A German debt collection agency (Inkassounternehmen) operates under the Rechtsdienstleistungsgesetz (RDG), with cost-recovery capped by RDGEG. For undisputed B2B claims, the gerichtliches Mahnverfahren via online-mahnantrag.de is often faster than agency engagement. Overseas creditors have both paths available.
A US or UK exporter with a German debtor has three procedural options for recovery: engage a German Inkasso firm, file the gerichtliches Mahnverfahren directly (lawyer-free), or pursue litigation in German courts. Each has different cost, timeline, and skill requirements. The right choice depends on the nature of the claim and the debtor's likely posture.
This article maps the German commercial recovery landscape for overseas creditors. It assumes the creditor is based outside Germany (most likely the US, UK, or another EU state) and the debtor is a German limited company (GmbH), AG, or sole trader.
OptionGoverning ruleTypical costWhen to useInkasso agencyRechtsdienstleistungsgesetz (RDG)Contingency 10-25% + capped admin under RDGEGAmicable recovery, pre-court pressureGerichtliches Mahnverfahren§§ 688-703d ZPOGKG Nr. 1100: 0.5 fee, min €36Undisputed claims, fast titlingKlage (litigation)ZPOVaries: court fees + RVG attorney feesDisputed claims or high-valueEuropäischer ZahlungsbefehlReg. (EC) No 1896/2006Similar to German MahnverfahrenEU cross-border, simplified
For most US or UK creditors with a standard trade debt against a solvent German GmbH, the Mahnverfahren produces a title (Vollstreckungsbescheid) in 6-10 weeks at minimal cost. Inkasso is the right tool when the creditor wants someone to run amicable pressure before court action.
Before any placement or filing, an overseas creditor should spend 15 minutes verifying the German debtor in public registers. The Handelsregister (Commercial Register) at handelsregister.de is the authoritative source.
The Handelsregister record provides:
For €4.50 per record, the creditor obtains the certified extract. For larger exposures, credit bureau reports from Creditreform, Bürgel, or Schufa add trading-pattern data.
A German company that fails to file annual accounts on time triggers automatic penalties from the Bundesamt für Justiz and is at risk of forced deregistration. A creditor placing a claim against a company in this state should accelerate aggressively; the window for recovery against assets may be measured in weeks.
A German Inkassounternehmen is regulated under the Rechtsdienstleistungsgesetz (RDG, in force since 2008). Firms that collect third-party debts commercially must be registered at the Rechtsdienstleistungsregister administered by the Justice Department of their federal state.
Key RDG provisions:
The Inkasso fees charged to the debtor are capped by the Rechtsdienstleistungsgesetz-Einführungsgesetz (RDGEG). Since the 2021 amendment, the effective cap follows the RVG (Rechtsanwaltsvergütungsgesetz) table: for a 1,000-euro claim, maximum legal fees chargeable to the debtor are roughly €70-90; for a €10,000 claim, roughly €600-700. Above those limits, the creditor cannot shift additional costs onto the debtor.
For the overseas creditor, this has practical implications. The creditor pays the Inkasso contingency (typically 10-25 percent of recovered sums for B2B) out of its own funds; the capped statutory cost-recovery is a limit on what can be recharged to the debtor, not a ceiling on what the Inkasso firm charges the creditor.
The gerichtliches Mahnverfahren under §§ 688-703d ZPO is the German court system's automated procedure for undisputed monetary claims. For overseas creditors with clear, non-contested trade debts, it is often the most cost-effective route.
The procedure in five steps:
Total time end-to-end: 6-10 weeks for uncontested cases. Total cost: court fees of 0.5 Gebühr under GKG Nr. 1100 (minimum €36, scaled to claim value — a €10,000 claim costs approximately €121 in court fees).
For overseas creditors, the application is in German and requires a domestic address for service (Zustellungsadresse). Most use a domestic counsel or an Inkasso firm as the Zustellungsbevollmächtigter for this purpose, even when running the Mahnverfahren themselves.
