Yes, you can use a ripped bill. Federal rules let you spend or exchange a torn note as long as more than half of the original bill is still there and its security features are recognizable.1eCFR. 31 CFR 100.5 – Mutilated Paper Currency A bill with a missing corner, a tear across the middle, or a piece taped back on is still legal tender. If a note is damaged worse than that, you can still get its full value back through a free program at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing.
Will a Store Accept a Ripped Bill
Legally usable and universally accepted are two different things. A store, restaurant, or vending machine can turn down a ripped bill even when the note is perfectly valid currency. Private businesses have wide discretion over which payment forms they accept, and a cashier who doesn’t want to deal with a torn twenty is within their rights to say no.
A rejection at the register doesn’t mean the money is worthless. It means the next stop is a bank.
Swapping a Ripped Bill at the Bank
For almost every ripped-bill situation, a commercial bank is the answer. Federal regulations call this category unfit currency: bills that are torn, dirty, limp, worn, or defaced but still clearly recognizable. A note that went through the wash, lost a corner, or picked up pen marks all belong here, and any commercial bank can exchange them.1eCFR. 31 CFR 100.5 – Mutilated Paper Currency
Bring the bill to a teller. The teller confirms it’s genuine and that clearly more than half of the note is present, then hands you a replacement.2eCFR. 31 CFR Part 100 – Exchange of Paper Currency and Coin No form, no waiting period, no fee.
A few things trip people up. Some banks prefer you be an account holder before they’ll exchange damaged bills, though that’s a branch policy and not a legal requirement. There’s no federally set daily cap on unfit-currency exchanges, but individual branches may have internal limits. If a teller seems unsure, ask for a manager. This is a routine service banks are expected to provide.
When Your Bill Is Too Damaged for a Bank
A separate category, mutilated currency, covers bills damaged badly enough that their value is genuinely in question. The regulation defines this as currency where half or less of the note remains, or where the condition is bad enough that trained examiners need to look at it before anyone can say what it’s worth.1eCFR. 31 CFR 100.5 – Mutilated Paper Currency Bills scorched in a fire, waterlogged to the point of disintegration, or eaten through by chemicals fall here. These don’t go to a bank. They go to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in Washington, D.C.
The BEP’s Mutilated Currency Division examines these bills for free.3Bureau of Engraving & Printing BEP. Mutilated Currency Redemption There are two tiers of redemption. If clearly more than half of the original note survives along with enough of its security features, you get face value back. If half or less remains, you can still recover the money, but the BEP has to be satisfied that the missing portions were totally destroyed. That second standard exists so nobody tears a bill in half and redeems both pieces separately.4eCFR. 31 CFR Part 100 Subpart B – Request for Examination of Mutilated Currency for Possible Redemption
How to Submit Damaged Bills to the BEP
Every submission starts with BEP Form 5283, which you complete on the BEP website before printing.5Bureau of Engraving & Printing BEP. How to Submit a Request for Mutilated Currency Examination Go through every page of the online form so the system issues you a Record Locating Number. That number is what lets you track the claim later.
The form asks for your estimated total value of the damaged currency, full contact information including a working email and phone number, and a short description (200 characters or less) of what happened to the money, such as “house fire on March 3, 2025” or “water damage from basement flooding.”6Bureau of Engraving and Printing. Instructions for Submitting a Request for Examination of Mutilated Currency for Possible Redemption – BEP Form 5283
You’ll also need accurate bank account details on the form. Since September 30, 2025, all federal disbursements, including mutilated currency redemptions, are paid electronically by ACH transfer rather than paper check, under Executive Order 14247.5Bureau of Engraving & Printing BEP. How to Submit a Request for Mutilated Currency Examination Without valid banking information, the claim will stall until you provide it.
Packaging the Bills
Handle the remains as little as possible. Don’t try to unfold, flatten, or rearrange the pieces to make them look neater. If the currency is brittle or falling apart, pack it carefully in plastic and cotton and place it in a secure container.6Bureau of Engraving and Printing. Instructions for Submitting a Request for Examination of Mutilated Currency for Possible Redemption – BEP Form 5283 If the money was found inside something (a safe, a tin, a wallet), leave it in the original container. Examiners are used to working with currency in whatever state it arrives, and pulling fragments apart makes their job harder, not easier.
Where to Send It
Mail everything to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, Room 344A, 14th and C Streets SW, Washington, DC 20228. Registered mail with a return receipt is worth the extra cost because you’re shipping actual money and tracking gives you proof of delivery.5Bureau of Engraving & Printing BEP. How to Submit a Request for Mutilated Currency Examination The BEP also accepts in-person deliveries at that Washington, D.C. location.7Bureau of Engraving & Printing. Mutilated Currency Redemption
How Long the BEP Takes to Pay You
Standard mutilated currency claims take anywhere from six months to 36 months to process, depending on the condition of the notes and the examiner’s caseload.8Bureau of Engraving & Printing. Mutilated Currency FAQs The upper end is not a typo. Severely damaged submissions with hundreds of fused or charred fragments really can take three years. The BEP has also said that responses to phone, written, and email inquiries are currently taking longer than usual.
If you filed Form 5283 through the website and got a Record Locating Number, status updates arrive by email.5Bureau of Engraving & Printing BEP. How to Submit a Request for Mutilated Currency Examination Trained examiners set the final redemption amount based on how much identifiable currency they can account for. If approved, payment goes electronically to the bank account you listed on the form. Redemptions of $500 or more are processed by electronic funds transfer.2eCFR. 31 CFR Part 100 – Exchange of Paper Currency and Coin
For an ordinary rip, none of this applies. The bill is still money, and a bank will trade you a fresh note for it.