Debt Collection Laws in Europe: 27 Countries, 3 Mechanisms
European Debt Collection Laws: 27 Countries, 27 Legal Systems, and the 3 Mechanisms That Work Across All of Them
The Specific Numbers That Matter
Here’s what a CFO managing European receivables needs to know — not the theory, but the operating parameters.
Germany’s Mahnverfahren costs €36 to file and produces an enforceable title in 42 days on average. France’s référé provision can produce a provisional payment order in 14-21 days in urgent cases. Spain’s proceso monitorio has no cap on claim value and costs €0 to file (court fees are recovered from the debtor). Italy’s decreto ingiuntivo produces an ex parte payment order in 15-40 days. The UK’s statutory demand costs nothing to serve and gives the debtor 21 days before you can petition to wind up their company.
These aren’t theoretical observations. They’re operational tools — and most creditors managing cross-border European receivables don’t know they exist, let alone how to deploy them.
This guide maps the specific legal mechanisms across Europe, because vague generalisations about "European debt collection" help no one. The mechanisms are specific. The deadlines are specific. The costs are specific. And the differences between jurisdictions can mean the difference between recovering your money in 6 weeks or 18 months.
The Three Pan-European Mechanisms
Before examining individual countries, three EU-wide mechanisms deserve attention because they’re dramatically underutilised.
European Payment Order (EPO) — Regulation 1896/2006. For uncontested cross-border claims between EU member states, the EPO provides a standardised payment order procedure. You file a standard form (Form A) in your own country’s court. The court examines the application and, if satisfied, issues the EPO. The debtor has 30 days to oppose. If they don’t, the EPO becomes enforceable across all EU member states without separate recognition proceedings.
Court fees vary by member state but are typically €50-200. The practical limitation: if the debtor opposes within 30 days, the case converts to ordinary proceedings under local law. But for genuinely undisputed debts — which most commercial debts are — the EPO eliminates the most painful aspect of cross-border enforcement: having to litigate in a foreign court.
European Enforcement Order (EEO) — Regulation 805/2004. For uncontested claims, a judgment from any EU member state can be certified as a European Enforcement Order. The EEO is then enforceable directly in any other member state without any declaration of enforceability (exequatur). This eliminates the intermediate step that traditionally made cross-border enforcement slow and expensive.
The EEO applies to judgments, court settlements, and authentic instruments (notarial acts). The certification requirements are specific — proper service of documents, adequate notice to the debtor — but for well-documented commercial claims, the process is straightforward.
European Small Claims Procedure (ESCP) — Regulation 861/2007. For cross-border claims under €5,000, the ESCP provides a simplified written procedure. No hearing is required (though one can be held if the court deems it necessary). The judgment is automatically enforceable across the EU. Court fees vary but are typically €25-100.
The €5,000 limit restricts the ESCP’s applicability for large commercial claims, but it’s valuable for recurring small debts — service fees, shipping charges, supplementary invoices — that individually don’t justify full litigation but collectively represent significant receivables.
Country-by-Country: The Mechanisms That Matter
### Germany
Primary tool: Mahnverfahren (judicial dunning procedure). File electronically through the Mahnportal. The court issues a Mahnbescheid (payment order) without examining the merits of the claim. The debtor has 14 days to object (Widerspruch). If they don’t, the creditor requests a Vollstreckungsbescheid (enforcement order), which the debtor can contest within 14 days. If uncontested, the Vollstreckungsbescheid is equivalent to a court judgment and fully enforceable. Total cost: approximately €36 for a €10,000 claim. Average timeline to enforceable title: 6-8 weeks.
Statute of limitations: 3 years from the end of the year in which the claim arose (§195-199 BGB).
Late payment interest: ECB base rate + 9 percentage points for B2B transactions (§288 BGB).
