Exchange Old or Damaged Money
Notice I The exchange of banknotes and coins is currently suspended
Due to COVID-19 and in keeping with public health guidelines, visitor access to our public office has been restricted. As a result, the Central Bank has suspended the exchange of banknotes and coins until further notice.
Did you know that you can apply to the Central Bank to exchange your old or damaged money?
If your application is successful, we will reimburse you by transferring funds into a bank account of your choice. We cannot reimburse you in cash.
You can exchange:
- IR£ pounds: Old or damaged Irish banknotes and coins
- € euro: Damaged euro banknotes and coins
You cannot exchange:
How to apply
Apply in-person at the Central Bank’s public office. Follow the steps below to prepare your application.
In some cases, you may be able to apply to exchange damaged euro banknotes via your bank branch. Contact your bank to ask about this option.
Step 1. Prepare your notes and coins
IR£ pounds: Old or damaged banknotes and coins
You can exchange old IR£ pound banknotes and coins into euro.
The exchange rate is IR£1 = €1.269738.
You can also exchange damaged old Irish IR£ pounds. Examples of damaged banknotes include those that are partially burnt, cut or decomposed. As a general rule, we will reimburse you if you have more than half a damaged bank note.
Read how to prepare and package your money below, including some special conditions.
€ euro: Damaged banknotes and coins
You can exchange damaged euro banknotes and coins for replacement funds. This includes notes or coins that are partially burnt, cut or decomposed.
As a general rule we will reimburse you if you have more than half of a damaged genuine euro banknote.
Read how to prepare and package your money below, including some special conditions.
Step 2. Download and complete the application form(s)
There are separate forms for € euro and IR£ pound banknotes and coins.
€ euro
Exchange damaged € euro banknotes | pdf 894 KB
Exchange damaged € euro coins | pdf 890 KB
IR£ pounds
Exchange old or damaged IR£ banknotes | pdf 831 KB
Exchange old or damaged IR£ coins | pdf 897 KB
Step 3. Prepare supporting documents (if needed)
You must include proof of your identity if the expected value of exchange is worth over €100
For a personal application worth over €100
Include a high-quality photocopy of an official identity document with your application. This may include your:
- Passport
- Driver’s licence
The photocopy must clearly show your full name and photograph. In some cases we may contact you for proof of address.
For a business application worth over €100
Include the following information with your application:
- CRO (Companies Registration Office) number
- High-quality photocopy of a redacted bank statement for the company bank account included on your application form
Step 4. Check other application conditions
You may also have to meet other conditions to apply for an exchange. This includes if your notes or coins:
- Are contaminated, e.g. with blood or chemicals
- Need extra testing
- Need special handling
- Weigh over 10KG (a maximum limit of 10KG applies to coin lodgements).
Read the full application conditions below.
Step 5. Submit your application
Note: Due to the COVID-19 outbreak and in keeping with public health guidelines, we have suspended applications until further notice.
Step 6. After you apply
When we receive your application, we will check that you have included the:
- Completed application form(s)
- Money to be exchanged, i.e. notes and/or coins
- Supporting documents (if required)
We will also check other conditions where relevant, e.g. weight, contamination, etc.
We will then process your application. This may involve sending the notes or coins for testing.
Full reimbursement
If your application is successful we will lodge full replacement funds into your chosen bank account, usually within 20 working days.
Partial reimbursement
If your application can only be partially reimbursed, we will send you a letter to inform you of our decision and explain your options. In summary, these are to:
- Accept the partial reimbursement: To do so, reply to our letter and we will lodge the partial funds into your chosen bank account.
- Reject the partial reimbursement: In this case, reply to our letter and ask us to return the full application to you without processing.
- Appeal our decision: The process for appealing a decision will be explained in our letter.
Read more conditions for partial reimbursement below.
If your application is refused
If your application does not meet all the application conditions and has been refused, we will send you a letter to inform you of our decision and explain the reasons why. For example, this may happen if you submit less than half of a euro banknote for exchange.
In some cases, you can appeal our decision. The process for appealing a decision will be explained in our letter.
Read the conditions for refusal below.
Regulations and Conditions
€ Euro and IR£ Pound
Make sure to present your banknotes and coins in such a way that we can identify and verify them.
Your application may fail or be delayed if we have difficulty identifying or verifying your notes.
For example, reconstruct any damaged banknotes as best you can before you submit them.
If your banknotes or coins are contaminated or could pose a risk to health and safety, you must include a health and safety assessment carried out by an authority accredited by Irish National Accreditation Board (INAB).
This may include:
- Blood
- Mould
- Sewage
- Drugs
- Unknown substances
We will refuse to reimburse your application if we know, or have sufficient reason to believe, that:
- Genuine banknotes or coins have been intentionally damaged (Note: banknotes that have brief written sentences, numbers or notes on them will be accepted for exchange)
- A criminal offence has been committed
- The banknote is suspected of being counterfeited or altered
We will withhold banknotes as described above (against acknowledgement of a receipt) as evidence to initiate or support a criminal investigation by relevant authorities.
At the end of such an investigation, unless the relevant authorities decide otherwise, these banknotes will qualify for reimbursement as normal.
We may refuse to reimburse euro coins that have been altered either deliberately or by a process that could be reasonably expected to have the effect of altering them.
You will be informed by post if you are not reimbursed to the full value of your application. We will then send any banknotes that are eligible for return to you by registered post. We will not return notes that we find to be counterfeit.
You cannot exchange notes or coins that weigh over 10KG in total at our public office. To exchange notes or coins over 10KG, submit your application by post or via a cash-in-transit company approved by the Private Security Authority.
Call 01 224 5969 for more information.
€ Euro Only
A handling fee of 5% of the value of the submitted euro coins, may be withheld from the reimbursement depending on the level of testing required to authenticate them.
In the event that anomalies are present in a sample of coins taken from a box or bag as part of the verification process, it is necessary to check the entire bag or box. See Article 11(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1210/2010 of the European Parliament and of the Council.
In this case, we may supplement the handling fee with an additional 15 per cent fee of the nominal value of the submitted euro coins.
Where a lodgement of euro coins includes coins treated with chemical or other hazardous substances to such a degree that they may be deemed by the Central Bank to present a health risk for handlers, the charges levied shall be supplemented by a further fee equivalent to 20% of the value of the euro coins submitted.
The Central Bank may, at its sole discretion, refuse to give any value for such coins notwithstanding that it has withdrawn them from circulation.
Your must sort large amounts of Irish and euro coins in standardised bags or boxes comprising:
- 500 coins for each denomination of 2 Euro and 1 Euro
- 1,000 coins for each denomination of 50 cent and 20 cent
- 2,000 coins for each denomination of 10 cent, 5 cent, 2 cent and 1 cent.
For smaller quantities, please sort the coins into separate packages based on the face value.
Each bag or box must contain a packaging list that describes the contents, including:
- Values and the denominations contained
- Contact details of the person submitting the coins
- Weight
- Date of packaging, and the bag or box number
Contact and help
If you have any queries about this service, please contact us.