Securities Services, PO Box 9150, Minneapolis, MN 55480-9150, and send the form itself without the instruction pages. The form also notes “Use only one form and describe all the securities.”

Tax and processing time

Interest follows the securities: “Any interest that is or becomes due on securities belonging to the estate of a decedent will be paid to the person to whom the securities are distributed, unless otherwise requested.” A representative who is paid directly is told “Your Social Security Number may be used to report all of the interest earned to the Internal Revenue Service for Federal income tax purposes.” The reporting rules are at Form 1099-INT box 3.

The form gives no processing time. It states only a completion estimate: “We estimate it will take you about 30 minutes to complete this form.” Any timing beyond that would have to come from Treasury directly.

Common mistakes

• Using the form when the estate is worth more than $100,000 in redemption and/or par value at death. The form says it may not be used and the estate goes through court.
• Signing the Part A certification while a court representative has been appointed, or a state small-estate procedure is already being used. That is the FS Form 5394 situation, or a court-estate one.
• Listing only some of the securities. The form requires all of them in the one transaction.
• Taking a notary stamp on a transaction that includes marketable securities. A notary can certify only a paper-savings-bonds-only transaction.
• Treating payment to the representative as inheritance. It is a convenience payment, and the representative must pass the proceeds to the people entitled under the decedent’s home-state law.

Related: inherited savings bonds, a TreasuryDirect account at death, and how the small estate affidavit process works.

Sources

• FS Form 5336 (Revised April 2026), Disposition of Treasury Securities Belonging to a Decedent’s Estate Being Settled Without Administration: treasurydirect.gov PDF
• TreasuryDirect, Forms for Savings Bonds (current list of forms): treasurydirect.gov page

Source: the Fiscal Service form and forms list linked above, read on November 8, 2026. General information, not legal or tax advice. Your own facts decide the outcome, and the Bureau of the Fiscal Service, an attorney or a tax preparer is the right place to confirm anything consequential.