Check Premium Bonds Wins: NS&I App, Dates and Old Prizes
Check Premium Bonds wins with your holder's or NS&I number from 3 November. The app shows six draws plus old prizes; £128m is still unclaimed.
The fastest way to check Premium Bonds wins is NS&I’s free prize checker app, because it is the only checker that accepts both of the numbers NS&I gives you. The website checker takes your holder’s number only. Either way, results for each month’s draw go live on the day after the first working day of the month, so the next chance to look is Tuesday 3 November 2026, followed by Wednesday 2 December.
This page covers which number you need and where to find it, what the app shows and what it does not, the dates to check, and how to claim anything old. The October 2026 draw release from NS&I puts unclaimed prizes at 2,869,527, worth £128,345,775, so it is worth a look even if you stopped paying attention years ago.
Which number to use: holder’s number or NS&I number
NS&I issues two different numbers, and mixing them up is the most common reason a check fails.
| Holder’s number | NS&I number | |
|---|---|---|
| What it looks like | 9 or 10 digits, or 8 digits followed by a letter | 11 digits, starting 11, 21, 31 or 41 |
| Where to find it | Your Bond record, or after logging in to nsandi.com | Most letters and emails NS&I has sent you |
| Works in the prize checker app | Yes | Yes |
| Works on the nsandi.com prize checker | Yes | No |
If all you have is an old letter with an 11-digit number on it, use the app. If you have neither, log in to your NS&I account, where the holder’s number is shown, or write to NS&I asking for your prize history (details further down).
Checking in the prize checker app
The app is called the NS&I Premium Bonds prize checker and is free on the Apple App Store and Google Play. NS&I’s mobile page describes what it does:
- Add each number once. Enter your holder’s number or NS&I number, and the numbers of anyone else in the family you check for, such as children’s Bonds. The app keeps them, so next month it is a couple of taps.
- Look at the latest draw. The app shows whether any of those numbers won in the most recent draw that has been published.
- Scroll back six draws. It also lists wins from the previous six months, which covers you if you missed a few checks.
- Check for unclaimed prizes. Anything older that has not been paid out shows up too.
What the app is not: it is a checker, not a banking app. NS&I’s mobile page lists no way to see your balance, buy Bonds or cash them in through it. Those jobs are done by logging in at nsandi.com or by phone.
The other two routes give the same results. The website checker needs only the holder’s number, and the Premium Bonds skill for Amazon Alexa answers “have I won?” along with when the next results are due.
When results go live: the dates
NS&I announces the two £1 million winners on the first working day of each month, after Agent Million has visited them. Everyone else, with prizes from £25 to £100,000, can check from the following day.
| Draw | £1m winners announced | Prize checker opens |
|---|---|---|
| November 2026 | Monday 2 November | Tuesday 3 November |
| December 2026 | Tuesday 1 December | Wednesday 2 December |
| January 2027 | Monday 4 January | Tuesday 5 January |
The November date is the one NS&I’s prize checker currently counts down to. December and January follow the published rule (1 January is a bank holiday, so January’s first working day is the 4th); check NS&I’s site nearer the time in case it changes the schedule over the holidays.
Two timing points catch people out. New Bonds must be held for one full calendar month before they enter a draw, so Bonds bought on 10 October are first eligible in December. And prizes paid to a bank account normally arrive by the seventh working day of the month, so a win you see on 3 November may not be in your account until the following week.
Stop needing to check: prize options
The checker is the backup. The better set-up is to have NS&I tell you, which it does by email or text once your prizes are set to be paid to a bank account or reinvested. Those two options now account for nine in ten prizes paid, according to NS&I.
- Paid to your bank. Money normally lands by the 7th working day of the month, with a text or email to say you have won.
- Reinvested. NS&I buys more Bonds with the prize automatically, and those Bonds go straight into the next draw with no one-month wait. This only works up to the £50,000 holding limit.
- Cheque by post. Still available if you call and ask, but slower, and cheques expire after three months (NS&I will reissue an expired one).
You can switch by logging in and going to Your profile, then Your prize options. NS&I also has a form that changes your prize option with just your holder’s number, bank details and an email address or UK mobile number, with no online account needed. Its prizes help page links to it, and says people who still receive cheques will soon need to give bank details for future prizes.
Bigger wins work differently. For £25,000, £50,000 or £100,000, NS&I posts a claim form on the first working day of the month, and the prize is paid once you send it back.
Claiming an old prize
NS&I counts a prize as unclaimed once it is more than 18 months old, but there is no time limit on claiming. Prizes usually go astray because someone moved house, changed name or changed bank and did not tell NS&I.
- Find it. Use the app or website checker with your holder’s number, or log in to see your full prize history.
- If you are registered for online and phone service, call NS&I and it will handle the claim.
- If you are not, either register (and set future prizes to go to your bank), or write to NS&I, Sunderland SR43 2SB, with your holder’s number, current name, any previous names, current address, any previous addresses the Bonds were registered to, and your signature.
One catch: NS&I says it cannot pay an unclaimed prize straight to a bank account. It sends it to your home address as a warrant, so make sure the address you give is current.
If you are checking for someone who has died, the route is different: NS&I’s bereavement service handles the Bonds and any prizes, not the prize checker.
Are Premium Bonds still worth holding?
Checking every month is a good reminder to ask whether the money is in the right place. The prize fund rate is 4.35% with odds of 21,000 to 1 per £1 Bond, but that is an average, and with £1,000 held you win nothing in most years. Our comparison of Premium Bonds against a savings account works through who comes out ahead once tax is counted, and our page on where to keep an emergency fund covers which apps give same-day access when you need the cash.
Frequently asked questions
How do I check if I have won on Premium Bonds? Use the NS&I prize checker app with your holder’s number or NS&I number, the prize checker on nsandi.com with your holder’s number, or the Premium Bonds skill on Alexa. Results go live on the day after the first working day of each month.
When can I check my Premium Bonds for November 2026? From Tuesday 3 November 2026. The two £1 million winners are announced the day before, Monday 2 November. The December results open on Wednesday 2 December.
Can I use my NS&I number on the website prize checker? No. The website checker only accepts the holder’s number (9 or 10 digits, or 8 digits and a letter). The 11-digit NS&I number only works in the prize checker app.
How far back does the Premium Bonds prize checker go? It shows the latest draw and the previous six, plus any older prizes that have not been claimed. NS&I counts a prize as unclaimed after 18 months and holds it indefinitely.
Is there a time limit to claim a Premium Bonds prize? No. NS&I holds unclaimed prizes until you get in touch, however old they are. It currently holds 2,869,527 of them worth £128,345,775. Old prizes are sent to your home address as a warrant, not to your bank.
Can I check Premium Bonds for my children in the app? Yes. The app lets you save the numbers for Bonds held by you and your family, and checks them all each month.
Sources
NS&I October 2026 prize draw press release (unclaimed prize figures, announcement and checking dates), NS&I prize checker, mobile app and Premium Bonds prizes help pages, the NS&I unclaimed prizes page and the Premium Bonds product page, all checked 12 October 2026.
