§ 353.6 Restrictions on registration.

(a) Natural persons. Only an individual in his or her own right may be designated as coowner or beneficiary along with any other individual, whether on original issue or reissue, except as provided in § 353.7(f).

(b) Residence. The designation of an owner or first-named coowner is restricted, on original issue only, to persons (whether individuals or others) who are:

(1) Residents of the United States, its territories or possessions, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico;

(2) Citizens of the United States residing abroad;

(3) Civilian employees of the United States or members of its armed forces, regardless of their residence or citizenship; and

(c) Nonresident aliens. A nonresident alien may be designated co-owner or beneficiary or, on authorized reissue, owner, unless the nonresident alien is a resident of an area with respect to which the Department of the Treasury restricts or regulates the delivery of checks drawn against funds of the United States or its agencies or instrumentalities. See Department of the Treasury Circular No. 655, current revision (31 CFR part 211). Registration is not permitted in any form which includes the name of any alien who is a resident of any restricted area.

(d) Minors.

(1) Minors may purchase with their wages, earnings, or other funds belonging to them and under their control bonds registered in their names alone or with a coowner or beneficiary.

(2) Bonds purchased by another person with funds belonging to a minor not under legal guardianship or similar fiduciary estate must be registered, without a coowner or beneficiary, in the name of the minor or a natural guardian on behalf of a minor.

(3) Bonds purchased with funds of another may be registered to name the minor as owner, coowner, or beneficiary. If the minor is under legal guardianship or similar fiduciary estate, the registration must include an appropriate reference to it.

(4) Bonds purchased as a gift to a minor under a gift-to-minors statute must be registered as prescribed by the statute and no coowner or beneficiary may be named.

(5) Bonds purchased by a representative of a minor's estate must be registered in the name of the minor and must include in the registration an appropriate reference to the guardianship or similar fiduciary estate. Bonds purchased by a representative of the estates of two or more minors, even though appointed in a single proceeding, must be registered in the name of each minor separately with appropriate reference to the guardianship or similar fiduciary estate.

(e) Incompetents. Bonds may be registered to name as owner, coowner, or beneficiary an incompetent for whose estate a guardian or similar representative has been appointed, except that a coowner or beneficiary may not be named on bonds purchased with funds belonging to the incompetent. The registration must include appropriate reference to the guardianship or similar fiduciary estate. Bonds should not be registered in the name of an incompetent unless there is a representative for his or her estate, except as provided in § 353.64.

[44 FR 76441, Dec. 26, 1979, as amended at 63 FR 64551, Nov. 20, 1998; 75 FR 52460, Aug. 26, 2010]