How to Request a Replacement Using IRS Form 3911

If you were expecting a tax refund by paper check and it never arrived — or it arrived damaged, destroyed, or stolen — you are not powerless. The IRS provides a process to protect taxpayers and reissue the refund. The key is to file Form 3911, Taxpayer Statement Regarding Refund.

This official form starts an IRS investigation, places a stop-payment on the original check, and initiates the process of reissuing your refund.

Step 1: Determine If It’s Time to Act

You should request a check trace if:

• 28 days have passed since the mailing date
• The check was delivered to the wrong address
• You never received it
• The check was damaged or defaced
• The check was stolen
• Someone else signed or cashed the check
• The check arrived but became lost before deposit

Do not wait months hoping for arrival — if the check is missing after a reasonable time, take action.

Step 2: Complete IRS Form 3911

You can fill out Form 3911 either by:

• printing and mailing it
  or
• faxing it to the IRS (where accepted)

You must include:

• full legal name
• Social Security Number
• filing status
• refund amount expected
• confirmation of missing or damaged check
• current address

Be accurate — this form becomes part of your identity verification.

Step 3: IRS Initiates a “Check Trace”

Once the IRS receives Form 3911, they begin a formal tracing process.

The Treasury Bureau of Fiscal Service (BFS) investigates whether the check:

• was cashed
• was altered
• was forged
• was incorrectly delivered
• was returned undeliverable

If the check was never cashed, a stop-payment is placed and a new check is issued.

If it was cashed by someone else, the IRS and Treasury will investigate fraud and require the bank to return the funds.

Step 4: Understanding the Resolution Timeline

Typical timelines:

• IRS review: 2–3 weeks
• Treasury investigation: 4–6 weeks
• Check reissuance: 6–12 weeks total

In some cases, if fraud is confirmed, the process can take longer — but ultimately, the taxpayer is protected.

Step 5: If You Moved or Changed Address

A very common cause of lost refund checks is an old or outdated address. Even if you filed a change of address with USPS, the IRS may have mailed to your last known tax address.

You may need to file:

• Form 8822 (Change of Address)

This ensures the reissued check goes to the correct location.

Step 6: If You Used a Preparer or Refund Bank

If your return was filed through:

• Santa Barbara TPG
• Refund Advantage
• Republic Bank
• EPS
• MetaBank
• H&R Block Emerald Card
• TurboTax debit card

You may need to contact the provider to confirm the address the check was originally routed to.

Some refunds are mailed to the bank partner — not the taxpayer.

Step 7: What NOT To Do

Do not:

• file a second return
• request a duplicate refund manually
• open a second “lost check” case
• claim the original refund as stolen income

These actions slow the process.

Signs Your Refund Was Already Cashed

If your refund was stolen and someone forged your signature, the IRS trace will show:

• a signed endorsement on the check
• deposit location
• banking institution
• time and date of cashing

If the check was fraudulently cashed, you will not lose the refund — the IRS will ultimately reissue funds after investigation.

The Best Protection: Direct Deposit Next Time

Paper checks are vulnerable.

Direct deposit:

• cannot be stolen from a mailbox
• cannot be accidentally shredded
• does not require manual reissue
• arrives faster
• avoids routing confusion

In many cases, switching to direct deposit eliminates 100 percent of these problems.

A lost, stolen, or damaged refund check is frustrating — but not final.

Form 3911 activates the IRS’s refund recovery process and ensures:

• a stop payment on the original check
• an official Treasury investigation
• eventual reissuance of your funds

You will not lose your refund permanently — the process exists specifically to protect taxpayers in this situation.