(1) Except as provided in sub. (3), a judgment or arbitration award on a foreign-money claim must be stated in an amount of the money of the claim.
806.36.Judgments and awards on foreign-money claims; times of money conversion; form of judgment.
Ch. 806: Judgment · Last amended 2017 · Last verified July 15, 2026
In one sentenceSection 806.36 requires a judgment or award on a foreign-money claim to state that claim’s money, gives the debtor the option to pay the U.S. dollar equivalent, keeps costs in U.S. dollars, sets exchange-rate timing for payments and netted counterclaims, and supplies model judgment language.
Full Text of Section 806.36
(2) The 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 U.S. dollars that will purchase that foreign money on the conversion date at a bank-offered spot rate.
(3) Assessed costs must be entered in U.S. dollars.
(4) Each payment in U.S. dollars must be accepted and credited on the judgment or award in the amount of the foreign money that could be purchased by U.S. dollars at a bank-offered spot rate of exchange at or near the close of business on the conversion date of that payment.
(5) Judgments or awards made in an action on both a defense, setoff, recoupment or counterclaim and on the adverse party’s claim must be netted by converting the money of the smaller into the money of the larger and subtracting the smaller from the larger, and must specify the rate of exchange used.
(6) A judgment substantially in the following form complies with sub. (1): 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 806.38 of the Wisconsin Statutes) per year or, at the option of the judgment debtor, the number of U.S. dollars that 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 before the day of payment, together with assessed costs of $.... (insert amount) U.S. dollars.
(7) If a contract claim is of the type covered by s. 806.34 (1) or (2), the judgment or award for the amount of the money stated to measure the obligation to be paid shall be entered in the money specified for payment or, at the option of the debtor, in the number of U.S. dollars that will purchase the computed amount of the money of payment on the conversion date at a bank-offered spot rate.
(8) A judgment shall be filed with the clerk of circuit court and entered in the judgment and lien docket in foreign money in the same manner and shall have the same effect as other judgments.
Plain-English Summary
Section 806.36 works out how a foreign-money judgment gets stated and paid. Subsection (1) requires the judgment or award to be stated in the money of the claim, except for assessed costs, which subsection (3) always keeps in U.S. dollars. Subsection (2) gives the debtor a choice: pay in that foreign money, or pay the amount of U.S. dollars that will purchase it at a bank-offered spot rate on the conversion date. Subsection (4) fixes how each U.S. dollar payment gets credited, using the bank-offered spot rate at or near the close of business on that payment’s own conversion date.
Subsection (5) addresses a case where both a claim and a counterclaim, setoff, or recoupment result in money owed on each side. The two amounts must be netted by converting the smaller money into the larger money and subtracting, and the judgment must specify the exchange rate used to do that conversion. Subsection (6) supplies model language that satisfies subsection (1) when a court drafts the judgment, and subsection (7) applies the same debtor’s-option structure to the contract claims addressed in Section 806.34 (1) or (2).
Subsection (8) closes the loop administratively: a judgment on a foreign-money claim must be filed with the clerk of circuit court and entered in the judgment and lien docket in that foreign money, in the same manner and with the same effect as any other judgment.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a judgment on a foreign-money claim have to state the amount in that foreign currency?
Yes, with one exception. Subsection (1) requires the judgment or award to be stated in the money of the claim, except that subsection (3) requires assessed costs to be entered in U.S. dollars.
Can I pay a foreign-money judgment in U.S. dollars instead of the foreign currency?
Yes. Subsection (2) makes the judgment payable in the foreign money or, at the debtor’s option, in the amount of U.S. dollars that will purchase that foreign money at a bank-offered spot rate on the conversion date.
Are court costs ever awarded in a foreign currency?
No. Subsection (3) requires assessed costs to be entered in U.S. dollars.
What happens when both a claim and a counterclaim result in money owed on each side?
Subsection (5) requires the amounts to be netted by converting the smaller money into the larger money and subtracting the smaller from the larger, with the judgment specifying the exchange rate used.
Does a foreign-money judgment get filed and recorded the same way as any other judgment?
Yes. Subsection (8) requires it to be filed with the clerk of circuit court and entered in the judgment and lien docket in the foreign money, in the same manner and with the same effect as other judgments.
Amendment History
History: 1991 a. 236; 1995 a. 224; 2017 a. 365 s. 111.
Source & verification. Section text and official notes are
reproduced verbatim from the Wisconsin Statutes, published by the
Wisconsin Legislature (Legislative Reference Bureau). Last verified July 15, 2026.
· Official source
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