Bureau of Engraving and Printing

Nothing you see at the money factory is likely to change your life, nor is it even a great tour, but it’s one of those things you might as well see once in a lifetime.
While they say there is money being printed 24 hours a day, their tour hours are awfully narrow, only 10 – 2 or so, with the middle of that being set aside for large tour groups. You’ll enter a small annex without a water fountain and wait for a tour, which opens with a pretty poorly produced video. You’ll proceed through some passages overlooking the money printing process (pictures not allowed). The machines are kind of retro looking, to put it nicely, but there certainly is a lot of work that goes into designing and producign high quality currency. You’ll get some fairly uninteresting technical details about how it’s made, but this isn’t the place for juicier stories regarding counterfeiters or the history of monetary policy. If you’re lucky, some employees will wave at you.
I must say that if one visits a factory that makes, say, food or beer, you typically get a free sample at the end of the tour. Much to my dismay, however, no one gave me any free money at the end of this trip. You can buy some fake money-​based items if you want to.
After a mere half an hour or so in total, you’ll emerge out to a nice view overlooking the Tidal Basin, making me wonder why they wasted this piece of prime real estate on a high security money factory with no windows.

This was like a typical factory tour, but the product is MONEY! Even if you go early, expect to wait in some sort of line. We got in line around 9AM and waited about 15 – 20 minutes in line before we were let inside for our 9:45AM tour. There were no tickets when we went in September, they just batched people as they came. A lot of people seemed confused about this, but there was a big sign in the front of the line that said «NO TICKETS, JUST GET IN LINE.»
You will go through security and it all seems sort of serious, but everyone is nice. While we were waiting, I had to use the bathroom (small bladder people problems), so I asked if I could be let in early to use it and they let me in, no problem.
The tour consisted of us wandering a museum-​like space for a few minutes that shows the history of money, US currency, and security measures they’ve added in over the years to protect from counterfeiting. Then we watched a video (maybe 15 minutes long) that went over the process of currency manufacturing, which was thorough and gave an overview of what we were going to see in the printing areas. Afterward, we went to see the good stuff!
We we led into the printing area where we saw huge stacks of blank currency sheets, saw the process of money being printed, and employees doing random quality inspection. I learned there is about a 4−5% rate of error during serial number printing, but they will remove those that sheet of bills and replace it with a sheet of serial numbers that have an asterisk at the end of the number, and those bills are actually more valuable than a standard bill.
I really enjoyed this tour and even picked up a «fortune note» (a $ 1 bill with a lot of 8’s in the serial number) from the giftshop for my Chinese grandma.

Visited a few days ago during the last morning tour. The waiting area for the tour had exhibits to read up on and would occupy your time till the tour starts. *Bonus, a vending machine for $ 1.25 soda bottles, score!* The tour I was in was about 30 people. There are enough overhead speakers you can try to get under if the crowd noise (read: children) are too loud. The tour is set up like a factory tour, where the tour guides take you to different parts of the process. It was cool seeing how dollar bills are made, from the stacks of paper, to printing, quality inspection, cutting, and stacking. Check out if you’re in the area.

Terrible… both times in 2 hrs we went the guy stopped us from going in right at our 4 person group. That was after he counted the people in line and had us wait until we got to front of line to tell us we couldn’t get in. In other words he knew we weren’t going to make it bit wasted our 15 min anyway. Twice on row…

To get a tour here is a game of chance. It depends who else has the same idea as you, when you and they arrive to wait in line for free tickets, and how many tickets anyone ahead of you requests.
I would estimate there were 60 — 70 people in line ahead of me by the time I arrived around 7:40 am on Friday to wait for the 8 am opening of the ticket booth, where an attendant hands out free tickets.
When I got to the booth, I could see a list of times for which tickets were still available. I chose a 9 am ticket and proceeded to 14^th and C St SW where another crowd had gathered to wait to get in. Tip: you can wait inside the visitor center and listen to when they say they are taking people who are signed up for a certain time. On this side of the BEP, the lining up wasn’t as orderly. A crowd kind of forms all over the place.
The tour begins with a short movie before we are told to turn off our phones or put them to silent, no photography or videography, shoe laces have to be tied, and maybe another couple of warnings. After the movie, we are guided up a narrow escalator up a flight and around narrow, winding hallways where our tour group spreads out and can see workers making money. Workers seem genuinely happy as people continuously looked up and smiled and waved.
I learned a lot on this tour, such as an apprenticeship is 10 years, money design is changed every 7 — 10 years to ward off counterfeiting, $ 1 and $ 5 are not as popular to counterfeit, some machines can print up to four colors, designs are printed on one side and the ink is allowed to dry and set before printing is on another, etc.
We saw someone cross off a set of bills, presumably for flaws, and we saw people do random quality checks of bills.
This is a pretty cool place to check out and the tour ends up in the gift shop, which seems to be only accessible after completing the 45 minute or so tour.

