Frequently Asked Questions

Banknotes subject to the withdrawal decision are no longer recognized as a means of payment under current regulations and therefore cannot be used to settle transactions or discharge debts.

Once withdrawn from circulation, these banknotes lose their legal tender status and discharging power, meaning they are no longer accepted as mean of payment and no longer enable their holders to validly discharge their monetary obligations.

Banknotes withdrawn from circulation retain their value as long as they can be validly exchanged at their face value for banknotes or coins that are legal tender at the counters of Bank Al-Maghrib and banking institutions during the exchange period specified in the withdrawal decision. However, once the exchange period ends, the withdrawn banknotes lose all monetary value.

It is possible to exchange the aforementioned banknotes during the five years following the effective date of their withdrawal from circulation, which start, from January 1, 2026, to December 31, 2030.

These banknotes are the oldest issues still in circulation in Morocco and present several limitations in terms of handling, authentication, and processing, which will exacerbate as long as they remain in circulation.
  

The continued circulation of these banknotes would thus have the following consequences:
  

• An increased level of wear and tear of these banknotes due to their prolonged circulation, which exceeds twenty years for the 10-, 50-, 100-, and 200-dirham notes, and around fifteen years for the 20-dirham notes.
• An increased risk of counterfeiting, given that the counterfeit rate of these banknotes, although limited, reaches 3.3 counterfeit notes per million notes in circulation, compared to 1.5 per million for more recent series of banknotes. It should be noted that every new banknote issue incorporates enhanced integrated security features designed to meet the highest standards and prevent counterfeiting;
• An increase in costs associated with the specific handling of these banknotes, despite their relatively limited volume in circulation;

Any person who is in possession of these banknotes can exchange them freely and without restriction at Bank Al-Maghrib, as well as at all banking branches, within the period set by the applicable regulation.

This operation applies to banknotes withdrawn from circulation, regardless of the amount.

Since 1959, Bank Al-Maghrib has carried out three operations to withdraw banknotes and coins from circulation:
  

• Withdrawals from circulation carried out in 1970 and 1979: affected all banknotes and coins denominated in francs and issued by the former State Bank of Morocco.
• Withdrawal from circulation conducted in 1998, covering:
  • 5-and 10-dirham banknotes issued into circulation in 1960
  • 50-dirham banknotes issued into circulation in 1965
  • 5-, 10-, 50- and 100-dirham banknotes put into circulation in 1970
  • 1-dirham coins issued into circulation in 1960
  • 5-dirham coins issued into circulation in 1965
  • 5-dirham coins issued into circulation in 1975.

At the end of 2025, the volume of banknotes affected by this withdrawal from circulation amounts to approximately 30 million notes. These banknotes represent less than 1 percent of the volume and value of banknotes in circulation.

Unlike the practice observed in some countries, which aims to mark the transition to a new currency, reduce the money supply in a hyperinflationary context, or combat tax fraud or the financing of illicit activities, the process of withdrawing certain types of banknotes in Morocco has a single objective: to replace worn-out or obsolete banknotes with more modern and secure notes, thereby improving the quality of banknotes in circulation and better protecting against the risk of counterfeiting.