Australia The
Australian dollar, comprising notes and coins, is legal tender in
Australia. Australian notes are legal tender by virtue of the
Reserve Bank Act 1959 (Cth) s 36(1), without an amount limit. The
Currency Act 1965 (Cth) similarly provides that Australian coins intended for general circulation are also legal tender, but only for the following amounts: • Not exceeding 20c if 1c and/or 2c coins are offered, • Not exceeding $5 if any of 5c, 10c, 20c and 50c coins are offered, • Not exceeding 10 times the face value if the coins offered are greater than 50c up to and including $10, • To any value for coins of other denominations above $10. The 1c and 2c coins were
withdrawn from circulation from February 1992 but remain legal tender.
Australia Post prohibits the sending of coins or banknotes, of any country, except via
registered post.
History In 1901, notes in circulation in
Australia consisted of bank notes payable in gold coin and issued by the trading banks, and Queensland Treasury notes. Bank notes circulated in all states except
Queensland, but were not legal tender except for a brief period in 1893 in
New South Wales. There were, however, some restrictions on their issue and other provisions for the protection of the public. Queensland Treasury notes were issued by the Queensland Government and were legal tender in that state. Notes of both categories continued in circulation until 1910, when the
Commonwealth Parliament passed the
Australian Notes Act 1910 and the
Bank Notes Tax Act 1910. The
Australian Notes Act 1910 prohibited the circulation of state notes as money, and the
Bank Notes Tax Act 1910 imposed a tax of 10%, per annum, on "all bank notes issued or re-issued by any bank in the Commonwealth after the commencement of this Act, and not redeemed". These Acts effectively put an end to the issue of notes by the trading banks and the Queensland Treasury.
The Reserve Bank Act 1959 expressly prohibits persons and states from issuing "a bill or note for the payment of money payable to bearer on demand and intended for circulation".
Canada In general,
Canadian dollar banknotes issued by the
Bank of Canada and
coins issued under the authority of the
Royal Canadian Mint Act are legal tender in
Canada. However, commercial transactions may legally be settled in any manner agreed by the parties involved with the transactions. For example, convenience stores may refuse $100 bank notes if they feel that would put them at risk of being
counterfeit victims; however, official policy suggests that the retailers should evaluate the impact of that approach. In the case that no mutually acceptable form of payment can be found for the tender, the parties involved should seek legal advice. Under the
Currency Act, there are limits to the value of a transaction for which only coins are used. A payment in coins is a legal tender for no more than the following amounts for the following denominations of coins: • $40 if the denomination is $2 to $10, • $25 if the denomination is $1, • $10 if the denomination is 10c to $1, • $5 if the denomination is 5c, and • 25c if the denomination is 1c. In the case of coins of a denomination greater than $10, a payment is a legal tender for no more than the value of a single coin of that denomination. Where more than one amount is payable by one person to another on the same day under one or more obligations, the total of those amounts is deemed to be one amount due and payable on that day.
China In the People's Republic of China, the official currency
renminbi serves as the unlimited legal tender for all transactions. It is illegal for any public institution or individual to refuse the currency when settling public or private debts.
El Salvador In 2001,
El Salvador's government ceased issuing the
Salvadoran colón and began using the US dollar as the country's primary legal tender currency. Although the colón has remained legal tender, it is no longer in circulation. In June 2021, El Salvador's
Legislative Assembly and president
Nayib Bukele passed the
Bitcoin Law, classifying
bitcoin as legal tender. Under the law, both bitcoin and the US dollar were legal tender. In February 2025, El Salvador's government removed bitcoin's legal tender status, following pressure from the
International Monetary Fund.
Eurozone Euro coins and
banknotes became legal tender in most countries of the
Eurozone on 1 January 2002. Although one side of the coins is used for different national marks for each country, all coins and all banknotes are legal tender throughout the
eurozone. Although some eurozone countries do not put 1 cent and 2 cent coins into general circulation (prices in those countries are by general understanding always
rounded to whole multiples of 5 cent), 1 cent and 2 cent coins from other eurozone countries remain legal tender in those countries. Council Regulation (EC) No 974/98 limits the number of coins that can be offered for payment to fifty. Governments that issue the coins must establish the euro as the only legal tender. Due to variations on the legislative meaning of legal tender in various member states and the ability of contract law to overrule the status of legal tender, it is possible for merchants to choose to refuse to accept euro banknotes and coins within specific countries within the Eurozone. For example, the Netherlands, Italy, Belgium, Finland, and Ireland have
de jure or
de facto removed the use of 1 cent and 2 cent coins and adopted
cash rounding to the nearest multiple of 5 cents. National laws may also impose restrictions as to maximal amounts that can be settled by coins or notes.
