How to Check Your Lottery Ticket (and What to Do If You Win)
A simple routine for checking lottery tickets against the results, spotting smaller prizes people miss, and protecting a winning ticket.
Plenty of prizes go unclaimed every year, and most of them are small ones people didn't realize they'd won. A careful check takes a minute.
1. Check the draw date on the ticket
Your ticket is only valid for the draw dates printed on it. A Powerball ticket bought on Monday afternoon is usually for Monday night, but a ticket bought after the cut-off rolls to the next draw. Twice-daily games like Take 5, Numbers and Win 4 also show Midday, Evening or both.
2. Find that exact draw
Each game page shows the latest result and the last few draws. For anything older, type the date into the "Find a past draw" box, which takes you straight to that draw in the results archive.
3. Check every line, and every way to win
- In Powerball and Mega Millions, matching the bonus ball alone wins something. Don't skip a line just because the white balls missed.
- If you bought Double Play, check the Double Play numbers too.
- In Pick 10, matching none of your ten numbers is a prize.
- For Numbers and Win 4 Box bets, the order doesn't matter.
The number checker on each game page does this for you: enter your numbers and it counts matches against recent draws.
4. Confirm it officially
We work hard to get results right, but the official lottery is the final word. Scan your ticket at a retailer or in your state lottery's app before you throw anything away, and before you celebrate.
If you've won something big
- Sign the back of the ticket. An unsigned ticket can be claimed by whoever holds it.
- Photograph both sides and keep the ticket somewhere safe.
- Check the claim deadline. It's set by the state where you bought the ticket, often between 90 days and a year from the draw. New York allows one year.
- Take your time. For a large prize, talk to a tax professional and a financial adviser before claiming. Our post on lump sum versus annuity covers the basics.
- Watch out for scams. No real lottery will ask you to pay a fee to receive a prize, or contact you about a game you didn't enter.