₹2000 notes are no longer in circulation in India. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had decided to withdraw them from circulation in May 2023. Although ₹2000 notes are still legal tender, they are no longer used for transactions. So, if you still have ₹2000 notes at home, in a shop or in a business, RBI has advised you to return them immediately. Even though the Reserve Bank started withdrawing these high notes in May 2023, more than two years later, these notes worth about ₹6,000 crore are still in circulation.
RBI is removing old notes from the system
RBI has clarified that ₹2000 notes are still legal tender, which means they are valid for payment. However, most bank branches and retail outlets no longer accept them for regular transactions. As of October 31, 2025, about 98.37 per cent of the ₹2000 notes in circulation have been returned. This step of withdrawal of notes is part of RBI’s ‘Clean Note Policy’, which aims to remove old and less used notes from the system. Printing of ₹2000 notes was stopped after the 2018–19 financial year due to low usage in daily transactions.
Where can you deposit notes?
The facility to deposit or exchange ₹2000 notes in commercial bank branches was to end on October 7, 2023. At present, note exchange facility is available only in 19 RBI regional offices across the country. You can send ₹2000 notes to any regional office of the Reserve Bank through any post office in the country for credit into your bank account. These 19 offices are in big cities like Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kanpur, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Patna, New Delhi and Chennai. In Uttar Pradesh, RBI has offices in big cities like Kanpur and Lucknow.
Documents required for submission
According to a circular issued by RBI Chief General Manager (CGM) Brijraj, depositors will have to bring their Aadhar card and bank account details as identity proof to ensure that the amount is deposited in the correct account. Regional Director of RBI in Lucknow said that a form will be given in the branch, which will have to be filled and submitted along with the note and ID proof.
no need to get confused
People are still confused about Rs 2000 notes. They think that due to delay these notes may get rejected or their value may reduce, but it is not so. RBI has appealed to the people to use the special exchange counters set up in their regional offices to deposit the remaining notes. These notes were issued in November 2016 under Section 24(1) of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934. Their printing was stopped in 2018-19. These were issued at the time of demonetisation, when old Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes were demonetised, to meet the country’s currency needs.
