Debt Collection Agency in Belgium - No Win, No Fee

Step 1 - How does amicable (pre-legal) debt collection work in Belgium?

Amicable collection in Belgium is handled by Credit Management & Advice, our licensed partner: for a consumer (B2C) debt, the process must start with a written mise en demeure (formal demand) that gives the debtor a minimum 15-day payment window (Loi du 20 décembre 2002, art. 5); no indemnity beyond the amount actually agreed in the contract can be charged to the consumer. For B2B claims, statutory interest and a fixed compensation for recovery costs accrue automatically once the payment term expires, without any formal notice (Loi du 2 août 2002).

Escalation to court is never automatic: Credit Management & Advice assesses the legal route and you approve a fixed-price quote before anything proceeds.

Step 2 - How do you obtain an enforceable title in Belgium?

Go to court when a claim is disputed or the amicable phase fails. The route depends on whether the claim is undisputed and its value.

Fast-track: procédure sommaire d'injonction de payer

Available before the juge de paix for claims up to EUR 1,860, this simplified route also serves as Belgium's domestic channel for a European Payment Order application. It requires a lawyer's signature on the application, a 15-day prior payment demand, and a decision within 15 days.

Ordinary proceedings

Claims over EUR 5,000 not otherwise assigned go to the tribunal de première instance; every enterprise-vs-enterprise dispute, regardless of value, goes to the tribunal de l'entreprise/ondernemingsrechtbank, which also holds exclusive insolvency jurisdiction. Claims under EUR 5,000 go to the juge de paix/vrederechter.

Court costs

Droits de mise au rôle (registry fees) are paid by the losing party after judgment: EUR 50 (juge de paix), EUR 165 (tribunal de première instance/tribunal de l'entreprise), EUR 400 (cour d'appel) and EUR 650 (Cassation).

Step 3 - How does debt enforcement work in Belgium?

A creditor may enforce only with a titre exécutoire (enforceable title): a judgment, a notarial deed, a tax writ, or a foreign judgment granted exequatur. Enforcement is carried out exclusively by a licensed huissier de justice/gerechtsdeurwaarder (bailiff).

Ways to enforce a claim in Belgium

• Saisie-conservatoire: a precautionary seizure to secure assets before or during proceedings.
• Saisie-exécution: post-judgment seizure and sale of movable or immovable property.
• Saisie-arrêt / derdenbeslag: garnishment reaching wages and bank accounts, subject to the protected-income tiers in Code judiciaire art. 1409.

The enforcement process in Belgium

1. Confirm the title: the huissier verifies the judgment, deed or exequatur before acting.
2. Serve and demand: the huissier formally serves the title and demands payment.
3. Seize: where payment does not follow, the huissier executes saisie-exécution or saisie-arrêt against identified assets, wages or bank accounts.
4. Distribute: proceeds are applied to principal, statutory interest and court-ordered costs; any surplus returns to the debtor.

Belgian judgments generally remain enforceable for the 10-year general prescription period. Within the EU, Brussels I bis Regulation (EU) 1215/2012 lets a Belgian judgment be enforced in another member state, and a foreign EU judgment be enforced in Belgium, without a separate exequatur.

Cross-border debt collection in Belgium

Foreign creditors can recover Belgian debts without a local entity. For EU cross-border claims up to EUR 5,000, the European Small Claims Procedure runs through Belgium's ordinary courts, since no distinct national small-claims track exists. The European Payment Order is examined through the same domestic simplified procedure used for the EUR 1,860-capped procédure sommaire d'injonction de payer. Within the EU, Brussels I bis Regulation (EU) 1215/2012 allows a judgment from another member state to be recognised and enforced in Belgium without a separate declaration of enforceability (exequatur).