Debt Collection Agency in Bosnia and Herzegovina - No Win, No Fee
Debt collection agency in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Submit your claim and a licensed local partner acts for you, No Cure No Pay, with real-time tracking online.
Get free expert advice
Response from a specialist within 24 hours.
Why Choose Debitura for Debt Collection in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Fast, simple and risk-free debt collection in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Debitura recovers unpaid invoices from debtors in Bosnia and Herzegovina through our platform: submit your claim, and we assign it to a licensed local partner working on a No Cure, No Pay basis while you track progress in real time. Your case is handled by IA Law Firm - Law Firm Ibrahimovic & Co, a Sarajevo law firm registered with the Advokatska/Odvjetnička komora FBiH (the Federation bar association) since 2016. Nothing escalates beyond the amicable phase without your approval.
- Risk-free: pay only when we recover your money.
- Quick setup: submit the invoice and debtor details in a few clicks.
- Real-time tracking: follow every step in one dashboard, in English.
- Local expertise: Bosnian lawyers handle the demand and any court step inside the country.
Getting started is simple
- Create your free Debitura account and submit your Bosnian claim with the invoice and debtor details.
- IA Law Firm - Law Firm Ibrahimovic & Co takes the case and opens the amicable phase with a formal payment demand to your debtor.
- Track progress in your dashboard and pay only when funds are recovered.
Already using SAP, Oracle, Microsoft Dynamics or another ERP? Connect through our API or Zapier to submit claims automatically.
Transparent, success-based pricing
With Debitura you only pay when we succeed. Pre-legal collection is No Cure, No Pay: a success fee deducted from recovered amounts, invoiced locally by your partner. Fees depend on the debtor's country, not yours.
- Debtors in Europe (EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, the UK and Switzerland): success fees from 6% depending on claim size.
- Debtors in the rest of the world: success fees from 7.5% depending on claim size.
- Older claims: a surcharge applies for claims 12–24 months overdue and for claims older than 24 months.
- Legal action is optional: you approve fixed-price quotes before any legal spend.
See the pricing page for the full fee schedule, or get an instant estimate when you upload a claim.
How does debt collection work in Bosnia and Herzegovina?
Debt collection in Bosnia and Herzegovina starts with an amicable phase handled by a local, licensed partner: reminders and a formal payment demand, aimed at full payment or a written instalment agreement. Bosnia and Herzegovina runs three separate court systems (the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republika Srpska and the Brčko District), so your partner routes any escalation to the debtor's own entity. If the debtor still does not pay, moving to court is a separate, approved step, never automatic.
- Submit your claim in 2 minutes online.
- A licensed local partner takes local action for you.
- No Cure, No Pay: you only pay if we recover.
- You stay in control: nothing escalates without your approval.
- Get paid directly once the debtor pays.
The four steps from unpaid invoice to recovered cash
- Amicable collection: a licensed local partner sends reminders and a formal payment demand, aiming for full payment or a written instalment agreement without going to court.
- Enforceable title: if the debtor still does not pay, your partner assesses the fastest legal route and you approve a fixed-price quote before anything proceeds.
- Enforcement: with an enforceable title, the competent court's enforcement department can seize bank funds, wages and other assets until the claim is satisfied.
- Insolvency: if the debtor turns out to be insolvent, your proof of claim is filed with the bankruptcy administrator and any distribution is monitored on your behalf.
Every step is tracked in your dashboard, and nothing escalates without your approval. The full legal detail for Bosnia and Herzegovina, laws, courts, timelines and costs, follows in the guide below.
Debt collection in Bosnia and Herzegovina - the complete 2026 guide
This guide to debt collection in Bosnia and Herzegovina helps creditors and in-house counsel recover unpaid invoices. It covers the amicable process, the enforceable title, enforcement and insolvency, entity by entity, since the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Republika Srpska and the Brčko District each have their own courts and procedural law.
On this page:
Why you can trust this guide
At Debitura, we uphold the highest standards of impartiality and precision to bring you comprehensive guides on international debt collection. Every guide is written from primary legal sources and reviewed by licensed local experts in the jurisdiction it covers.
Questions or feedback? Email us at contact@debitura.com , we update this guide based on your input.
Debitura By the Numbers:
- 767 licensed partners - collection agencies and law firms in our network
- 180 countries covered - with cases handled in 174 of them
- 5,306 businesses registered with Debitura
- 33 days median time to first payment on European cases
Expert-led, locally validated
Written by Lars Holdgaard, Founder of Debitura (+10 years in global B2B debt recovery). Every page is reviewed by top local attorneys to ensure legal accuracy and practical steps you can use.
Contributing local experts:
Last updated:
Debt collection in Bosnia and Herzegovina - quick answers
Answers below are entity-specific wherever Bosnia and Herzegovina's law genuinely differs: the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH), Republika Srpska (RS) and the Brčko District (BD) each run their own courts and, for two of the figures below, their own statutory rate.
How long do I have to collect a debt in Bosnia and Herzegovina?
