Title 31, Money and FinanceRelease 119-102

§5153 Counterfeit Currency

Title 31 › SUBTITLE IV — MONEY › CHAPTER 51 — COINS AND CURRENCY › SUBCHAPTER V — MISCELLANEOUS › § 5153

Last updated Aug 21, 2026|Official source

Summary

People who handle U.S. government payments and officers at national banks must mark any bill that is fake or has been changed so it can't be used as money. If they accidentally mark real U.S. currency—like a Federal Reserve note or a national bank note—they must pay its face value when someone shows it to them.

Full Legal Text

Title 31, §5153

Money and Finance, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

Disbursing officials of the United States Government and officers of national banks shall stamp or mark the word “counterfeit”, “altered”, or “worthless” on counterfeit notes intended to circulate as currency that are presented to them. An official or officer wrongfully stamping or marking an item of genuine United States currency (including a Federal reserve note or a circulating note of Federal reserve banks and national banks) shall redeem the currency at face value when presented.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

Revised SectionSource (U.S. Code)Source (Statutes at Large) 515331:424.June 30, 1876, ch. 156, § 5, 19 Stat. 64. The words “Disbursing officials” are substituted for “officers charged with the receipt or disbursement of public moneys” for consistency in the revised title and other titles of the United States Code. The word “mark” is substituted for “write in plain letters” to eliminate unnecessary words. The words “counterfeit notes intended to circulate as currency” are substituted for “all fraudulent notes issued in the form of, and intended to circulate as money” for consistency in the revised title and with other titles of the Code. The last sentence is substituted for the words following the semicolon in 31:424 for clarity and to reflect the legislative history of the derivative source. See 4 Cong. Rec. 2225–2228, 3148. In that sentence, the words “United States currency (including a Federal reserve note or a circulating note of Federal reserve banks and national banks)” are substituted for “any genuine note of the United States, or of the national banks” for consistency with section 5103 of the revised title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

31 U.S.C. § 5153

Title 31, Money and Finance

Last Updated

Aug 21, 2026

Release point: 119-102