Abstract Solid surfaces often serve as a reaction field for organic molecules. If a surface has chirality, it could play a significant role as an enantioselective catalyst. Electrodeposition in magnetic fields (magnetoelectrodeposition; MED) has potential to produce enantioselective metal surfaces, however, the exploration of chiral formation conditions has not been sufficient in previous MED experiments. Here we show the chiral behaviors of copper film surfaces prepared by galvanostatic MED. We found that the chiral sign depends on both the deposition current and the polarity of magnetic field. Furthermore, we found that the specific adsorption of chloride ions on the film surfaces brings about drastic influence on the chiral formation in MED. At certain chloride concentrations chiral symmetry breaking was observed for the polarity of magnetic field. These findings imply that magnetohydrodynamic micro-vortices and the rate-limiting steps are responsible for the chiral surface formation.