declare currency

Meaning

To officially report to customs officers the exact amount of cash or monetary instruments you are carrying into or out of a country, usually required if the amount exceeds a specific legal limit (e.g., $10,000).

Examples

• All travelers carrying more than ten thousand dollars in cash must declare currency upon arrival.

  All travelers carrying more than ten thousand dollars in cash must declare currency upon arrival.

• Failure to declare currency at the border can lead to heavy fines or confiscation of the funds.

  Failure to declare currency at the border can lead to heavy fines or confiscation of the funds.

• I had to fill out a customs form to declare currency because I was transporting business funds.

  I had to fill out a customs form to declare currency because I was transporting business funds.

• The customs officer asked if I had any cash to declare currency, but I only had credit cards.

  The customs officer asked if I had any cash to declare currency, but I only had credit cards.

• Before you board your flight, make sure you know the local limit at which you must declare currency.

  Before you board your flight, make sure you know the local limit at which you must declare currency.

Common Mistakes

• ✗ I need to say my money to the customs.

  ✓ I need to declare currency at customs.

  Say my money is an unnatural, literal translation. The precise legal and formal term is declare currency or declare cash.

• ✗ You must declare your currencies if you have a lot.

  ✓ You must declare currency if you have a large amount of cash.

  Currency is used as an uncountable noun in this legal collocation; currencies implies multiple different national systems, which is not the focus here.

Related Expressions

Practice

• If you are carrying more than €10,000, you are legally required to ___.

  💡 Officially report cash to customs.

  Show answer

  declare currency

• She was fined at the airport because she failed to ___ upon entry.

  💡 State your cash holdings to border officials.

  Show answer

  declare currency