Kosovo and
Montenegro, which are not members of the European Union and the Eurozone and do not have a formal monetary agreement with the EU, unilaterally adopted the euro in 2002 as their
de facto domestic currency to ensure monetary stability and to continue to avoid the high/hyper inflation seen in preceding decades: this means that the euro is not a legal tender there, however it is treated as such by the government and the people.
France Legal tender was enacted the first time for gold and silver coins in the
French Penal Code of 1807 (art. 475, 11°). In 1870, legal tender was extended to all notes of the
Banque de France. Anyone refusing such coins for their whole value would be prosecuted (French Penal Code art. R. 642–3).
India The
Indian rupee is the
de facto legal tender currency in
India. The Indian rupee is also legal tender in
Nepal and
Bhutan, but the
Nepalese rupee and
Bhutanese ngultrum are not legal tender in India. Both the Nepalese rupee and Bhutanese ngultrum are pegged with the Indian rupee. The Indian rupee used to be an official currency of several other countries, including the
Straits Settlements (now
Singapore and parts of
Malaysia),
Iraq,
Kuwait,
Bahrain,
Qatar, the
Trucial States (now the
UAE),
Oman,
Aden Colony and
Aden Protectorate (now parts of
Yemen),
British Somaliland,
British East Africa, and
Zanzibar. In 1837, the Indian rupee was made the sole official currency of the Straits Settlements, as it was administered as a part of India. In 1845, the British replaced the Indian rupee with the
Straits dollar after administration of the Straits Settlements separated from India earlier in that same year. After
partition of India and Pakistan in 1947, the
Pakistani rupee came into existence, initially using Indian coins and Indian currency notes simply overstamped with the word "Pakistan". New coins and banknotes were issued in 1948. The
Gulf rupee, also known as the Persian Gulf rupee (XPGR), was introduced by the
Government of India as a replacement for the Indian rupee for circulation exclusively outside the country with the
Reserve Bank of India Amendment Act of 1 May 1959. This creation of a separate currency was an attempt to reduce the strain put on India's foreign reserves by gold smuggling. Kuwait and Bahrain eventually replaced the Gulf rupee with their own currencies (the
Kuwaiti dinar and the
Bahraini dinar) after gaining independence from Britain in 1961 and 1965, respectively. On 6 June 1966, India devalued the rupee. To avoid following this devaluation, several of the states using the rupee adopted their own currencies. Qatar and most of the Trucial States adopted the
Qatar and Dubai riyal, whilst Abu Dhabi adopted the
Bahraini dinar. Only Oman continued to use the Gulf rupee until 1970, with the government backing the currency at its old peg to the pound. Oman later replaced the Gulf rupee with its own
rial in 1970. On 8 November 2016,
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that existing
INR 500 and INR 1000 banknotes would no longer be accepted as legal tender with a view to curb counterfeiting, tax evasion and the
parallel economy. The
Reserve Bank of India outlined a scheme for holders of such banknotes to either deposit them into their bank accounts for full, unlimited value, or to exchange the banknotes for new, subject to a cap.
Republic of Ireland According to the
Economic and Monetary Union Act 1998 of the
Republic of Ireland, which replaced the legal tender provisions that had been re-enacted in Irish legislation from previous British enactments, "No person, other than the
Central Bank of Ireland and such persons as may be designated by the Minister by order, shall be obliged to accept more than 50 coins denominated in euro or in cent in any single transaction."
History The Decimal Currency Act, 1970 governed legal tender prior to the adoption of the euro and laid down the analogous provisions as in United Kingdom legislation (all inherited from previous
UK law), namely: coins denominated above 10 pence became legal tender for payment not exceeding £10, coins denominated not more than 10 pence became legal tender for payment not exceeding £5, and bronze coins became legal tender for payment not exceeding 20 pence.
