The activity of ligninolytic phenol oxidases from three white rot fungi, Pycnoporus cinnabarinus Polyporus ciliatus, and an unidentified basidiomycete, during the reaction with low-rank coal were studied. Even though, each fungus displayed a unique phenol oxidase pattern all three strains decolorized and depolymerized the substrate demonstrating that alternative extracellular enzyme systems and their respective cofactors are capable of degrading low-rank coal.