TreasuryDirect offers two savings bond series — Series EE and Series I — and TreasuryViewer supports buying both straight from your phone.
From the app’s home screen, tap the Buy tab along the bottom navigation bar. The screen is split into two sections: Marketable Securities and Savings Bonds. Series EE and Series I each get their own row under the Savings Bonds section, with the current rate displayed alongside. Tap the one you want.
A number pad takes up most of the buy screen, with a large amount display sitting above it. Just punch in what you want to spend. Savings bonds are flexible in denomination — any dollar-and-cent amount works, so long as it’s at least $25. The yearly ceiling is $10,000 per bond type, and TreasuryDirect enforces this hard: anything over the limit gets rejected outright.
Type in something invalid and a red error message will appear directly under the amount field explaining what’s wrong.
Savings bonds skip the auction process entirely, so the buy screen includes a Purchase Date row instead. Tap it and a date picker opens up. You can select any date from today through TreasuryDirect’s forward scheduling limit — whatever works best for you.
Tap Additional Options to expand a few more settings:
Each of these opens a small pop-up with radio button choices.
Once you have a valid amount and a purchase date selected, the Buy button at the bottom of the screen activates. Tap it to submit. A “Successfully placed order” confirmation will appear along the bottom of the screen, and the buy screen will close automatically.
The bond shows up in your Portfolio tab after TreasuryDirect processes it, which generally happens within one business day of your selected purchase date. To check on the order before then, tap Manage Orders on the Buy tab — you’ll find it listed there with a pending status.
One thing worth knowing before you get started: TreasuryDirect only issues savings bonds electronically. You won’t be getting any paper certificates.
From your primary TreasuryDirect account, click the BuyDirect tab at the top of the page. Select the savings bond series you want, then click Submit.
Look for the Registration Information section and use the dropdown to choose which registration you want on the bond.
No registration listed that works for you? Click Add New Registration. If the bond is a gift, check the “This is a gift” box at the bottom of that page before you save. After saving, you’ll be sent back to the BuyDirect page and your new registration will show up in the dropdown.
One thing to note if you’re working with an entity account: those accounts are limited to one registration, and every security in the account gets the entity account name automatically.
Under Purchase Information, enter how much you want to spend. The accepted range is $25.00 to $10,000.00.
Electronic savings bonds are priced at face value, so a $50 bond costs $50 — nothing more, nothing less.
You’ll also need to select a funding source from the dropdown. Your options are a linked bank account or your Zero-Percent Certificate of Indebtedness (C of I).
The default is a one-time purchase set for today’s date, but you can adjust this a few ways:
When you’re done, hit Submit.
A Purchase Review page will show everything you’ve entered. Go through it and read the statements at the bottom. If something needs fixing, click Edit. If everything looks right, click Submit to finalize the purchase.
After that, you’ll see a Confirmation Page with the full order details, including the purchase date and a confirmation number for each security.
Bonds are generally deposited into your TreasuryDirect account within one business day of the purchase date. If your selected date lands on a weekend or federal holiday, the transaction gets pushed to the next available business day.