To fill out a counterfeit note report, an institution completes a separate SSF 1604 Suspected Counterfeit Note Submission Form for each suspect bill, records the submitter’s details, the note’s denomination and serial number, and information about the person who presented it, then staples the note face-up to the form and mails it to the Bureau of Engraving and Printing.1U.S. Secret Service. Suspected Counterfeit Note Submission Form SSF 1604 The form is a one-way handoff: by submitting it, the filer abandons any property interest in the note.
Who Files the SSF 1604
The form is designed for institutional submitters. The three submitter categories on the form are banks, police departments and government agencies, and casinos or other financial institutions. There is no checkbox for an individual person.1U.S. Secret Service. Suspected Counterfeit Note Submission Form SSF 1604
If you received a suspect bill as a private individual, you don’t complete the SSF 1604 yourself. The Secret Service directs you to bring the note to your local police department, your bank, or a Secret Service field office, and the institution files the paperwork.2United States Secret Service. Counterfeit Investigations A directory of field offices is at secretservice.gov/contact/field-offices.3United States Secret Service. Field Offices
Before You Start
A few things to have straight before you touch the form.
One form per note. If a customer deposited five suspect bills, that’s five separate SSF 1604s. Notes cannot be bundled on a single form.1U.S. Secret Service. Suspected Counterfeit Note Submission Form SSF 1604
Handle the note as little as possible. Place it in an envelope or plastic bag to preserve fingerprints or other forensic evidence until you’re ready to attach it to the form.
If you have a description of the person who passed the note, their vehicle, or any other investigative lead, the form’s instructions say to hold the note and report directly to your local police department or Secret Service field office rather than mailing it in. Leads are more useful when handled in person.1U.S. Secret Service. Suspected Counterfeit Note Submission Form SSF 1604
If you’re unsure whether the note is actually counterfeit, verify it against the security features in genuine U.S. currency (raised printing, embedded security thread, watermark, color-shifting ink, red and blue fibers in the paper, and microprinting) using the U.S. Currency Education Program’s Quick Reference Guide.4U.S. Currency Education Program. Quick Reference Guide A Secret Service field office can also help make the call before any paperwork is filed.1U.S. Secret Service. Suspected Counterfeit Note Submission Form SSF 1604
Completing the Three Sections
The SSF 1604 has three parts: submitter information, note information, and remarks.1U.S. Secret Service. Suspected Counterfeit Note Submission Form SSF 1604
Submitter Information
Select the entity type: bank, police department or government agency, or casino or other financial institution. Then enter:
- Name of the submitting entity
- Point of contact with email and phone number
- Internal reference number, if your organization uses one
- Police report number, if one exists
- Full mailing address
The mailing address must be a physical street address. P.O. Boxes are not accepted, because the Secret Service needs somewhere to return the note if analysis determines it is genuine.1U.S. Secret Service. Suspected Counterfeit Note Submission Form SSF 1604
Suspected Counterfeit Note Information
This section describes the note and the person who presented it. Fill in:
- Denomination ($5, $10, $20, $50, or $100)
- Date the note was received, deposited, or discovered
- Serial number, copied exactly from the face of the bill
- Seizure status, for police department submitters
- Name and mailing address of the individual or business that presented the note
Remarks
The remarks field is open-ended. Use it for anything that doesn’t fit the structured fields: how the note was identified as suspicious, a physical description of the person who passed it, vehicle details, or other context that could help investigators. Specific beats vague. “White male, approximately 30, wearing a red jacket, driving a blue pickup truck” gives an investigator something to work with; “looked suspicious” does not.
Attaching the Note and Mailing the Form
Once the form is complete, staple the suspected counterfeit note face-up in the designated area on the form.1U.S. Secret Service. Suspected Counterfeit Note Submission Form SSF 1604 Keep a copy of the completed form for your records before mailing.
Send the package to:
Bureau of Engraving and Printing, c/o CCPF
301 14th Street SW, Room 541-A
Washington, DC 20228
Submissions must be physical. As of November 1, 2024, the Secret Service no longer accepts electronic submissions of suspected counterfeit notes through the USDollars website.5U.S. Currency Education Program. Report a Counterfeit
What Happens After You Submit
Every note submitted on an SSF 1604 is treated as counterfeit unless the Secret Service determines otherwise. By submitting the form, the filer agrees to abandon any property interest in the note.1U.S. Secret Service. Suspected Counterfeit Note Submission Form SSF 1604 Notes confirmed as counterfeit become part of the federal investigative record and are not returned.
If analysis instead determines the note is genuine, the Secret Service returns both the note and the form to the physical address on the submission.1U.S. Secret Service. Suspected Counterfeit Note Submission Form SSF 1604 Law enforcement may follow up with the submitter if the note produces leads worth pursuing.