Interesting, but we enjoyed visiting local Fed just as much. Could have been more, but it still met our expectations. Find a better way to distribute to tickets. Promised free souvenir of shredded money for kids, but that didn’t happen.

We went here last year on vacation. My husband’s family being in the Navy was stationed here so we came for a visit for a week. We took his sister and the 3 of us went out everyday and tried to do as much as we could possibly do in DC. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing is basically where the money we use in the US is made. How cool is that!!! We walked in and were told we need a ticket for a time for the tour. The little window to get our ticket was kind of hard to find but it is located down and around the corner from the door. We were given the tickets for the next tour, this was in about 20 minutes. Oh did I mention… this was completely FREE!!! Yes most things in DC museum wise are free.
I remember coming here in 8^th grade on a school field trip but being older I really appreciated it more. The tour takes you basically above where the money is being made. There is stacks of money everywhere! It was so neat and we got a sneak peak at some of the designs of the new bills. They do NOT let you take pictures on the tour, for obvious reasons, and they are very serious about it! Honestly, I wouldn’t even attempt it. You have to go through a metal detector and have your bag searched before you can even go in. They mean business.
The tour ends with a stop in the gift shop. I think the tour was maybe 20 – 30 minutes, it doesn’t take very long at all. If you are going to DC for a vacation, I would definitely recommend swinging by here to see how our money is made. Its FREE so why not!!!

We took a tour of this with low expectations (maybe it would be boring and we wouldn’t actually see anything cool). We came out raving about it. Visiting Washington, D.C. We have seen all the normal tourist attractions, but we learned so much about printing dollar bills. We even got to see them printing some 20s. Those machines are AMAZING. Our tour guide know so much! I think his name was Kevin.
For logistics, you there on the day you want to visit. They hand out tickets until they run out. Apparently the box office open at 8am and only stays open until they hand out all tickets. We got there at 11 and got tickets for 1245. We got there at 1230 and got to read up about some things in the lobby area

«SHOW ME THE MONEY» or «DO YOU HAVE ANY SAMPLES» Are some typical tourist sayings while walking through the tour. This tour is different from the other area attractions.
I saw a sign, knocked on the glass door and asked for a ticket.
Here ya go, come back in 27 minutes. I asked them if they had any Billy Joel tickets, no response.
There is a 15 minute video on how US Currency is printed. The entire theme I’ve noticed in most of the Washington DC attractions, after the Civil War, all of these departments came into fruition to form our nation. The Bureau of Engraving and Printing is one of the institutions.
You see fat stacks and stacks of money being made. All I wanna do is roll in it. Butt naked. Just to see what it feels like. Money.
The Bureau of Engraving and Printing really does have the process down to a sophisticated science. Its what makes our country so great. The innovation and spirit used to create these needs to our growing nation, our system we have in place today is among the finest in the world.
I’m sure as grade school students, this is a great field day trip. Me? Just passing through and I enjoyed seeing how the money we use every day is made.
I’m sure Apple pay is not mentioned on the tour…
I highly recommend seeing the Bureau of Engraving and Printing if your in the area.

The last time I was in Washington was probably when most people go, in the 8^th grade. I remembered seeing how money was made, but that’s about it. Then again, it was in 1983, before the tightened post ⁹⁄₁₁ security.
I wrote to my Representative, Mr. Ed Royce to score me a tour, and his minion wrote back he got me the 8:15 am tour. Holy cow, that’s early!
We arrived late at 8:20, but fortunately in February, tourist season is low, so the staff bumped us to the 8:45 tour. Whew!
The tour came in 3 sections, and its basically watching the worker work. Its interesting to see the phases in making paper money, and our guide was quite perky at 8:45 in the morning.
Just like any touristy spot, they dump you in the gift shop. It looks tiny but they actually have a lot of things to buy, including the Chinese Lucky Money which has serial numbers beginning with 888. I got a $ 1 note with 888xxxxxx08 for $ 4.95, and it came on a nice trifolded decorative red card stock.
Its worth checking out, but I’d make sure to secure a tour first.

The tour is interesting. You can head over to Union Station for a meal afterwards. I prefer visiting at off-​peak times.

I came here with a group of high school students for a school field trip so I don’t know how the ticketing process works.
I was really excited to see this place since when/​where else can you see where our currency is made? It was a cool factory-​like place and I enjoyed learning about the currency and how it’s made, etc. The tour itself was super short-​like 15 mins. short and moved pretty quickly. One thing I was disappointed in was there was a lot of information posted on the walls but the tour guide did not allow us time to stop and read the information! She kept rushing us along and made it clear that there were other tours scheduled right behind us. I read some of the info on the walls quickly and found it to be very interesting and was disappointed that the students did not have time to learn that info.
So the video they show at the beginning of the tour pretty much covers the exact same info as the tour guide… you just get to see it in front of you behind glass rather than behind a TV screen.
The gift shop was meh. Nothing too exciting. Students mostly bought towels because it was the most useful item and so that they can say «I’m covered in money» or «I’m wrapped in money!» Haha… it was an interesting place to browse.

