Collecting from an EU debtor means navigating licensing regimes, limitation periods, and payment order procedures that vary by member state despite shared EU-level frameworks.
Some EU states require collection agencies to hold a specific national license, while others regulate the activity more loosely, so compliance obligations shift meaningfully depending on which member state the debtor is in.
From Austria's three-year commercial limitation to Lithuania's ten years, there is no single EU-wide clock, which is why confirming the applicable national period is one of the first things worth checking on any EU file.
Nearly every EU member state offers some version of a fast-track payment order for undisputed debt, whether it's called Mahnverfahren, injonction de payer, or something else entirely, and each has its own specific timing and objection rules.
Everything covered in this video, in full written form, in the complete article.
Read the full guideA creditor's reference to debt collection laws in Europe: EU regulations, national licensing regimes, limitation periods, and payment order procedures.