Unclaimed Premium Bonds: how to check and claim old prizes (UK)

1 September 2026 · Inherit Vault

There's no deadline on a Premium Bonds prize. NS&I holds onto it until you get in touch. That could be next Tuesday or in thirty years' time. The money doesn't expire. The letter telling you about it just went to a house you moved out of in 1994.

Why prizes go unclaimed at all

NS&I contacts everyone who wins. The trouble is where it sends the news. You move and don't tell them. You marry and change your name. The letter goes astray. NS&I says about nine in ten prizes now go straight to a bank account or into more Bonds.* The rest still leave as a cheque or warrant in the post. A cheque sent to an address you left decades ago is how a prize becomes an unclaimed one. NS&I counts a prize as unclaimed once it is over 18 months old.*

How much is waiting to be claimed

More than 99% of prizes have been paid out since the first draw in 1957. The rest add up. In October 2026, NS&I said there were 2,869,527 unclaimed prizes worth £128,345,775.* Some of it may belong to families who don't know the Bonds exist.

There is no time limit, and that's official

NS&I's own guidance is blunt about it. You never need to worry about an unclaimed prize. They hold on to it until you get in touch. There's no time limit on making a claim. The Bonds work the same way. If you never cashed them in, they are still held in your name. Bonds an aunt bought you in 1978 are still there for you. It doesn't matter if you remember them.

Step one: find your holder's number

All your Bonds sit under a single holder's number. It's 10 or 9 digits, or 8 digits followed by a letter. You'll find it on most of your Bond paperwork. Registered for NS&I's online service? Log in and read it off your Premium Bonds page. Lost the paperwork entirely? Call NS&I and ask them to check for you, or use the Tracing Service in step three.

Step two: run the prize checker

With the holder's number in hand, use the checker on nsandi.com. It tells you if anything is waiting. There's also a free prize checker app on the App Store and Google Play. If you'd rather ask out loud, there's an Alexa skill for it. Logging in shows your full prize history. No internet? Write and ask for your prize history, and they'll post you the list. Put your name, address and holder's number in the letter.

Step three: if you're not sure the Bonds exist at all

That's the more common problem, and NS&I runs a free Tracing Service. Do it online, print a form, or write to Tracing Service, NS&I, Sunderland SR43 2SB. Give your full name and current address. Add the address you lived at when you invested, and any other old addresses. Add any previous names. Say roughly when you opened the account and how much you put in. Sign and date it. NS&I aims to confirm any accounts or investments within a month, longer when they're busy.* It costs nothing. If a firm offers to find your Bonds for a percentage, they're charging you for a form.

My Lost Account covers NS&I too

Not sure if it's NS&I or a building society? Do one search instead of five. My Lost Account is a free service linked to UK Finance and the Building Societies Association. NS&I is one of the providers it searches. Pensions have their own version. It's worth running at the same time while you've got the old addresses to hand. Old shares can hide in the same way, and lost shares and unclaimed dividends can be traced too.

How the money actually reaches you

A quirk worth knowing. Write in about an unclaimed prize and it comes to your home address as a warrant. NS&I is clear that it can't pay unclaimed prizes into a bank account. Your letter needs the holder's number and your current and previous names. Add your current and previous addresses, and sign it. Send it to NS&I, Sunderland SR43 2SB. Once you register online or by phone, you can have future prizes paid to your bank. You can also have them reinvested. With prizes paid to your bank, you get an email or text when you win. That's how you stop this happening again.

Claiming for someone who has passed away

This takes a different route, called a bereavement claim. You can start it online without creating an account. You'll need the person's full name, address and date of birth. You'll also need the date and place of death. Then add previous names and addresses and the executors' names. Give the account types and bank details for the payout. NS&I's replies slowed to eight weeks over the spring and summer of 2026.* It expected to be back to its usual 14 days by the end of October 2026.* Its claim page still says to allow up to eight weeks for its first letter.* NS&I also admitted in 2026 that some estates had been underpaid. Its search process had missed accounts. It began writing to affected estates from 27 May 2026 and expects to finish in 2027.* One rule catches people out. You can only ask for a trace for someone else if you're legally entitled to act for them, for example as an attorney or an executor.

What happens to the Bonds while you claim

Premium Bonds can stay in the draw for up to 12 months after the date of death.* NS&I holds any prizes won until the claim is done. Then it sends them by warrant to the person entitled to the money. NS&I may ask for a grant of probate if the person's total NS&I savings are £5,000 or more.* Below £5,000 it may not need one, but NS&I can still ask for a grant for any amount.* There's more on how Premium Bonds keep winning after the holder passes away. The wider picture on Bonds, ISAs and the rest of the range is covered here.

What you might actually be sitting on

Prizes run from £25 to £1 million, all tax free.* Two £1 million jackpots go out every month.* From the September 2026 draw the prize fund rate is 4.35%, up from 3.80%.* The odds shortened to 21,000 to 1 for every £1 Bond.* That draw was estimated at over 6.5 million prizes worth more than £497 million.* You can hold up to £50,000.* Anything above the limit can't win.*

None of this is difficult. It's just that nobody does it, because nobody remembers the Bonds are there. That's the real failure. So once you've dug out the holder's number, make sure it never goes missing again. Write it down somewhere your family will find it. Keep it next to the accounts, pensions and policies. A plain record of where things are stops a prize sitting in Sunderland for thirty years.

Common questions

Short answers to what families ask most.

How do I find out if I have unclaimed Premium Bonds?

Enter your holder's number into the prize checker on nsandi.com or the app. If you don't have the number, use NS&I's free Tracing Service.

Do Premium Bond prizes expire?

No. NS&I holds unclaimed prizes until you get in touch, and there's no time limit on claiming.

Can I check Premium Bonds for someone who has passed away?

Yes, if you're legally entitled to act for them, such as the executor. Make a bereavement claim with NS&I, and it will search for all their accounts.

How long do Premium Bonds stay in the draw after death?

Up to 12 months after the date of death.* Any prizes are held and then paid to the person entitled to the money.

Do you need probate to cash in Premium Bonds?

NS&I may ask for probate if the person's total NS&I savings are £5,000 or more.* It can still ask for one for any amount.

Can unclaimed prizes be paid into my bank account?

No. NS&I sends unclaimed prizes to your home address as a warrant. You can set up bank payment for future prizes once you register.

*Correct at the time of writing, 30 October 2026. These can change, so check with the organisation before you rely on them.

Sorting this out for someone else? Make sure your family never has to.

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