Debt Collection Agency Germany: B2B Recovery Guide
To collect a commercial debt in Germany, use the Mahnverfahren — an automated payment order procedure under ZPO §§688-703d filed online at online-mahnantrag.de. For a EUR 10,000 claim the court fee is EUR 36. The debtor has 14 days to contest; an uncontested order produces a Vollstreckungsbescheid — a full enforceable title — within 4 to 6 weeks.
B2B statutory interest under BGB §288 runs at ECB base rate plus 9 percentage points from day one of default, with a EUR 40 fixed recovery compensation per invoice under §288(5) BGB — no proof required.
You've been supplying a German company for three years. Now they're 90 days late and returning your calls with finance department excuses. You're not alone: Germany had over 24,000 business insolvencies in 2025 and the average B2B DSO runs at 53 days. German commercial culture respects formal legal process — a polite email from abroad carries no weight, but a Mahnung from a licensed RDG agent with a Mahnverfahren filing already prepared produces a different conversation entirely. Here is the complete process, starting with the limitation trap that catches most foreign creditors off-guard.
How does debt collection work in Germany?
German B2B collection runs three sequential phases. First, a formal demand (Mahnung) in German citing BGB §288 interest at ECB base rate + 9pp plus EUR 40 per invoice — both of which accrue automatically from day 31 of default for B2B transactions (§286(3) BGB), without any prior reminder. A Creditreform solvency check at this stage identifies insolvent or at-risk debtors before costs escalate. The amicable phase resolves approximately 65% of commercially viable files.
Second phase: the Mahnverfahren application, filed electronically at online-mahnantrag.de. The court issues a Mahnbescheid — the debtor has 14 days for a Widerspruch (objection). No objection produces a Vollstreckungsbescheid: a final, enforceable judgment equivalent. Third phase: enforcement by Gerichtsvollzieher (bailiff) using Vermögensauskunft (§802c ZPO) — compulsory asset disclosure — followed by Pfändungs- und Überweisungsbeschluss, a bank garnishment order.
What is the Mahnverfahren and how long does it take?
The Mahnverfahren (ZPO §§688-703d) is Germany's fast-track automated payment order procedure. The creditor files online at online-mahnantrag.de; the application is processed by the Amtsgericht Hagen for cross-border claims by foreign creditors. Court fee: EUR 36 for a EUR 10,000 claim, EUR 136 for EUR 50,000, EUR 486 for EUR 200,000. The Mahnbescheid is issued within 1 to 2 weeks. The debtor's 14-day Widerspruch window then runs. No objection: Vollstreckungsbescheid issued — fully enforceable — within 4 to 6 weeks of initial filing.
If the debtor objects, the file converts to ordinary civil proceedings (streitiges Verfahren) at the competent Landgericht. Well-documented claims with signed contracts, delivery notes, and invoices rarely face credible opposition — a German company disputing a debt it knows it owes is aware that the costs of contested proceedings will be added to the judgment if the creditor wins.
What is the statute of limitations for commercial debt in Germany?
Germany's limitation period is 3 years under BGB §195 — the shortest standard commercial limitation in Western Europe. The critical trap: the clock does not run exactly from the invoice due date. Under §199 BGB, the limitation period starts at the end of the calendar year in which the claim arose and the creditor became aware of it. An invoice due on 15 March 2022 expires on 31 December 2025, not 15 March 2025. This "Jahresultimo" rule gives creditors slightly more time than a pure 3-year calculation suggests — but also means that all claims from an entire calendar year expire simultaneously on 31 December of the third following year.
The clock is suspended (gehemmt) by the commencement of formal negotiations, a court application, or the Mahnverfahren filing. It restarts from zero if the debtor acknowledges the debt in writing or makes a partial payment. The Jahresultimo rule means that creditors with December invoices have nearly 4 full years before the claim expires.
Do I need an RDG-licensed agency to collect debts in Germany?
Yes — Germany's Rechtsdienstleistungsgesetz (RDG) regulates all third-party debt collection activity. Collection agencies must be registered and licensed; unlicensed collection of third-party debts is a regulatory breach. Before engaging any German collection agency, verify their RDG registration status. A licensed Inkasso-Unternehmen (collection agency) may conduct amicable and semi-legal collection. Judicial proceedings — the Mahnverfahren and court actions — require either a German Rechtsanwalt (attorney) or a licensed Inkasso-Unternehmen acting within their permitted scope.
How is a German judgment enforced?
Enforcement begins when the creditor instructs the Gerichtsvollzieher (court-appointed bailiff). The bailiff serves the Vollstreckungsbescheid, demands payment, and — if unpaid — executes a Vermögensauskunft (§802c ZPO): the debtor is compelled to disclose all assets on oath before the bailiff. This disclosure is registered in the central enforcement register for three years. Following asset disclosure, the most effective enforcement tool is the Pfändungs- und Überweisungsbeschluss — a court order freezing and transferring funds held at any German bank account the debtor holds. German banks must comply without prior notice to the debtor.
Germany is one of the most creditor-friendly enforcement jurisdictions in Europe — once you have the title. The bottleneck is almost always documentation: missing delivery confirmations, unsigned general terms, or invoices in a currency the contract didn't specify. If your documentation is in order, the Mahnverfahren is one of the most efficient commercial enforcement tools in any developed economy.
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.
