Clydesdale Bank's Scottish £5 note was the first fully polymer banknote to enter circulation in Great Britain.
The International Bank Note Society has nominated the fivers, made from a polymer substrate, for the award alongside banknotes from countries including New Zealand and China.
They are the only UK note on the shortlist.
Clydesdale chief executive David Duffy said: "We are proud that our polymer £5 note has been nominated.
"We take our responsibility as an issuer of banknotes seriously."
Two million of the £5 notes are currently in circulation.
The bank introduces around £400m of new notes every year.
A new polymer £10 note, featuring Robert Burns, will start to be made later in 2016 and is expected to enter circulation in 2017.
More than 20 countries around the world have adopted polymer notes.
The Bank of England is to begin issuing them later this year.
In 1999, Northern Bank of Northern Ireland issued a polymer £5 commemorative note celebrating the year 2000.
Britain's first fully polymer £5 note is in the running for the International Banknote of the Year award.