### France
Primary tool: Injonction de payer or référé provision. The injonction de payer is a standard payment order procedure — file with the Tribunal de Commerce (for commercial debts), and the court issues an order based on the documentation. The debtor has one month to oppose. The référé provision (emergency procedure) is faster — available when the debt is not seriously contestable, it can produce a provisional payment order in 2-4 weeks.
Statute of limitations: 5 years for commercial debts (Article L.110-4 Code de Commerce).
Late payment interest: ECB base rate + 10 percentage points for B2B transactions (Article L.441-10 Code de Commerce), plus €40 fixed compensation for recovery costs.
### Italy
Primary tool: Decreto ingiuntivo (injunction to pay). The creditor files with the competent court, presenting documentary evidence of the debt. The judge issues the decree ex parte (without notifying the debtor) within 15-40 days. The debtor has 40 days from service to oppose. If the creditor demonstrates periculum in mora (risk of delay), the court can grant provisional enforcement immediately — allowing enforcement to proceed even while the opposition is pending.
Statute of limitations: 10 years for contractual claims (Article 2946 Civil Code). 5 years for periodic payments (Article 2948).
Late payment interest: ECB base rate + 8 percentage points for B2B transactions (D.Lgs. 231/2002).
### Spain
Primary tool: Proceso monitorio. No claim value cap (one of the few European payment order procedures without one). File electronically through LexNET. The debtor has 20 days to pay or oppose. If they don’t respond, the court issues a direct enforcement order. Filing cost: €0 (court fees are recovered from the debtor in enforcement). Average timeline: 30-60 days to enforceable title.
Statute of limitations: 5 years for contractual claims (Article 1964 Civil Code, amended by Law 42/2015).
Late payment interest: ECB base rate + 8 percentage points for B2B transactions (Law 3/2004).
### United Kingdom (post-Brexit)
Primary tool: Statutory demand (for debts over £750). Serve on the debtor company. If unpaid, unsecured, or uncompounded within 21 days, the creditor can petition for the company’s winding up. This isn’t a court proceeding — it’s a corporate threat that motivates payment because the consequences of a winding-up petition are catastrophic for the debtor’s business relationships, banking facilities, and commercial reputation.
Alternative: County Court claim (Money Claim Online for claims up to £100,000). File online, pay a proportional fee (£455 for a £10,000 claim), and the court processes the claim. If the debtor doesn’t respond within 14 days, you request default judgment.
Statute of limitations: 6 years for contractual claims (Limitation Act 1980).
Late payment interest: Bank of England base rate + 8 percentage points (Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998).
### Nordics (Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway)
The Nordic countries share a common characteristic: high compliance with payment norms and efficient payment order procedures. Denmark’s betalingspåkrav, Sweden’s betalningsföreläggande, and Norway’s forliksklage provide standardised, low-cost paths to enforceable titles. Recovery rates in the Nordics are among the highest in Europe — typically 75-85% for debts under 90 days — because the business culture treats late payment as genuinely exceptional rather than strategically convenient.
The Enforcement Reality
A judgment is only as good as your ability to enforce it. Across Europe, the practical enforcement tools are:
Bank account seizure. Available in all EU jurisdictions, and typically the fastest enforcement path. In some countries (Germany, France), the creditor can request information from the debtor’s bank about account balances before seizure.
The European Account Preservation Order (EAPO — Regulation 655/2014). This often-overlooked EU mechanism allows a creditor to freeze a debtor’s bank accounts in any EU member state, even before obtaining a judgment. The order is granted ex parte (without the debtor’s knowledge) and can be used to prevent the debtor from dissipating assets during litigation.
Property attachment and forced sale. Available everywhere but operationally slow — typically 12-24 months from attachment to auction.
The Strategic View
European debt collection law is not one system. It’s 27 systems with three EU-wide overlay mechanisms. The creditor who treats "Europe" as a single jurisdiction will always underperform the one who deploys the specific mechanism available in the specific country where the debtor sits.
Know the tool. Know the deadline. Know the cost. Deploy within 60 days. That’s the strategy — and it works across all 27 jurisdictions.
