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Suspension riskPI-7 · Prohibited Items Policy

Counterfeit currency, fake identification documents, and fraudulent items are prohibited

What this rule means

Etsy prohibits selling current, exchangeable currency and government documents such as identification cards. It also does not allow listings that promote or help with illegal activity, including fraud and impersonation. A novelty or joke label does not change that if the item could pass for the real thing.

What Etsy says

The sale of personal or government documents, such as credit cards, identification cards, and licenses is also prohibited. Given associated regulations, lottery tickets, cryptocurrency mining rigs, and current, exchangeable currency and postage may not be sold on Etsy.
Read Etsy's full Prohibited Items Policy

Why Etsy has this rule

Fake money and fake identification can be used to deceive people. A replica that looks real in a photo can be passed off as real once it leaves your shop, whatever you meant when you made it. Etsy's policy lists currency among its highly regulated items, bars the sale of government documents such as identification cards, and says items may not aid in impersonation.

The rule focuses on whether an item could realistically fool someone. That is why a joke label alone does not protect a listing. The safest approach is to make sure nothing you sell could be mistaken for official money or an official document.

Common mistakes

  • Selling realistic replica cash as a novelty, and relying on the word 'prop' in the title.
  • Offering a novelty driver's license or ID card with a name and photo supplied by the buyer.
  • Selling templates that help buyers produce official-looking documents.
  • Marketing a replica as a 'joke' item while the photos show a very convincing copy.
  • Printing play money at the same size and in the same colors as real bills.
  • Selling fake certificates, passes, or permits that imitate a real agency or institution.
  • Hiding the not-legal-tender label in small print or on the back of an item.

Examples

  • AllowedYou sell a toy cash register set with play money that is clearly different in size and design from real currency.
  • AllowedYou sell stage or prop money with a clear, prominent label that says it is not legal tender, and it could not realistically deceive.
  • AllowedYou sell a custom certificate of appreciation that does not imitate a government or agency document.
  • AllowedYou sell a printed illustration of an old coin, clearly an artwork.
  • Not allowedYou sell a novelty driver's license with the buyer's name and photo.
  • Not allowedYou sell bills that look the same as real currency, labeled only as a joke.
  • Not allowedYou sell a template to create an official-looking identification card.

How to stay compliant

  1. Delist any item that is or could be mistaken for real currency, a government-issued ID, or official document.
  2. Remove listings for novelty IDs or templates for official-looking documents even if marketed as 'joke' items.
  3. If selling stage or prop money, ensure it is clearly and prominently labeled as not legal tender and could not realistically deceive.

Effort: low · 15-30 minutes

If your suspension email cites this rule

Read the email and open the named listing. Then ask yourself one honest question: could this item be mistaken for real money or a real official document? Look at the photos as a stranger would, and not as the person who made the item.

If the answer is yes, remove the listing. A joke label does not change the rule, so do not argue that point in your reply. If the item is clearly play or prop money, look at how it is labeled and whether the design is plainly different from real currency. Update the listing and the item itself if needed, and tell Etsy exactly what you changed. Etsy makes the final decision, and no reply can promise the listing will come back.

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Common questions

Can I sell prop money on Etsy?

Etsy's page says current, exchangeable currency may not be sold, and it does not address prop money. A realistic copy that could pass as real is risky. Label play money clearly and make it plainly different from real bills.

Is a novelty ID okay if I label it as a joke?

No. Etsy bars the sale of government documents such as identification cards. A joke label does not change what the item is.

Can I sell a template for a certificate or invitation?

Yes, when the template is for an ordinary certificate or invitation. Do not sell templates that copy government-issued identification or other official documents.

Does the rule apply to coins?

The policy names current, exchangeable currency. Etsy allows collectible currency priced under 1,000 US dollars unless legal or other restrictions apply. A photo or illustration of a coin is different from a replica meant to pass as one.

What if a buyer asked for the item?

A buyer's request does not change the rule. If the item could be mistaken for real money or an official document, it should not be listed.

Related prohibited items policy rules