Debt Collection Agency Dubai | B2B Recovery in the UAE
To recover a B2B commercial debt in Dubai and the wider UAE, the primary legal instrument since 2023 is the Article 62 payment order under Federal Decree-Law No. 42 of 2022 (in force 2 January 2023), which allows a creditor holding a written, documented, due and payable claim to apply directly to the competent judge for an enforcement order — without a full adversarial hearing. The general commercial limitation period under Article 95 of the Commercial Transactions Law is 10 years from the date the obligation became due. The UAE operates three parallel legal environments: onshore courts applying UAE civil and commercial law; the DIFC Courts operating under English common law for contracts with a DIFC jurisdiction clause; and the ADGM Courts (Abu Dhabi Global Market) also under English law. A bounced cheque — following the 2022 decriminalisation reform — is now a directly executable instrument in the civil enforcement system, bypassing the need for a full judgment. The UAE ratified the New York Convention in 2006: foreign arbitral awards from ICC, LCIA, DIAC, or SIAC arbitrations are enforceable in the UAE without any re-litigation of the merits.
Your UAE reseller owes EUR 210,000 across six invoices. The invoices are 120 days past due. WhatsApp replies have declined to one emoji per week. Your sales director keeps reminding everyone that Dubai is “a very important market.” What your sales director has not told you: the UAE reformed its entire civil procedure framework in 2022, introduced a fast payment order that can produce an enforceable title in weeks for an uncontested written claim, decriminalised cheques and made them directly executable, and operates common-law courts alongside the civil courts if your contract has the right clause. Here is the complete procedural map for Dubai and the UAE.
How does the Article 62 payment order work under the 2022 civil procedure reform?
Federal Decree-Law No. 42 of 2022 on Civil Procedure, in force from 2 January 2023, introduced the payment order procedure in Article 62. The creditor presents to the competent judge: the written contract or agreement, the invoices or payment confirmation, and evidence of the demand sent and not satisfied. The judge may issue a payment order without summoning or hearing the debtor, provided the claim is documentary, liquidated, and due. The debtor has a statutory period to oppose — if no opposition is filed, the order becomes a directly executable enforcement title. The Article 62 procedure is the fastest route for uncontested written B2B claims in UAE onshore courts, producing results in weeks rather than the months typical of full litigation.
For contested claims, or claims that do not qualify for the payment order, proceedings follow the standard civil process in the relevant first-instance court — Dubai Courts for Dubai-registered entities, Abu Dhabi Judicial Department for Abu Dhabi. Proceedings in onshore courts are conducted in Arabic; certified translations of foreign-language documents are required.
What is the difference between onshore UAE courts, DIFC, and ADGM?
The UAE operates three distinct court systems simultaneously. Onshore courts — Dubai Courts, Abu Dhabi Judicial Department, etc. — apply UAE federal civil and commercial law (Federal Law No. 5 of 1985 on Civil Transactions; Federal Law No. 18 of 1993 on Commercial Transactions). Proceedings are in Arabic. This is the default system for any contract that does not specifically choose a different jurisdiction.
The DIFC Courts — located within the Dubai International Financial Centre — operate under English common law, with proceedings in English and judges drawn from England, Singapore, Hong Kong, and the UAE’s common-law bar. The DIFC Courts have jurisdiction where: both parties are DIFC-registered entities; the contract contains a DIFC Courts jurisdiction clause; or the parties opt in by agreement. DIFC judgments are directly enforceable across the UAE under a memorandum of understanding with Dubai Courts, and are recognised in over 50 jurisdictions globally. For European creditors whose contracts include a DIFC jurisdiction clause, the DIFC Courts are faster, more familiar in procedure, and more predictable than onshore proceedings.
What is the limitation period for commercial debt in the UAE?
The general limitation period for commercial obligations in the UAE is 10 years under Article 95 of the Commercial Transactions Law (Federal Law No. 18 of 1993), running from the date the obligation became due and payable. This is one of the longest commercial limitation periods in the world — longer than Germany (3 years), Spain (5 years), France (5 years), Canada (2 years), and England (6 years). The limitation is interrupted by written demand, court filing, or the debtor’s acknowledgment of the debt.
How does the UAE’s New York Convention ratification affect foreign creditors?
The UAE acceded to the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards in 2006. An arbitral award from any recognised international arbitral institution — ICC (Paris), LCIA (London), DIAC (Dubai), SIAC (Singapore), or HKIAC (Hong Kong) — is enforceable in the UAE courts without re-litigation of the merits. For European suppliers whose contracts include ICC or LCIA arbitration clauses, this creates a direct enforcement route: obtain the award, present it to the UAE execution court with a certified translation, and enforce against UAE-based assets. The practical timeline for enforcing a foreign arbitral award in the UAE is typically 6 to 12 months.
You know the debt is real. What you need now is someone on the ground in the right jurisdiction who can make it cost the debtor more to ignore it than to pay it. Contact Cosmopolite for a free case assessment. No win, no fee.
