Claiming Prizes
As we continue to safely find our way forward amid the COVID-19 emergency, the Iowa Lottery is offering a variety of prize-claim options to its players.
We're all in this together and the Iowa Lottery joins you in committing to protect the safety and wellbeing of our state.
Prize-claim appointments are available at our offices, with some restrictions applying. Players also can continue to mail or ship tickets to us in most instances, or can use the secure dropbox at lottery headquarters.
Scheduling An Appointment
To make a prize-claim appointment, please call the lottery office where you want to claim your prize to schedule a time and receive other details, including the documentation you will need to have with you. (Remember that all prizes of more than $250,000 must be claimed at lottery headquarters in Clive.)
Here are our telephone numbers:
Clive: 515-725-7900
Cedar Rapids: 319-395-9313
Mason City: 641-424-6011
Storm Lake: 712-732-6662
What To Do When You Arrive
If you're claiming a prize on behalf of a group or have friends or family coming with you, please know that only the person claiming the prize will be allowed inside our office to help maintain social distancing.
There is a hand-sanitizing station just inside our main door, and we ask that all visitors use it. Lottery staff are wearing masks when interacting with the public and we strongly encourage visitors to do so as well.
For everyone's safety, we've installed transparent shields at our customer-service counters, and lottery staff will wipe down and sanitize the immediate area after each customer's visit.
At times, the front doors to our offices may be closed to help maintain social distancing. In those instances, we will provide signs with instructions about how to contact us when you arrive.
Where to Claim a Prize
Iowa Lottery prizes up to $600 in lotto, InstaPlay and instant-scratch games may be redeemed at any lottery retailer
location in the state if sufficient funds are available. Pull-tab prizes of up to $600, however, must be redeemed
at the same location where the ticket was purchased.
Prizes more than $250,000 as well as some special merchandise prizes must be claimed in person at the Iowa Lottery headquarters office
in Clive. For information on how to redeem this type of prize, please contact us via email or telephone.
How to Claim a Prize by Mail
Lottery prizes (except those noted above, which must be claimed in person) may be claimed by mail. On the back of
your ticket, complete the name and address information and sign the signature line. A parent or guardian must
also sign the ticket for any claimant who is a minor.
For prizes of $100 or more, a completed copy of our Winner Claim Form plus either Federal Form W-9 (for U.S. citizens) or
Federal Form W-8BEN (for non-U.S. citizens) are required.
For prizes of more than $600, those two documents are required along with a legible, valid copy of the winner's
government-issued photo identification. (Acceptable examples include: driver's license, state I.D. card,
military I.D. card, passport, or permanent resident card.) If you are NOT a U.S. citizen, but are a Permanent
Resident, you must provide us with your current Permanent Resident card and/or Social Security card or additional
taxes may be withheld.
Mail the ticket with your completed Winner Claim Form, Form W-9 and copy of photo I.D. (if applicable) to the
official mailing address at:
Iowa Lottery
13001 University Ave
Clive IA 50325-8225
Group Play
Prizes can be paid to players who play as a group. A check can be written to an entity such as a trust or to a
single individual. If an individual claims the prize on behalf of a group, they must indicate this on the Winner
Claim Form. In addition, they must submit a Federal Form 5754, listing all the winners of the prize with their
address and tax identification information, when claiming the prize. This ensures that the prize and tax withheld
is correctly allocated to each group member. The lottery suggests that the back of the ticket should not be signed
until the group has determined how the ticket will be submitted on the winner claim form.
Check out these reminders to keep your group play fun and
hassle free.
Deadlines To Claim Prizes
Scratch and Pull-tab prizes must be claimed within 90 days of the official game end date of the specific game. See
our Scratch Games Ending and
Pull-tab Games Ending pages for more information.
InstaPlay prizes must be claimed within 90 days of the date of purchase.
Iowa's Pick 3 and Pick 4 prizes must be claimed within 90 days of the drawing for which they were eligible.
Powerball, Mega Millions, Lotto America and Lucky for Life prizes must be claimed within 365 days of the drawing
for which they were eligible.
See our Unclaimed Prizes page for lotto and InstaPlay game prizes of $600 and
greater that are currently unclaimed.
Ticket Accuracy
Players are responsible for checking the accuracy of their ticket before leaving the store and for determining
if the ticket is a winner. If you believe you have won and the terminal rejects or the retailer disputes the
validity of your prize claim, you may submit your claim directly to the Iowa Lottery for review. All risks
of redeeming the ticket remain with the player.
Note: Adobe Acrobat Reader
is required to view PDF documents.
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