For creditors in other EU member states pursuing a German debtor, Regulation (EC) No 1896/2006 provides a parallel path: the European Payment Order (Europäischer Zahlungsbefehl).
Procedurally similar to the German Mahnverfahren but usable from any EU member state against a debtor in any EU member state. The order, once issued and not challenged, enforces automatically in all EU member states under the Regulation.
For a UK creditor post-Brexit, the European Payment Order is no longer available. UK creditors default back to national German procedures or the 2005 Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements, depending on contract terms.
For a French, Dutch, or Spanish creditor, the European Payment Order often has efficiency advantages over the German Mahnverfahren because the creditor can file from home without navigating the German-language portal.
German commercial creditors have automatic rights to interest and fixed compensation on late payment under § 288 BGB. These rights apply to overseas creditors as well when German law governs the contract.
Verzugszinsen (§ 288 Abs. 2 BGB). For B2B transactions not involving a consumer, the default late-payment interest rate is the Basiszinssatz (set semi-annually by the Bundesbank) plus 9 percentage points. At a Basiszinssatz of 3.37 percent in early 2026, the effective rate is approximately 12.37 percent per annum.
Mahnpauschale (§ 288 Abs. 5 BGB). A flat €40 per invoice, automatic without proof of actual loss, applies to every overdue B2B invoice. This adds up across a portfolio of overdue accounts.
Additional actual costs. Where demonstrable costs exceed the €40 pauschale, the creditor can claim additional amounts on proof.
A German recovery that does not include these entitlements in the demand is leaving creditor money on the table. Both Inkasso firms and Mahnantrag filings should itemize all three.
Across 40 German Mahnverfahren filings reviewed over the past 18 months:
The 78 percent conversion rate is the data point. For clean, undisputed B2B trade debts against solvent German debtors, the Mahnverfahren produces a title at modest cost in the great majority of cases. Complexity — Widerspruch, regular litigation, enforcement actions — is the exception, not the rule.
The cases where Mahnverfahren did not work were predictable in advance: substantively disputed claims (the debtor had raised written objections pre-filing), debtors already showing signs of insolvency, or invoices where the underlying contract lacked written documentation. Pre-filing diagnosis filters these out.
Two main routes. An Inkasso firm (regulated under RDG) pursues amicable recovery on contingency, typically 10-25 percent of recovered sums for B2B. Alternatively, a creditor files the gerichtliches Mahnverfahren directly via online-mahnantrag.de, obtaining a Mahnbescheid and then a Vollstreckungsbescheid without needing a lawyer. For disputed claims, litigation in the Amtsgericht (up to €5,000) or Landgericht (above €5,000) is the path.
Yes. The Mahnverfahren is available to creditors regardless of domicile. Foreign creditors without a German address typically use the Amtsgericht Wedding in Berlin as the competent court and appoint a domestic Zustellungsbevollmächtigter (authorized recipient for court documents).
Contingency rates on B2B claims typically run 10-25 percent of recovered sums, scaled by debt age and complexity. What the agency can charge the debtor in addition is capped by RDGEG, which limits recoverable fees to RVG-table amounts (roughly €70-700 depending on claim size).
The Mahnbescheid is the first court order in the Mahnverfahren, notifying the debtor of the claim. The Vollstreckungsbescheid is the enforcement order issued after the debtor fails to object within the 2-week window. Only the Vollstreckungsbescheid is an actual enforcement title under § 794 ZPO.
For undisputed claims via the Mahnverfahren, end-to-end to a Vollstreckungsbescheid typically takes 6-10 weeks. Enforcement actions against assets (Gerichtsvollzieher for movables, Zwangsvollstreckung for real property, Kontopfändung for bank accounts) add additional weeks or months. Compared to many other European jurisdictions, German enforcement is reliably fast for clean cases.
A German trade debt past 60 days is usually Mahnverfahren-ready; faster action produces better recovery economics. Place a case for a German placement assessment within one business day.
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