Premium Bonds

Essentials at a glance

What are the odds of winning?

21,000 to 1 (for every £1 Bond) from the September 2023 prize draw

What's the annual prize fund rate?

4.65%  from the September 2023 prize draw

Will you pay tax?

No. All prizes are tax-free.

What's the min. to pay in?

£25

What's the max. to pay in?

£50,000

Great for you if …

• You fancy winning tax-free prizes, up to £1 million
• You have £25 or more to save
• You want to make the most of tax-free saving
• You want to buy a savings gift for children under 16

Not for you if …

• You want a regular income
• You're looking for guaranteed returns
• You're concerned about inflation
• You want to save jointly with someone else

Premium Bonds FAQs

How it works

• How do I buy Premium Bonds?

  Each investment must be at least £25.

  Buying online

  You can buy Premium Bonds online using our secure online system. Please have your debit card details at the ready.

  Buying over the phone

  We’re here in the UK every day except bank holidays. Please have your debit card details ready. (Please note: if you’re buying Bonds for someone else’s child, you can't buy them by phone. We don't accept credit card payments.)

  Call us

  Buying by post

  Simply complete an application form and send it to us, with a cheque payable to NS&I.

  Print and complete an application form:

  Buying for yourself or your child under 16

  Buying as a gift for someone else’s child under 16

  Bank transfer or standing order

  If you or a child you’re buying for already have some Premium Bonds, you can buy via bank transfer (including standing order).

  Premium Bonds bank transfer and standing order guide

• How do I buy Premium Bonds for children under 16?

  Premium Bonds can make a special gift for a child under 16. Until the child’s 16th birthday, the parent or guardian named on the application looks after the Bonds, regardless of who bought them.

  We’ll send confirmation of any transactions made, prizes won and payment for cashed-in Bonds to the nominated parent or guardian until the child is 16.

  Buying for your own child

  Parents or legal guardians can apply online, by phone or by post. If your child already has some Premium Bonds and you want to buy some more online or by phone, you’ll need to be registered first. This could take a few days while we set up your registration.

  The same child can have more than one nominated parent or guardian managing Premium Bonds for them. In this case, each nominated parent or guardian will have a separate holder’s number for the child. The child must not hold more than £50,000 of Premium Bonds in total.

  Buying for someone else’s child

  You can apply online or by post. You can ask us to send you an electronic or paper gift card for you to pass on to the child. We’ll also send you an acknowledgement of your investment. But only the nominated parent or guardian will be able to manage and cash in the Bonds.

  Before you apply for someone else’s child:

  • Remember, although you can buy Premium Bonds for someone else’s child as a gift, you won’t be able to look after the investment on their behalf or have the Bonds to be repaid to you
  • Please make sure the parent/guardian is happy to look after the investment for the child (until the child is 16), and agrees to you giving us their details
  • We'll check the identity and address of everyone named on your application, and we may need to ask for documents to prove this
  • Please let the parent/guardian know that we might be in touch to ask for evidence of identity documents

  As part of your application you'll need to know:

  • Your address and date of birth
  • The child’s address and date of birth
  • The parent/guardian’s address and date of birth

• How does the annual prize fund rate work?

  With Premium Bonds, there is no interest earned. Instead the rate funds a monthly prize draw for tax-free prizes. Remember that inflation can reduce the true value of your money over time.

• Can I move money from another NS&I account to Premium Bonds?

  Yes, if you have an NS&I Direct Saver, you can apply online for Premium Bonds and pay for it from your Direct Saver.

  If you want to use another NS&I account, just fill out a quick online form and we’ll get it sorted for you. Be sure to have the details of the account you want to switch from to hand.

  Switch to Premium Bonds – for myself

  Only use if switching from another NS&I account or Investment

  Switch to Premium Bonds – for a child under 16

  Only use if switching from another NS&I account or Investment

  Prefer the post?

  It will take a bit longer, but you can still download and send us a paper form in the post.

  Form to switch by post

• How do I cash in my Premium Bonds?

  You can cash in all or part of your Bonds at any time.

