Redeeming Registered Warrants
What You Need to Know

The State Treasurer’s Office is responsible for redeeming registered warrants. The Office is operating a toll-free telephone Help Line to answer questions about how the redemption process works. The Help Line number is 1-888-864-2762. Representatives will be available Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. to assist those who call the Help Line.

As soon as possible, the State Treasurer’s Office will launch an automated version of the Help Line, which will operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The State Controller’s Office issues registered warrants. For general information about registered warrants, visit the State Controller’s Office web site at www.sco.ca.gov or call 1-866-267-4255.

If You Have Received a Registered Warrant

• Check with your bank to find out if it will accept a registered warrant before it can be redeemed by the State.
• If your bank accepts registered warrants before they can be redeemed by the State, you can deposit or cash your registered warrant immediately.
• Your bank then will hold the registered warrant until it can be redeemed.
• When the bank redeems your registered warrant, the bank will be paid the interest owed by the State.
• Please note that even if your bank accepts registered warrants before they can be redeemed, you can choose instead to hold your warrant until it’s redeemable, then redeem it yourself and get paid the interest.
• If your bank does not accept registered warrants before they can be redeemed by the State, you must hold it until it’s redeemable.
• When you hold your registered warrant and redeem it with the State, you get paid the interest.

When Can You Redeem Your Registered Warrant?

• If the State has sufficient cash available, registered warrants will be redeemed by the State Treasurer’s Office no later than October 2, 2009.
• If the State’s cash flow improves, registered warrants may be redeemed before October 2, 2009. The State Pooled Money Investment Board will determine whether the State has sufficient cash available to redeem registered warrants before October 2, 2009.
• If the State Pooled Money Investment Board decides the State has sufficient cash available to redeem registered warrants before October 2, 2009, the Board will set an earlier redemption date.
• Major newspapers in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Sacramento will publish the earlier redemption date.
• The earlier redemption dates also will be posted on the State Treasurer’s Office web site, at www.treasurer.ca.gov, and the State Controller’s Office web site, at www.sco.ca.gov.

How Do You Redeem Your Registered Warrant?

• Check with your bank to find out if they will accept your registered warrant.
• If your bank accepts registered warrants, you can deposit or cash it with the bank. The bank will get paid the interest owed by the State.
• If your bank does not accept registered warrants, or if you would prefer getting paid the interest instead of your bank, you can redeem the registered warrant with the State yourself.
• You can redeem your registered warrant with the State via mail. Send the registered warrant to State Treasurer’s Office, Attn: Registered Warrant Desk, 915 Capitol Mall, Sacramento, CA 95814.
• The State Treasurer’s Office then will send you a check, which you can deposit or cash at your bank.
• You also can redeem your registered warrant with the State in person at the State Treasurer’s Office, located at 915 Capitol Mall in Sacramento, California.
• The walk-in office hours are Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Important Notice Regarding Third-Party Purchases of Registered Warrants

• If you are an individual, and you purchased a registered warrant from another individual, and if you cannot deposit or cash the warrant with your bank, you can redeem the registered warrant with the State Treasurer's Office in person or via mail, when the registered warrant is eligible to be redeemed (see above, When Can You Redeem Your Registered Warrant?).
• PLEASE NOTE: The State Treasurer's Office will not redeem such registered warrants without a notarized Bill of Sale signed by the payee whose name appears on the registered warrant.

How Much Interest Will the State Pay On My Registered Warrant?

• The State will pay an annualized interest rate of 3.75 percent on registered warrants.
• If you redeem your registered warrant yourself, the State Treasurer’s Office will include your interest payment in your redemption check.
• To get a rough idea of how much interest you will receive when you redeem your registered warrant, here’s a formula you can use: Multiply the amount of your registered warrant by .0375. Divide that number by 360. Then multiply that result by the number of days from the date your registered warrant was issued to the redemption date.