We arrived at 2pm this afternoon for a tour. You do not need to make reservations and tickets are not required during off peak times of the year.
My 9 and 6 year old enjoyed the tour. I’d say, make this one of your stops, if you’re in the area. We were able to squeeze this tour in, as it only takes less than an hour from start to finish.

I took my family here during our first trip to Washington DC and my kids really enjoyed it. The guided tour is free of charge and goes on throughout the day. They only do paper money here no coins. It was quite interesting to watch the entire process of making paper money right before our eyes. A lot of the employees would stop what they were doing for a second and wave to my kids which I thought is a nice touch. It must get kind of annoying having crowds of people watch you work everyday of the week but they did not seemed bothered by it one bit. I recommend visiting the Bureau of Engraving and Printing if you are ever in DC.

Pretty neat tour. Lasts about 45 minutes. You get to see printing, cutting and inspection of paper currency. Our guide had a voice very well suited to speaking. Of course at the end you are at the gift shop. Some gimmicky and some very nice items. I got the obligatory magnet and a small sling bag to carry my essentials as I continue my forced marches around DC. Ha, ha.
Note: see DC in the off season like we are doing now. No big crowds, no lines. The kids are in school and not underfoot. And the weather is so much cooler. A downside is that many of the bigger tours of the area may only be offered on one specific day, rather than several times a week.

I LOVED this tour. 1. It’s free. 2. Who doesn’t like money?
Sadly, no photos or videos are allowed but they take you into an extremely exclusive area where you see all the magic happen! Tour guides are very knowledgeable and open to all questions so depending on the group you’re with, you have the opportunity to learn a lot! Be sure to get there early because tours reservations do go quickly.

I read a lot of not so great reviews on here so I was curious to say the least. Getting tickets is a big pain in the arse! I am not sure why they do not follow suit with all other Dc attractions and allow for online order. Yes, the tickets are free but ex: the Holocaust Museum charges $ 1.00 and you can purchase and schedule your tour date online. The BEP has a system of first come first serve and the ticket booth opens at 8:00am…lines start forming as early as 6:30. We got to the line at 7:20ish, there were already around 80 people there. Once the booth opens, it moves fast. I would say that we were in line (once the booth opened) for only about 10 minutes. we were able to select the time we wanted, which was for 1:30 that afternoon. I am not sure if the 8:00am tour was booked right away, but I imagine so as most don’t want to come back later. We happened to have another tour scheduled later that day at the Holocaust Museum which is right next door so it worked for us.
The only reason I gave three stars was because of the hassle to get tickets. I thought the tour itself was interesting and worth the effort. It was quick– I would say we were in and out in under an hour. The tour guide was informative and the people we could see down in the areas working seemed to ham it up for us. No pictures are allowed while on the tour so unfortunately I only have a few to post.

Agree with other reviews that the building and tour aren’t the flashiest, but then, is that really what defines the tour?
We really, really enjoyed this tour. How often do you get a behind the scenes look at our currency being produced? Another opportunity to be a proud American.
The guys working in the various departments were really cheesing it up for our daughter, who loved seeing them wave and give her thumbs up.
We were lucky enough to score tickets late, but I can see how they sell out, so get there early, head over to the Mall, and come back for your tour.

I had high hopes for this tour. Who doesn’t like to learn how to make money… as in, actually MAKING it. But unfortunatley this ended up being the least polished and least interesting of our tours in D.C.
It started with the tour entry area: it was very rundown, with worn carpet and a few broken windows. (budget cuts?) There were some interesting facts about money history and manufacturing techniques on the walls, and there was a million dollars laid out before us in secure case (
), which made the kids’ eyes pop.
As for the tour itself, we sat for a short video, which repeated the facts we had just read on the walls. Then we proceeded upstairs to view some of the machines and printing staff from a closed walkway.
Our young tour guide had obviously done this hundreds of times, and proceeded to go through his rehearsed speech in a very loud but monotone voice. He even closed his eyes while he talked — Not exactly personable. Most of the facts he covered were the same facts we read on the the walls downstairs. I was beginning to see a pattern here. (I understand the need for secrecy in manufacturing techniques, but at least add some new facts as you go).
To his credit, the tour guide was quite knowledgable about the plant. At the end of the tour, he took questions, and had every answer at the tip if his tongue.
Believe it or not, the most interesting part of the tour was the gift shop. They had an old style printing press there, and a friendly guide was telling us about how they make and copy the engraving masters. We were able to look at a few under a lens to see the amazing detail. Sometimes it’s the old school techniques that are the most interesting.

We went here in mid-​September, so we didn’t have to worry about tickets. Just remember to come here during the weekdays! This place is located on the same street as the Holocaust Museum.
The tour itself takes less than an hour. Just come to learn how money is made! It was cool to see how much money was printed in just a few minutes. The gift shop was pretty fun. You can see how tall you are in dollar amounts.