The 1 santim was only minted until 1987 when new designs were introduced, with a 1⁄2 dirham replacing the 50 santimat without changing the size or composition.

It is the first banknote in the world to be printed on Durasafe, a paper-polymer-paper composite substrate produced by Fortress Paper.

The front of the commemorative note features an intaglio vignette and a watermark of King Mohammed VI, and a magenta-green color shift security thread.

The thread, like the watermark, is embedded inside the banknote yet visible behind a one-sided Viewsafe polymer window.

The windows in Durasafe are formed by die cutting each side of the three layer composite substrate separately.

One-sided Viewsafe windows give a clear view inside the substrate where the thread and the watermark of King Mohammed VI are protected, but fully visible behind the polymer core.

[11][12][13][14] In 2019, Bank Al-Maghrib issued a 20-dirham banknote produced on polymer substrate to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the accession of Mohammed VI to the Moroccan throne.

Popular denominations are words widely used in Morocco to refer to different values of the currency; they are not considered official by the state.

Though not used by the young generation, the denomination 1,000, 2,000, up to 100,000 francs will be used by people who lived during the French colonial period when referring to 10, 20 and 1,000 dirham.

The Moroccan dirham is also accepted in trade markets in Ceuta, although the euro is the sole legal tender there.