Writing on US Currency Laws and Consequences

Writing on US currency is a serious offense that can lead to severe consequences. According to the US Treasury Department, writing on currency is a federal crime that can result in fines of up to $250,000 and imprisonment for up to 10 years.

The law is clear: tampering with US currency is a serious offense. The US Code, Title 18, Section 333, specifically prohibits altering or defacing US currency.

Consequences for writing on US currency can be severe, as seen in the case of a man who was sentenced to 6 months in prison for writing on a $20 bill.

You can write on the edges of money totally legally, but there's a catch. The U.S. Treasury's website explains that defacement of currency is a violation of Title 18, Section 333 of the United States Code.

Defacing currency includes mutilating, cutting, disfiguring, perforating, uniting, or cementing together bank bills, drafts, notes, or other evidence of debt, with intent to render such items unfit for reissue.

You can't do certain things to money, like emblazoning a website address over the bill, which might make it unfit for use. That's considered defacement.

The U.S. Secret Service has jurisdiction over defacement of currency in a way that makes it unfit for circulation. They're the ones who might show up at your door if you get caught.

The key test for determining if writing on money is defacement is intent. If you write on money with no intention of making it unfit for reissue, you're probably okay.

Defacing US currency can have serious consequences. You can be at risk of jailtime and/or a fine if you're caught.

The maximum fine for defacing bills is $100, and the maximum jail sentence is six months. For coins, the jail time could be up to five years.

To be convicted, you would have to have had the intent to defraud someone. The government takes currency defacement very seriously.

If you're wondering what constitutes defacement, it's not just about writing on the money. According to the U.S. Treasury's website, defacement includes mutilating, cutting, disfiguring, perforating, uniting, or cementing together bank bills or other evidence of debt.

Here's a breakdown of the possible consequences:

The key is to understand what is and isn't considered defacement. If you have a business that prints advertising or website addresses on dollar bills, that's likely to be considered defacement. But if you just write on the edges of the money, that's generally okay.