How to Claim Powerball Prizes

There are different methods for claiming your Powerball winnings depending on how much your prize is worth. The rules for collecting winnings apply to the amount you have won and often apply to many lotteries at once, including state specific lotteries, although in the case of Powerball the set prize tiers mean that how to claim your winnings depends entirely on the number of balls you have matched.

What to do with a Winning Ticket

If you played online then you will be notified of your win via email from the online lottery provider you played with, not from Lottoamerica.com. It is important that you then check your win yourself by logging into your account and checking your numbers against those drawn, as email alerts are a common way for Lottery scams to spread.

If you played at a retailer then you should sign the back of your ticket to confirm that it is yours should it be lost or stolen. Keep the ticket in a safe place until you are ready to claim your prize. All Powerball prizes must be claimed in the same state that the ticket was bought in, so it’s best not to take the ticket with you should you go on holiday in the meantime.

Find out all the details of how to collect prizes below, including how to claim a Powerball jackpot.

Claiming Your Winnings

Expand all

$599 and under

Prizes of less than $600 can normally be claimed from any authorized lottery retailer. Before you go to a specific retailer to claim your prize, it might be worth checking ahead of time as some stores may limit their payouts to $100 or less depending on staff and store policies.

In this case, you can often mail your signed winning ticket to your state lottery office, along with a completed prize claim form and the relevant identification. However, you must check that your state offers this service before mailing the ticket.

This method of claiming your winnings applies to all winning tickets that Matched 4 main numbers or fewer. If you chose to play with the Power Play option and that came out as 10x (for Jackpots under $150million) then you would need to use the below method for claiming your winnings as it would exceed the $600 threshold.

$600 and over

Prizes of $600 or more can be claimed from a local district office, claim center or lottery headquarters. You can also collect these winnings by mail by sending the signed winning ticket to your state lottery office along with a completed prize claim form. Some states may have a limit on how much can be claimed this way, so it’s worth checking with your local lottery office for more information.

Jackpot Winners

If you have won the Jackpot prize you must contact your state/jurisdiction lottery headquarters to arrange to claim the prize in person, where the ticket will be verified and the method of payment decided upon.

Online Players

If you played online then you do not need to go anywhere to collect your winnings. All prizes will be paid into your online account automatically for you to then withdraw back to your bank account or use again to enter another draw. If you have won a prize of significant value, the online lottery provider may contact you directly to arrange a direct bank transfer of your winnings.

Next Estimated jackpot:

$315m

Time until draw:

Buy Tickets

Claims Period

Winning tickets do not last forever, and each state has a specific claims period for you to collect your prizes. Check your state in the table below to find out how long you have to claim your winnings:

State Claim Periods for Powerball Payouts
State	Claim Period
New Mexico	90 days
Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico*, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington State, Washington D.C, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming	180 days
Maryland	182 days
U.S. Virgin Islands	6 months
California**, Delaware, Illinois, Kansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont	1 year

*Jackpot claims in Puerto Rico must be made within 60 days if you wish to take the cash lump sum option. Jackpot winners claiming after 60 days can only accept the annuity prize.
**California players have 1 year to collect a jackpot prize, but only 180 days to claim a non-jackpot prize.