In this Act: (1) "Action" means a judicial proceeding or arbitration in which a payment in money may be awarded or enforced with respect to a foreign-money claim.
12-631.Definitions.
Article XII. Judgments - Enforcement · Part 6. Foreign Judgments and Foreign-Money Claims · Not amended since adoption on record · Last verified July 20, 2026
In one sentenceDefines the working vocabulary of the Uniform Foreign-Money Claims Act, including conversion date, foreign money, foreign-money claim, and distribution proceeding, so the rest of the Act reads consistently.
Full Text of 735 ILCS 5/12-631
(2) "Bank-offered spot rate" means the spot rate of exchange at which a bank will sell foreign money at a spot rate.
(3) "Conversion date" means the banking day next preceding the date on which money, in accordance with this Act, is:
(i) paid to a claimant in an action or distribution proceeding;
(ii) paid to the official designated by law to enforce a judgment or award on behalf of a claimant; or
(iii) used to recoup, set-off, or counterclaim in different moneys in an action or distribution proceeding.
(4) "Distribution proceeding" means a judicial or nonjudicial proceeding for the distribution of a fund in which one or more foreign-money claims is asserted and includes an accounting, an assignment for the benefit of creditors, a foreclosure, the liquidation or rehabilitation of a corporation or other entity, and the distribution of an estate, trust, or other fund.
(5) "Foreign money" means money other than money of the United States of America.
(6) "Foreign-money claim" means a claim upon an obligation to pay, or a claim for recovery of a loss, expressed in or measured by a foreign money.
(7) "Money" means a medium of exchange for the payment of obligations or a store of value authorized or adopted by a government or by inter-governmental agreement.
(9) "Person" means an individual, a corporation, government or governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, joint venture, partnership, association, 2 or more persons having a joint or common interest, or any other legal or commercial entity.
(10) "Rate of exchange" means the rate at which money of one country may be converted into money of another country in a free financial market convenient to or reasonably usable by a person obligated to pay or to state a rate of conversion. If separate rates of exchange apply to different kinds of transactions, the term means the rate applicable to the particular transaction giving rise to the foreign-money claim.
(11) "Spot rate" means the rate of exchange at which foreign money is sold by a bank or other dealer in foreign exchange for immediate or next day availability or for settlement by immediate payment in cash or equivalent, by charge to an account, or by an agreed delayed settlement not exceeding 2 days.
(12) "State" means a State of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, or a territory or insular possession subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.
Plain-English Summary
A currency-conversion statute lives or dies on its definitions, and this section supplies twelve of them. Several deserve attention because they drive every later section in the Act.
“Conversion date” is the banking day just before money changes hands — paid to a claimant, paid to an enforcement official, or used to offset a counterclaim. Because exchange rates move daily, fixing this date is what lets a court or the parties compute a firm dollar figure. “Foreign money” and “foreign-money claim” mark out the Act's whole subject matter: any money other than U.S. dollars, and any claim measured in it. “Distribution proceeding” reaches beyond ordinary lawsuits to accountings, assignments for the benefit of creditors, foreclosures, corporate liquidations, and estate or trust distributions — any process that divides a fund among claimants.
Note what “state” means here: a U.S. state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, or a U.S. territory. That is a domestic definition. It has nothing to do with recognizing judgments from actual foreign countries, which this Part addresses separately starting at Section 12-661.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does “conversion date” mean, and why does it matter?
It is the banking day before money is paid or applied under the Act. Fixing that date lets the parties or the court pin down a single exchange rate rather than argue over which day's rate should govern.
What counts as “foreign money” under this Act?
Any money other than money of the United States. “Foreign-money claim” then covers any claim to pay, or any claim for a loss, measured in that currency.
What is a “distribution proceeding”?
A judicial or nonjudicial process that divides a fund among claimants — an accounting, an assignment for the benefit of creditors, a foreclosure, a corporate liquidation or rehabilitation, or the distribution of an estate or trust.
Does “state” in this Act include foreign countries?
No. “State” is defined to mean a U.S. state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, or a U.S. territory. Genuine foreign-country judgments are handled under a different Act, starting at Section 12-661.
What is the difference between “bank-offered spot rate” and “spot rate”?
“Spot rate” is the broader term: the rate at which a bank or other dealer sells foreign money for immediate or next-day availability, or for settlement — by cash, by charge to an account, or by an agreed delay — not exceeding 2 days. “Bank-offered spot rate” narrows that to a rate offered specifically by a bank rather than any other dealer, the figure the Act uses at several points to fix a conversion.
Amendment History
(Source: P.A. 86-1291.)
Source & verification. Section text and amendment history are
reproduced verbatim from the Illinois Compiled Statutes, published by the
Illinois Compiled Statutes, Illinois General Assembly / Legislative Reference Bureau. Last verified July 20, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: conversion date Illinois foreign moneydefinition of foreign money Illinois lawbank-offered spot rate definitiondistribution proceeding definition Illinoiswhat is a foreign-money claim