PURPOSE: To prevent noise and wear of rollers in a paper sheet separating device constituted by combining a paper feed roller with a retard roller by preventing the retard roller from directly contacting with the paper sheet carried out, when the paper sheet is carried by means of a carrying roller device on the lower stream part.

CONSTITUTION: Different drive means are arranged against a paper feed roller 21 and a retard roller 22 constituting a paper sheet separating device 20, a one-way clutch 32 is arranged against the paper feed roller 21, and a drive means composed of a worm gear 36 and a worm wheel 37 is arranged against the retard roller 22 through a torque limiter 38. For operating a paper sheet separating action, both rollers arc driven in response to the separating action, but when the paper sheet is carried by means of a carrying roller device on the lower stream part, a drive motor 35 is driven in the reverse direction so as to rush the succeeding paper sheet into the nip part, and hence the paper sheet to be carried out is slid in the condition of interposing the other paper sheet on the retard roller 22.