Banknotes featuring a portrait of King Charles III were first issued on 5 June 2024. The portrait of the King appears on existing designs of all four banknotes (£5, £10, £20, and £50), with no other changes to the existing designs. This means you can check these notes in the same way you can check our polymer banknotes featuring Queen Elizabeth II.
Banknotes that feature the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II will remain legal tender and are co-circulating alongside King Charles III notes.
New King Charles III banknotes will only be printed to replace those that are worn and to meet any overall increase in demand for banknotes. Our approach is in line with guidance from the Royal Household, to minimise the environmental and financial impact of this change.
Banknotes featuring the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, will remain legal tender, and can continue to be used. There is no need to exchange current banknotes for the new King Charles III banknotes.
The Bank’s counter at our Threadneedle Street building will only issue Queen Elizabeth II banknotes.
The temporary postal exchange service for obtaining the new banknotes is now closed.
For those who used our postal exchange service before the deadline, please allow up to 8 weeks for your application to be processed before contacting us. This is due to the large volume of applications for King Charles III banknotes that were received.
If your business uses, or is responsible, for any machines that accept, sort or check banknotes, you need to plan for their adaptation to work with the new note designs.
