What if you have damaged bank notes?

What is the procedure for exchanging your damaged banknotes?

Several solutions are possible:

1. If the ticket is still intact over half of its surface and that the damage remains slight, you can deposit it in a recycling machine (ATM with the dual function Deposit and Withdrawal) of the network of the bank holding your account or one of its partners. You will be credited immediately (as a reminder, tickets of the series 1 - 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 500 € - are also accepted as a deposit in ATMs).
2. If the ticket is badly damaged and its deposit in an ATM would risk damaging it even more, the procedure is as follows:

• for amounts less than or equal to €500 : you can surrender at a tobacconist with whom the Banque de France offers a service for the reimbursement of damaged notes. This service is available as of June 8, 2026 from a tobacconist in each region. It will then be deployed to one tobacconist per department from July. Until now, this was only possible with his bank.
• for amounts more than €500 or for Parisian residents : at the Bank of France counter (Caisse de Paris, 39, rue Croix-des-Petits-Champs, 75001 Paris).

The procedure is free. It is forbidden to send your tickets by post.

How can I get a refund?

After assessment of the damaged notes, the notes authentic the remaining area of which exceeds 50 % of the original area of the ticket shall be refunded:

• by immediate exchange for new notes when the notes are physically presented at the Caisse de Paris counter;
• by deferred refund by bank transfer when the tickets are handed over to a tobacconist, or if they must be sent to a center of expertise by the Banque de France.

For all questions relating to the exchange of banknotes, the Banque de France provides a free number: 34.14.

Required documents to be provided to receive an exchange or refund

The depositor, or the beneficiary if different from the depositor, shall submit the following documents:

• a valid piece of identification (for legal persons, the original or copy of any act or extract from the official register that is less than 3 months old. The natural person who performs the transaction on behalf of the legal person must appear on this document and present an identity document himself);
• the bank identity statement (RIB) with the IBAN of the beneficiary;
• proof of the origin of the funds: the Banque de France reserves the right to request it. The following documents may be submitted: last income tax notice, bank account statements, certified mail confirming a cash withdrawal or any other official document.