What does the law say?
It’s an offence to intentionally:
- deface, disfigure or mutilate a banknote without our consent.
- make or issue any banknote or coin (only we - the Reserve Bank of New Zealand Te Pūtea Matua - have the sole right to issue banknotes and coins in New Zealand)
- make, design, engrave, print or reproduce anything resembling a banknote or coin without our consent.
These rules are covered under s154, s155 and s156 of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand Act 2021.
These rules help protect the integrity of New Zealand’s currency. This way, we can make sure our banknotes and coins remain a trusted and safe way to pay.
Acceptable uses of currency images
If you plan to use an image of one of our bank notes or coins, you must follow these guidelines.
These apply if you are reproducing:
- the front or the back of a banknote or coin
- images of our current banknotes or coins, and banknotes and coins that have been withdrawn from circulation and are no longer legal tender.
You don’t need to ask us for permission as long as you meet these guidelines.
What you must do
- All reproductions must be an exact copy.
- Reproductions must be one-sided only. This applies for both print and electronic media. Complete, scaled, one-sided images of banknotes and coins in books, brochures or on screen are acceptable reproductions.
- The material used to print the image must not look similar to the real thing. This is so that it can’t be mistaken for a real banknote or coin.
- Check the size of your reproduction. Banknote images must be at least 25% smaller or at least 25% larger than the actual note.
Find the dimensions of New Zealand banknotes - Use low-resolution images. Make sure the image resolution is less than 72 dpi (dots per inch).
- Credit us as the source of your images as we hold the copyright for the design of the banknotes.
What you can't do
- Replace the portraits or any of the images on the front or back for something else.
- Reproduce some of the components of banknote or coin designs in isolation.
- Create misleading reproductions – this means you can’t use images in a way that they could be mistaken for genuine banknotes or coins.
- Imply your use of the images is done in connection with us, or with our endorsement.
Example of an unacceptable reproduction
This image of the $5 banknote (bottom note) is an unacceptable reproduction because the portrait of Sir Edmund Hillary has been replaced, and the reproduction is the same size as the real $5 banknote (top).
What about creative reproductions?
Creative reproductions — for example — to create artwork or souvenirs are allowed, as long as you meet our guidelines and the images don’t cause offence.
Before you start reproducing any images of New Zealand banknotes or coins, we recommend you think about the nature of the reproduction and the context in which you propose to use it. Anything that could looks too close to the real thing could be illegal under the Crimes Act.
In exceptional circumstances we can give permission to deface a banknote - for example, to create a specific artwork. We consider requests on a case-by-case basis. You can email your request to [email protected] and we will consider it.
Free banknote images you can use
You can download images of our Series 7 banknotes from our image library. You can only use these images for educational, information or illustrative purposes. They can’t be used for commercial purposes