12-637.Judgments and awards on foreign-money claims; times of money conversion; form of judgment.

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 sentenceRequires a judgment on a foreign-money claim to be stated in that currency, gives the debtor the option to pay in the dollar equivalent at the bank-offered spot rate, and supplies model judgment language.

Full Text of 735 ILCS 5/12-637

Text sizeJump to: (a) (b) (c)

(a) Except as provided in subsection (c), a judgment or

award on a foreign-money claim must be stated in an amount of the money of the claim.

(b) A judgment or award on a foreign-money claim is payable in that foreign money or, at the option of the debtor, in the amount of United States dollars which will purchase that foreign money on the conversion date at a bank-offered spot rate.

(c) Assessed costs must be entered in United States dollars. (d) Each payment in United States dollars must be accepted and credited on a judgment or award on a foreign-money claim in the amount of the foreign money that could be purchased by the dollars at a bank-offered spot rate of exchange at or near the close of business on the conversion date for that payment.

(e) A judgment or award made in an action or distribution proceeding on both (i) a defense, set-off, recoupment, or counterclaim and (ii) the adverse party's claim, must be netted by converting the money of the smaller into the money of the larger, and by subtracting the smaller from the larger, and specify the rates of exchange used.

(f) A judgment substantially in the following form complies with subsection (a):

IT IS ADJUDGED AND ORDERED, that Defendant (insert name) pay to Plaintiff (insert name) the sum of (insert amount in the foreign money) plus interest on that sum at the rate of (insert rate - see Section 12-639) percent a year or, at the option of the judgment debtor, the number of United States dollars which will purchase the (insert name of foreign money) with interest due, at a bank-offered spot rate at or near the close of business on the banking day next before the day of payment, together with assessed costs of (insert amount) United States dollars. (g) If a contract claim is of the type covered by Section 12-635(a) or (b), the judgment or award must be entered for the amount of money stated to measure the obligation to be paid in the money specified for payment or, at the option of the debtor, the number of United States dollars which will purchase the computed amount of the money of payment on the conversion date at a bank-offered spot rate. (h) A judgment must be filed and indexed in foreign money in the same manner, and has the same effect as a lien, as other judgments. It may be discharged by payment.

Plain-English Summary

This is the Act's centerpiece on judgment form. Subsection (a) requires a judgment or award on a foreign-money claim to be stated in the money of the claim, not converted to dollars up front. Subsection (b) then gives the debtor a choice: pay in that foreign currency, or pay the equivalent number of U.S. dollars that would buy it at the bank-offered spot rate on the conversion date.

Costs are treated differently. Subsection (c) requires assessed costs to be entered in U.S. dollars regardless of the judgment's currency, and subsection (d) explains how a dollar payment gets credited against a foreign-money judgment. Subsection (e) handles the case where a judgment covers both a claim and a counterclaim in different currencies: the court nets them by converting the smaller into the larger's currency, subtracting, and stating the exchange rates used.

Subsection (f) supplies sample judgment language courts can adapt, and subsection (g) extends the same dollar-option approach to the indexed-contract claims covered in Section 12-635. Subsection (h) confirms a foreign-money judgment gets filed, indexed, and treated as a lien exactly like any other Illinois judgment, and can be discharged by payment.

Frequently Asked Questions

Must a judgment on a foreign-money claim be entered in that foreign currency?

Yes, subsection (a) requires it, except for assessed costs, which subsection (c) always states in U.S. dollars.

Can the debtor choose to pay in dollars instead of the foreign currency?

Yes. Subsection (b) lets the debtor pay the amount of U.S. dollars that would purchase the foreign-currency judgment at the bank-offered spot rate on the conversion date.

How are a claim and a counterclaim in different currencies reconciled in one judgment?

Subsection (e) requires netting: converting the smaller amount into the currency of the larger, subtracting the two, and stating the exchange rates used.

Are court costs stated in the foreign currency too?

No. Subsection (c) requires assessed costs to be entered in United States dollars regardless of the judgment's currency.

Does a foreign-money judgment work as a lien the same way an ordinary Illinois judgment does?

Yes. Subsection (h) says it must be filed and indexed the same way, has the same lien effect, and can be discharged by payment.

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: judgment in foreign currency Illinoisform of foreign money judgmentpaying a judgment in dollars optionforeign currency judgment lien Illinois