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Buying T-Bills Directly from Goverment
Buying directly from the Treasury requires opening an account and then submitting a tender form.
The first step is to fill in a new account form establishing an account with the Department of the Treasury. The nine-digit routing number on the form is the identifying number of your financial institution. You can find the routing number in front of your account number on the bottom line of a check deposit slip.
Submit this form to the Federal Reserve Bank or branch. Then you will receive the confirmation that your account has been established having attached to it your account number.
The purchases of Treasury securities are recorded in this account, which is free up to the amount of $100,000 in securities. When you invest a larger amount than the one established, the Federal Reserve Bank will charge you $25 for account maintenance. Fill in the tender form to buy Treasury bills directly from a Federal Reserve Bank. The Federal Reserve Auctions new issues of Treasury bill weekly, and you can submit bids on either a competitive or a non-competitive basis.
Treasury bills purchased directly through the Federal Reserve Banks are kept in the Treasury direct back-entry system designed mainly for investors with intentions of keeping securities until maturity.
If you decide to sell your T-bills before maturity, you will have to fill in a Transfer Request Form (PD5179), which transfers the account to the commercial site-entry system. Just then can you sell your T-bills through a broker before maturity.
The commercial site-entry system records T-bills purchased through financial institutions and US Government securities dealers. You can get information about the Treasury bills in the US Government's web site.