£128 Million in Unclaimed Premium Bonds Prizes: How to Check if Some Is Yours

Here’s a genuine “found it first” one. NS&I, the government-backed savings bank behind Premium Bonds, is sitting on 2,869,527 unclaimed prizes worth £128,345,775 (NS&I, October 2026). Some date back decades. Checking takes a few minutes, it’s completely free, and there’s no time limit to claim.

Why prizes go unclaimed

NS&I says over 99% of prizes have been paid out since the first draw in 1957. The rest usually go astray for ordinary reasons: people move house, change their name, change bank or email, and forget to tell NS&I (NS&I). A prize letter goes to an old address, and that’s that.

A prize counts as unclaimed once it’s been uncashed for 18 months (NS&I). And NS&I is clear: “there’s no time limit to make your claim” (NS&I help).

Be realistic. Most prizes are small: the lowest is £25, and the bulk of each month’s prizes are £25, £50 or £100 (NS&I prize breakdown). You’re far more likely to find £25 than a fortune. But £25 you didn’t know you had is still £25.

Who should check

• Anyone who’s ever held Premium Bonds, even years ago.
• People who were given bonds as a child. Grandparents loved buying them.
• Anyone who’s moved house or changed their name since buying.
• Families sorting out the affairs of someone who’s died.

How to check: step by step

1. Find your holder’s number

You need your Premium Bonds holder’s number. It’s on your Bond record, or you’ll see it when you log in to your NS&I account. It’s either 9 or 10 digits, or 8 digits followed by a letter (NS&I).

If you have an 11-digit NS&I number (starting 11, 21, 31 or 41) instead, you can use it in the prize checker app, but not on the website.

2. Use the official prize checker

Go to the NS&I prize checker and enter your number. It shows this month’s prizes, the previous six draws, and any older prizes you haven’t claimed (NS&I). There’s also an official app on the App Store and Google Play, and an Alexa skill.

Only use NS&I’s own website or app. You never need to pay anyone to check, and you should never hand your details to a third-party “prize finder” site or someone who contacts you out of the blue.

3. Can’t find your number?

Write to NS&I and ask for your prize history. Include your name, address and NS&I number or holder’s number if you have it (NS&I help). If you’ve lost track of the bonds entirely, the same NS&I “lost touch” help section explains how to trace them.

4. Or check the big list

NS&I publishes a downloadable list of the Bond numbers of every unclaimed prize since June 1957, on its winning Bonds downloads page. Handy if you’ve found old bond certificates in a drawer.

How to claim

• If you’re registered for NS&I’s online and phone service, call them and they’ll help you claim.
• If not, you can register, or write to NS&I, Sunderland SR43 2SB with your holder’s number, your current and any previous names, your current and any previous addresses, and your signature.

Unclaimed prizes are sent to your home address as a warrant, so they can’t go straight to your bank account (NS&I help).

Stop it happening again

NS&I’s own advice: have prizes paid straight into your bank account or automatically reinvested in more bonds, up to the £50,000 holding limit. Nine in ten prizes are now paid this way (NS&I). And whenever you move, tell NS&I along with everyone else.

While you’re at it: other places lost money hides

Premium Bonds aren’t the only place forgotten money sits. These are free, official or industry-run services:

• Old bank and building society accounts: My Lost Account, run by the banking and building society trade bodies with NS&I.
• Old workplace or personal pensions: the government’s Pension Tracing Service.
• Child Trust Funds: if you were born between 1 September 2002 and 2 January 2011, you may have one. GOV.UK explains how to find it.

Again: never pay a company to do what these free services do.

Told straight

This isn’t a get-rich trick. It’s a five-minute check that might turn up a forgotten £25, or occasionally a lot more, sitting in your name. Do it for yourself, then do it for your parents and grandparents. It’s one of the few “free money” headlines that’s actually true.

Figures from NS&I’s October 2026 draw announcement, checked 30 October 2026. Unclaimed totals change monthly.