New Zealand New Zealand has a complex history of legal tender. English law applied, as applicable to local circumstances, either from 6 January 1840 (when
the Governor of New South Wales by proclamation annexed New Zealand) or from 14 January 1840 (when Captain
Hobson (of the Royal Navy) was sworn in as Lieutenant-Governor of New Zealand). The English Laws Act 1858 subsequently confirmed that English legislation passed prior to 14 January 1840 was and had been the law of New Zealand, as applicable to local circumstances. The (UK) Coinage Act 1816 therefore applied and British coins were confirmed as legal tender in
New Zealand. (Unusually, until 1989, the
Reserve Bank, established in 1934, did not have the right to issue coins as legal tender. Coins had to be issued by the
Minister of Finance.) The history of bank notes in New Zealand was considerably more complex. In 1840 the
Union Bank of Australia started issuing bank notes under provisions of British law but these were not automatically legal tender. In 1844, ordinances were passed by NZ Parliament making the
Union Bank banknotes legal tender and authorizing the government to issue debentures in small denominations, thus creating two sets of legal tender. These debentures were circulated but were traded at a discount to their face value because of distrust of the colonial government amongst the settler population. In 1845 the British Colonial office disallowed the Ordinance,
Norway The
Norwegian krone (NOK) is legal tender in
Norway according to the Central Bank () of 24 May 1985. However, no-one is obliged to accept more than 25 coins of each denomination (of which currently 1, 5, 10 and 20 NOK denominations are in common circulation).
Singapore and Brunei Singapore and
Brunei have a Currency Interchangeability Agreement since 12 June 1967. Under the agreement,
Singapore dollar and
Brunei dollar are exchangeable at par without charge in both countries. As such, the currency of one country is accepted in the other country as "customary tender".
Switzerland and Liechtenstein The
Swiss franc is the only legal tender in
Switzerland. Any payment consisting of up to 100 Swiss coins is legal tender; banknotes are legal tender for any amount. The sixth series of Swiss
bank notes from 1976, recalled by the National Bank in 2000 and the eighth series from the 1990s which was withdrawn in 2021, are both no longer legal tender, but banknotes from both series can be exchanged for current notes indefinitely at branches of the Swiss National Bank or at cantonal banks. The Swiss franc is also the legal tender of the Principality of
Liechtenstein, which is in a
customs union with Switzerland. The Swiss franc is also the currency used for administrative and accounting purposes by most of the numerous international organisations that are headquartered in Switzerland.
Taiwan The
New Taiwan dollar issued by the
Central Bank of the Republic of China (Taiwan) is legal tender for all payments within the territory of the
Republic of China,
Taiwan. However, since 2007, candidates to become civil servants in
elections in the Republic of China may no longer pay any
deposit in coinage.
Thailand Series 2 banknotes first issued in 1925 during the reign of
Rama VI and continuing into the reign of
Rama VII added the legend:
Promise to pay (silver to)
bearer on demand in (silver)
currency of Siam; later changed in 1928 to be in line with The Currency Act, B.E. 2471 to:
This note is legal tender (
literal translation,
silver in payment of debt)
according to law. The front has a
guilloche design with twelve rays, and the back, depictions of the
Royal Ploughing Ceremony. These were printed in 6 denominations – 1, 5, 10, 20,100 and 1000 baht – in two types printed by
De La Rue of London, England.
United Kingdom In the UK legal tender specifically relates to the settlement of
debts: a debtor cannot successfully be sued for non-payment if they pay the exact amount (change cannot be demanded) into court in legal tender. Legal tender is solely for the guaranteed settlement of debts, and does not imply a right to pay with cash in other contexts. There is a misconception that somebody due to be paid a certain amount of money—such as a shopkeeper—must accept legal tender if proffered for payment; in reality the payee may choose to refuse or accept any specific type of payment, whether legal tender or not. As a specific instance, following the outbreak in 2020 of the
COVID-19 pandemic, many shops chose not to accept any form of cash due to the risk of infection, accepting
payment cards only. Throughout the United Kingdom,
Royal Mint coins valued
£1,
£2, and
£5 sterling are legal tender in unlimited amounts.
Twenty pence pieces and
fifty pence pieces are legal tender in amounts up to £10;
five pence pieces and
ten pence pieces are legal tender in amounts up to £5; and
pennies and
two pence coins are legal tender in amounts up to 20 pence.
gold sovereigns are also legal tender for any amount. Although it is not specifically mentioned on them, the face values of gold coins are 50p, £1, £2 and £5, a mere fraction of their worth as bullion. Five pound coins, although legal tender, are intended as souvenirs and are almost never seen in circulation.
England and Wales Current
Bank of England notes are legal tender in England and Wales and are issued in the denominations of £5, £10, £20 and £50. Banknotes can always be redeemed at the Bank of England even if discontinued. To meet the legal definition of legal tender, the exact amount due must be tendered; no change can be demanded.
History In the 19th century, gold coins were legal tender to any amount, but silver coins were not legal tender for sums over £2 nor bronze for sums over 1
shilling. This provision was retained in revised form at the introduction of
decimal currency, and the
Coinage Act 1971 laid down that coins denominated above 10 pence became legal tender for payment not exceeding 10 pounds, non-bronze coins denominated not more than 10 pence became legal tender for payment not exceeding 5 pounds, and bronze coins became legal tender for payment not exceeding 20 pence.
