(a) Computations under this Section are for the limited
purposes of the Section and do not affect computation of the United States dollar equivalent of the money of the judgment for the purpose of payment.
12-641.Determining United States dollar value of foreign-money claims for limited purposes.
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 sentenceProvides a simplified, good-faith method for pricing a foreign-money claim in dollars for narrow procedural purposes, like attachment, garnishment, bonds, and costs, without changing how the final judgment amount is computed.
Full Text of 735 ILCS 5/12-641
(b) For the limited purpose of facilitating the enforcement of provisional remedies in an action, the value in United States dollars of assets to be seized or restrained pursuant to a writ of attachment, garnishment, execution, or other legal process, the amount of United States dollars at issue for assessing costs, or the amount of United States dollars involved for a surety bond or other court-required undertaking, must be ascertained as provided in subsections (c) and (d).
(c) A party seeking process, costs, bond, or other undertaking under subsection (b) shall compute in United States dollars the amount of the foreign money claimed from a bank- offered spot rate prevailing at or near the close of business on the banking day next preceding the filing of a request or application for the issuance of process or for the determination of costs, or an application for a bond or other court-required undertaking.
(d) A party seeking the process, costs, bond, or other undertaking under subsection (b) shall file with each request or application an affidavit or certificate executed in good faith by its counsel or a bank officer, stating the market quotation used and how it was obtained, and setting forth the calculation. Affected court officials incur no liability, after a filing of the affidavit or certificate, for acting as if the judgment were in the amount of United States dollars stated in the affidavit or certificate.
Plain-English Summary
Provisional remedies and procedural steps, seizing assets, setting a bond, assessing costs, need a dollar figure right away, long before a case reaches judgment. Subsection (a) makes clear these computations serve only that limited purpose and don't affect how the eventual judgment's dollar equivalent gets calculated under Section 12-637.
Subsection (b) lists what this shortcut conversion covers: the dollar value of assets to be seized or restrained under a writ of attachment, garnishment, or execution, the dollar amount at issue for assessing costs, and the dollar amount involved for a bond or other court-required undertaking. Subsection (c) tells the party seeking that process how to compute it, using the bank-offered spot rate at or near the close of business on the banking day before filing.
Subsection (d) requires that party to file an affidavit or certificate, from counsel or a bank officer, showing the market quotation used and the calculation, and it shields court officials who rely on that filing in good faith from liability if the estimate later proves off.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does the Act need a separate dollar-conversion rule for procedural steps?
Because provisional remedies like attachment or a bond requirement need a workable dollar figure immediately, well before the case reaches a final judgment where Section 12-637's conversion rules apply.
What procedural steps use this shortcut conversion?
Seizing or restraining assets under a writ of attachment, garnishment, or execution, assessing costs, and setting the amount of a surety bond or other court-required undertaking.
What must the party seeking the process file?
An affidavit or certificate from its counsel or a bank officer, stating the market quotation used, how it was obtained, and the calculation.
Are court officials liable if this dollar estimate later turns out to be wrong?
No. Subsection (d) protects officials who act on the filed affidavit or certificate as if the judgment were in the stated dollar amount.
Does this section change how the final judgment amount is computed?
No. Subsection (a) expressly limits these computations to the purposes of this section; the final judgment's dollar equivalent is still computed under Section 12-637.
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: converting foreign currency for attachment Illinoisbond amount on a foreign money claimprovisional remedy foreign currency conversiongarnishment amount in foreign currency case