Treasury Notes: How To Buy
You can buy Treasury notes directly from the U.S. Treasury or through a bank, broker, or dealer.
Buying Directly From the U.S. Treasury
To buy a note directly from us, you must have an account in TreasuryDirect. (Notes no longer are sold in Legacy Treasury Direct, which is being phased out.)
To open an account in TreasuryDirect, go to "Open An Account" and supply the requested information. Effective April 2009, TreasuryDirect permits accounts for both individuals and various types of entities including trusts, estates, corporations, partnerships, etc. See Learn More about Entity Accounts for full information on the new registration types.
Decide How to Bid
You can enter either a noncompetitive bid or a competitive bid.
With a noncompetitive bid, you agree to accept whatever yield is determined at auction. If you bid this way, you are guaranteed to receive the security you want, in the amount you want.
With a competitive bid, you specify the yield you will accept. If you bid this way, you may or may not receive the security you want, and, if you receive it, you may receive it in less than the amount you want. You cannot place a competitive bid directly with us. To bid competitively, you must use a bank, broker, or dealer.
Submit a Bid
The bid submission process in TreasuryDirect is completely online. Login to your account and from the "My Accounts" page, click on the BuyDirect® tab, select Notes, click on the security you wish to purchase, the amount of your purchase, and whether you wish to reinvest this security. Follow the prompts to complete your transaction.
Within TreasuryDirect, you also can set up reinvestments into securities of the same type and term. For instance, you can use the proceeds from a maturing 5-year note to buy another 5-year note.
Also, from the "My Accounts" page, you can quickly purchase a security using Purchase Express. With this functionality, you select the type of security and the purchase amount. The system uses the original registration you entered when you set up your account and the primary bank account, and schedules your purchase for the next available auction date.
Payments and Receipts
The price that you pay for a note can include either a premium or a discount, and accrued interest. For a full discussion of the price of a security, see Treasury Notes: Rates and Terms.
When you buy a note in TreasuryDirect, we withdraw the purchase price from the source of funds you specify, which could be one of your bank accounts or your Certificate of Indebtedness (C of I). We deposit payments into your bank account or your C of I, whichever you specify.
Buying Through a Bank, Broker, or Dealer
To place a competitive bid, you must use a bank, broker, or dealer. You also can bid noncompetitively using a bank, broker, or dealer. For more information, consult a bank, broker, or dealer.
