Many newspapers also report Treasury auction schedules in their financial sections. Simply submit a bid for the security you want to buy. You can bid either noncompetitively or a competitively, but not both in the same auction. If you bid noncompetitively, you'll receive the full amount of the security you want at the return determined at that auction. Therefore, you don't have to specify the return you'd like to receive.
Most individual investors bid noncompetitively.
If the return you specify is too high, you might not receive any securities, or just a portion of what you bid for. However, you can bid competitively for much larger amounts than you can noncompetitively. Once we announce the auction of a security, you can submit a bid for an auction directly to us, to a Federal Reserve Bank, or through a financial institution, broker, or dealer. We accept bids by mail or, for current customers, over the Internet and by touch-tone phone. A financial institution, government securities broker, or dealer can also submit bids on your behalf.