United States Before the
American Civil War (1861–1865), silver coins were legal tender only up to the sum of $5. Before 1853, when U.S. silver coins were reduced in weight 7%, coins had exactly their value in metal (from 1830 to 1852). Two silver 50 cent coins had exactly $1 worth of silver. A gold U.S. dollar of 1849 had $1 worth of gold. With the flood of gold coming out of the California mines in the early 1850s, the price of silver rose (gold went down). Thus, 50 cent coins of 1840 to 1852 were worth 53 cents if melted down. The government could increase the value of the gold coins (expensive) or reduce the size of all U.S. silver coins. With the reduction of 1853, a 50-cent coin now had only 48 cents of silver. This is the reason for the $5 limit of silver coins as legal tender; paying somebody $100 in the new silver coins would be giving them $96 worth of silver. Most people preferred bank check or gold coins for large purchases. During the early part of the war, the federal government first issued United States Notes (inheriting the nickname
greenback notes from the contemporary new
Demand Notes), which were not redeemable in gold and silver coins but could be used to pay "all dues" to the federal government. Since land purchases and duties on imports were payable only in gold or the new
Demand Notes, the Demand Notes were bought by importers and land speculators for about 97 cents on the gold dollar and never lost value. 1862 greenbacks (
Legal Tender Notes) at first traded for 97 cents on the dollar but gained/lost value depending on fortunes of the Union army. The value of Legal Tender Greenbacks swung wildly but trading was from 85 to 33 cents on the gold dollar. This resulted in a situation in which the greenback "Legal Tender" notes of 1862 were
fiat, and so gold and silver were held, and paper circulated at a discount because of
Gresham's law. The 1861 Demand Notes were a huge success but robbed the customs house of much needed gold coin (interest on most bonds back then was paid in gold). A money-strapped Congress, which had to pay for the war, eventually adopted the
Legal Tender Act of 1862, issuing
United States Notes backed only by treasury securities and compelled the people to accept the new notes at a discount; prices rose except for those who had gold and/or silver coins. Following the Civil War, paper currency was disputed as to whether it must be accepted as payment. In 1869, Hepburn v. Griswold found that Henry Griswold would not have to accept paper currency because it could not truly be "legal tender" and was unconstitutional as a legally enforceable means to pay debts. This led to the
Legal Tender Cases in 1870, which overturned the previous ruling and established the paper currency as constitutional and proper legal tender that must be accepted in all situations. With the 1884 Supreme Court ruling in
Juilliard v. Greenman, the "Supreme Court ruled that Congress had the right to issue notes to be legal tender for the payment of public and private debt. Legal-tender notes are treasury notes or banknotes that, in the eyes of the law, must be accepted in the payment of debts." The ruling in the Legal Tender Cases (which include
Juilliard v. Greenman) led later courts to "support the federal government's invalidation of gold clauses in private contracts in the 1930s." On the other hand, coins made of gold or silver may not necessarily be legal tender, if they are not fiat money in the jurisdiction where they are proffered as payment. The
Coinage Act of 1965 states (in part): Contrary to
common misconception, there is no federal law stating that a private business, a person, or a government organization must accept currency or coins for payment. Private businesses are free to create their own policies on whether they accept cash, unless there is a specific state law which says otherwise. For example, a bus line may prohibit payment of fares in cents or dollar bills. In addition, movie theaters, convenience stores, and gas stations may refuse to accept large denomination currency as a matter of policy or safety. The principal purpose of that statute is to ensure the nationwide acceptance of U.S. currency, consistent with constitutional language that reserves to Congress the power to create a uniform currency that holds the same value throughout the United States. While the statute provides that U.S. money is legal tender that may be accepted for the payment of debts, it does not require
acceptance of cash payments, nor does it provide that restrictions cannot be imposed upon the acceptance of cash.
Venezuela On 11 December 2016,
Venezuela's government announced demonetisation following almost 500% inflation in the country. People of the country were given 3 days to get rid of the 100 Bolivar notes (most widely used currency) post the introduction of new note of higher denominations. As of 15 June 2017, there have been 7 extensions (one per month) of the legal use of the 100 bolivares bill notes. The 100 Bolivar notes were still legal tender as of 30 December 2017.
Zimbabwe Zimbabwe has a multi-currency system that recognizes the
Zimbabwean ZiG, the US dollar and the gold (
Mosi-oa-Tunya (coin)) as legal tender. The
Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe is also issuing the ZiG, a digital token backed by gold, which has also been granted legal tender status. ==See also==