  Have you registered for our online and phone service? If so, simply log in or call us.

  Log in

  Call us

  You can also cash in Premium Bonds online without having to create an account. Perfect if you want to cash in specific Bonds or you’re not registered.

  Cash in my Premium Bonds

  You’ll need your holder’s number and bank account details to hand. Please also have your Bond record ready, if you’d like to cash in specific Bonds.

  Cash in my child’s Premium Bonds

  You’ll need your child’s holder’s number and your bank account details to hand. Please also have your child’s Bond record ready, if you’d like to cash in specific Bonds.

  Prefer the post?

  Download, print and complete a cashing-in form. Then post your completed form to us together with the bond certificates to be cashed in (if you have them).

  Print and complete a cashing in form

  Don’t have access to a printer? Call us and we’ll send you a copy of the form.

  Call us

  Find out how long it takes to receive your payment

• How do I look after my Bonds?

  Once you've bought your Premium Bonds you can manage them online and by phone.

  Log in or call us to check your balance and transactions, including any prizes you’ve won.

  Log in

  Call us

  You can also give us instructions by post. We’ll send you confirmation every time you buy or cash in your Bonds. You can get this by post, too. Or choose to go paperless.

  Your holder’s number

  We give a holder’s number to everyone who owns Premium Bonds. It links all the individual Premium Bonds you have. Quote it whenever you buy more Bonds, cash them in or have a query.

  Just to note, it’s different to your NS&I number, which we give you when you register for our online and phone service.

• Can NS&I change the annual prize fund rate?

  Yes – the rate is variable so we can change it up or down from time to time, for example when the Bank of England base rate changes or when rates in the general savings market change. See the customer agreement (terms and conditions) for more details. When the rate changes, we’ll update our website and literature as soon as we can. If the rate goes down we’ll also contact you personally in advance to let you know.

Your Bonds and the prize draw

• How the prize draw works

  We pay out millions of prizes every month to lucky Bond holders, whose numbers are generated at random by our random-number generator, ERNIE. Prizes range from £25 to £1 million and are all tax-free.

  To find out more about ERNIE and the prize draw, head to our blog:

  All about Premium Bonds

• How to check your prizes

  Prize checker

  This is the quickest way to find out whether you’ve been lucky in the prize draw. Our prize checker will show you this month’s prizes, anything you’ve won in the previous six draws, as well as any older prizes that you haven’t claimed yet.

  Prize checker

  Prize checker app

  You can get the same information from the prize checker on our app. Download it for free at the Apple App Store or Google Play for Android.

  Amazon Alexa

  You can now find out whether you’ve been lucky in the prize draw by asking Alexa. Look out for the Premium Bonds prize checker Alexa skill at Amazon. Once you’ve enabled the skill you can check for prizes, find out when the next results are available and if you have any unclaimed prizes.

• How we pay your prizes

  Straight to your bank account

  Having your prizes paid straight into your bank account (or NS&I Direct Saver) is quick, easy and safe. If you win, we’ll let you know the good news by email or text message. You’ll then normally receive your prize money in your bank account by the 7th working day of the month.

  Reinvested into more Bonds

  If you have less than the maximum invested then using your winnings to buy more Bonds can be a great way of boosting your chances of winning again. Choose this option and we’ll automatically reinvest the prize money for you. As a bonus, your new Bonds will be eligible to win prizes from the very next draw.

  Through the post

  You can choose to receive a cheque through the post if you prefer, but it does take longer.

  To find out how to change the way you receive prizes, head over to our help article:

  Your Premium Bonds prizes

• High value prizes

  Prizes of £5,000 or more

  For £10,000 and £5,000 prizes, we'll pay your prize as per your instructions. Please note, we may send you a claim form, that you must complete and send back to us before we can pay your prize to you. Claim forms (where relevant) are sent on the third working day of the month.

  Winning the jackpot

  If you’re lucky enough to scoop the £1 million jackpot, our Agent Million will visit you in person to give you the good news! Remember to ask for their ID before you celebrate – they’ll always have it ready to show you.