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TLDR:
  • EVM nodes refuse to broadcast legacy (pre-EIP-155) transactions because they could be replayed on other EVM chains.
  • The fix: include chainId in the transaction object before signing.
  • All modern signing libraries do this automatically when you pass chainId (ethers.js, viem) or set the network/wallet to a specific chain (web3.py with a chain-aware wallet).

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The error

You try to send a raw transaction through an EVM node and get: 
only replay-protected (EIP-155) transactions allowed over RPC

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Cause

EIP-155 made the chain ID part of the signed transaction so a signature for Ethereum mainnet can’t be replayed as-is on, say, BNB Smart Chain. Most modern EVM clients refuse to accept non-EIP-155 transactions over public RPC. If your signing code doesn’t include chainId, the resulting transaction is “legacy” pre-EIP-155 and the node rejects it.

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Solution

Include chainId in the transaction object before signing. The value is the numeric chain ID of the target network — look it up on chainlist.org. 
import { Wallet, JsonRpcProvider, parseEther, parseUnits } from "ethers";

const provider = new JsonRpcProvider("https://ethereum-mainnet.core.chainstack.com/AUTH_KEY");
const wallet = new Wallet(process.env.PRIVATE_KEY!, provider);

// ethers picks up chainId automatically from the provider.
// For manual construction, include it explicitly:
const tx = await wallet.sendTransaction({
  to: "0xRecipientAddress",
  value: parseEther("0.1"),
  gasLimit: 21000,
  maxFeePerGas: parseUnits("50", "gwei"),
  maxPriorityFeePerGas: parseUnits("2", "gwei"),
  chainId: 1, // Ethereum mainnet
});
In ethers.js and viem, chainId is taken from the provider/chain object — you usually don’t have to set it manually. The error typically shows up when you’re hand-crafting a transaction or using a low-level signer that doesn’t have a chain context bound.

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See also

Last modified on May 19, 2026