SBP New Currency Notes: Still With the Cabinet, Old Notes Stay Valid

There are no new State Bank of Pakistan currency notes yet. On 17 September 2026 the State Bank said its proposal for a new banknote series is still with the Federal Cabinet, and no decision has been taken to replace or withdraw any note. Every note in your wallet today is still legal tender.

Messages on WhatsApp keep saying the Rs 10 note is ending, or that old notes must be changed by a fixed date. The State Bank called those reports "baseless" in its 17 September 2026 press release. It also promised that if a note is ever withdrawn, people will get "adequate time" to exchange it.

We read every State Bank press release on the new banknote series since January 2024, its banknote and security feature pages, and the 1963 rules for refunding damaged notes. Here is where things stand, how to check a note is real, and how to get value for a torn one.

The new banknote series is still waiting for Cabinet approval

The State Bank has designed a new series and sent it to the federal government. As of 17 September 2026 the Federal Cabinet is still considering it. No release date, no final designs and no withdrawal of any current note have been announced.

The project started on 30 January 2024. The State Bank said then that central banks usually bring in a new series every 15 to 20 years, to add newer security features. It said a new series normally takes 2 to 3 years, and it hoped to finish in 2. That target, January 2026, has passed.

The art competition designs are not the new notes

The pictures shared online as "new notes" are mostly art competition winners from September 2024. The State Bank said on 12 September 2024 that these were never shortlisted designs. Professional firms are drawing the real ones.

The competition asked local artists for theme ideas. The top three entries for each of the seven existing denominations won cash prizes. One winning entry showed several religions practised in Pakistan, and part of the public read it as the new design. The State Bank stepped in to say the prizes only rewarded the art. So treat any viral picture of a "new note" as an art entry or a fake.

Your current notes stay valid, and there is no exchange deadline

All current notes remain legal tender under section 25 of the State Bank of Pakistan Act, 1956. The State Bank has set no exchange deadline for any of them. Even after new notes come, it has said old ones will be withdrawn slowly.

In January 2024 the State Bank said the existing series "will remain in circulation" after the new one is issued. Any withdrawal will be "gradual and phased", and only once enough new notes are in use.

Both versions of the Rs 75 commemorative note, blue and green, are legal tender too. The State Bank confirmed that in October 2023.

The one deadline that did exist has passed. The old design, large size notes stopped being exchangeable after 31 December 2022. That was a different, older series, and it has nothing to do with today's notes.

How to spot a fake note in 5 checks

Use the State Bank's own checks: feel, look, tilt. The Rs 5000 note, the one most worth faking, has a watermark, a window thread, a colour shifting star and crescent, a hidden number and raised printing. A fake usually fails two or more.

These points come from the State Bank's security features page for the Rs 5000 note. Other notes use similar features.

1. Hold it up to light. You should see the Quaid-e-Azam watermark on the left, with the value "5000" below it. The number in the top corner should also line up into a full figure, because half is printed on each side.
2. Find the thread. A security thread runs top to bottom on the left. On the front it looks like silver dashes. Against light it becomes one solid line with "5000" in it.
3. Tilt the note. The star and crescent on the right front changes from green to gold. A hidden "5000" also appears near the portrait at some angles.
4. Feel it. The front is printed with raised ink. You can feel lines at the edges and three raised circles on the left, placed there for people who cannot see.
5. Check the numbers. The serial number, with its letter prefix, is printed twice on the front. Both should match.

Banks are told to pay out only machine checked notes. Under the State Bank's currency management strategy, every branch and ATM must issue only notes that have passed an authentication machine. If a fake came straight from an ATM, report it to the bank at once. Banks must keep CCTV footage of cash handling for at least 60 days, which helps settle these cases.

How to get value for a torn or damaged note

Take it to an SBP Banking Services Corporation field office. The State Bank of Pakistan (Note Refund) Regulations, 1963 decide what gets paid. A note with clearly more than half present can usually be claimed. Claims must come within 12 months.

The SBP Banking Services Corporation (SBP BSC) is the State Bank's operating arm. It runs 16 field offices, which handle the exchange and destruction of notes and also sell prize bonds. Currency issue is split into four circles: Karachi for Sindh, Lahore for Punjab and Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Peshawar for Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan, and Quetta for Balochistan.

The 1963 regulations say payment is made "as of grace", so it is not a right. For a half note, the officer must be able to read the note's number on it. If you are asked for more information, you have three months to give it.

What to ignore until the State Bank announces it

Ignore any date, design or "last day" that does not come from sbp.org.pk. The State Bank has denied rumours about notes in 2018, 2024 and 2026. It says any real change will be announced through its official channels first.

In 2018 it denied a Rs 10,000 note and a new design series. In 2024 it denied plastic notes. In 2026 it denied the Rs 10 withdrawal.

The State Bank also runs Pakistan's monetary policy, so its press release list is busy with other news, from the policy rate decision to foreign exchange reserves. A banknote announcement, when it comes, will sit on the same list.

Common questions

When will the new currency notes come out in Pakistan?

No date has been set. On 17 September 2026 the State Bank said the proposal was still with the Federal Cabinet, and printing can only start after the government approves it.

Is the Rs 10 note being discontinued?

No. The State Bank called that report baseless on 17 September 2026. No decision has been taken to end any denomination.

Do I need to exchange my old notes by a deadline?

No. There is no deadline for any current note. If one is ever set, the State Bank says it will give adequate time for the exchange.

Will the new notes be plastic?

The State Bank said in March 2024 that there is no plan to move from paper to polymer. Its notes use cotton based paper made in Pakistan.

Where can I exchange a torn note?

At an SBP BSC field office. A note with clearly more than half present can usually be claimed under the 1963 refund rules, within 12 months.

How we verified this

What we checked, where we read it, and what we could not confirm.

Last checked on 27 September 2026. We read the State Bank of Pakistan press releases of 30 January 2024, 16 March 2024, 5 September 2024, 12 September 2024 and 17 September 2026, and the titles of its October 2023 and December 2022 releases. We also read the Rupay ko Pehchano page, the Rs 5000 security features page and the SBP BSC page on sbp.org.pk, and the scanned State Bank of Pakistan (Note Refund) Regulations, 1963. We did not visit a field office to test a refund claim.