The general limitation period is 5 years in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH) and 10 years in Republika Srpska (RS), under the same Zakon o obligacionim odnosima (Law on Obligations, "ZOO") art. 371, since Republika Srpska extended its own version of the article in 1993. A claim already confirmed by a final court judgment or an approved settlement always prescribes in 10 years, in every entity (ZOO art. 379).
| Claim type | Limitation period |
|---|---|
| General claim, FBiH | 5 years (ZOO art. 371) |
| General claim, Republika Srpska | 10 years (ZOO art. 371, as amended) |
| B2B goods/services claim, Republika Srpska | 3 years, all legal entities (ZOO art. 374) |
| Rent claims, any entity | 3 years (ZOO art. 375) |
| Judgment-confirmed claim, any entity | 10 years (ZOO art. 379) |
In FBiH, that 3-year commercial rule still applies, by its original wording, only between wholly state or socially owned companies, so an ordinary private-sector B2B claim for goods or services falls under FBiH's general 5-year period instead. Filing a lawsuit, or the debtor acknowledging the debt, even by partial payment, interrupts the period and restarts the clock (ZOO arts. 387-388).
What interest can I charge on a late payment in Bosnia and Herzegovina?
Statutory default interest is a fixed 10% per year in FBiH (Zakon o visini stope zatezne kamate, Sl. novine FBiH 18/2020) and 0.03% per day, about 10.95% a year, in Republika Srpska (Zakon o zateznoj kamati, Sl. glasnik RS 61/18). The Brčko District adds a consumer-price coefficient to the same 0.03% daily rate. None of the three laws distinguishes a business debtor from a consumer, and all three cap total accrued interest at the principal amount.
How much does debt collection cost in Bosnia and Herzegovina?
Debitura works on a No Cure, No Pay basis: our success fee applies only once your money is recovered, and the exact rate depends on the debtor's country and claim size. Court fees and any enforcement costs apply only if the case escalates to litigation, and each entity's Civil Procedure Code lets the winning party recover its necessary costs from the losing side.
How long does debt collection take in Bosnia and Herzegovina?
Amicable collection through a licensed local partner typically resolves straightforward claims within 2-3 months. If the debtor still does not pay, obtaining an enforceable title through the entity's ordinary courts and then enforcing it can add several months more, and the exact duration depends on the competent court's caseload and whether the debtor disputes the claim.
Which court handles my claim in Bosnia and Herzegovina?
A monetary claim up to 5,000 KM (about EUR 2,556) qualifies as a "spor male vrijednosti" (small-value dispute) under both the FBiH and RS Zakon o parničnom postupku (Civil Procedure Code, "ZPP") art. 429, word for word identical in each entity's text. Above that threshold, the claim goes to the debtor's entity's ordinary first-instance court: a municipal court in FBiH, or a basic court (or a district commercial court for a company dispute) in Republika Srpska, with the Brčko District routing claims through its own Basic Court.
What documents do I need to start debt collection in Bosnia and Herzegovina?
You need the underlying contract or invoice, proof of delivery or performance, any written reminders already sent, and the debtor's current address, since Bosnia and Herzegovina has no private bailiff profession and the creditor is responsible for identifying the debtor and its assets. A notarially solemnised payment deed, where one exists, is itself an executive title and can materially shorten the route to enforcement.
Who does what in Bosnia and Herzegovina debt collection?
Courts
Bosnia and Herzegovina has no single national court system. In the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH), municipal courts (općinski sudovi) hear first-instance civil and commercial claims within each of the 10 cantons, with appeal to the cantonal court and a final Supreme Court of FBiH. In Republika Srpska (RS), basic courts (osnovni sudovi) hear general first-instance matters, and RS uniquely runs dedicated district commercial courts (okružni privredni sudovi) for company disputes, with appeal to a district court or the Higher Commercial Court (Viši privredni sud) and a final Supreme Court of RS. The Brčko District runs its own Basic Court and Appellate Court. The state-level Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina has only narrowly assigned jurisdiction, mainly criminal and administrative, and is not a general civil appeal court above the entities.
Court enforcement officers
Bosnia and Herzegovina has no private bailiff profession. Enforcement is carried out by enforcement officers attached to the competent court, working with banks for account garnishment and with land and vehicle registries for asset seizure. The creditor is responsible for identifying the debtor's assets for the enforcement proposal.
Notaries
Notaries are licensed under each entity's own Zakon o notarima (Notaries Law). A notarially solemnised monetary deed is itself an executive title and skips the court's usual steps of setting a payment deadline and confirming enforceability, letting a creditor move close to direct enforcement without first winning an ordinary court judgment.
Lawyers
Lawyers are licensed per entity: by the Advokatska/Odvjetnička komora FBiH (the Bar Association of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina), the body licensing Debitura's exclusive partner IA Law Firm, or by the Bar Association of Republika Srpska. Debitura's advantage: our platform routes your case to the correctly licensed local partner for the debtor's entity and keeps the fee success-based throughout.
Bankruptcy administrator
A court-appointed Bankruptcy Trustee manages the insolvent debtor's estate under the supervision of a Bankruptcy Judge, distributing proceeds according to the creditor priority order.
Which laws and courts apply to debt collection in Bosnia and Herzegovina?
The civil court system
Bosnia and Herzegovina is a federation of three entities, each with its own courts and procedural law: the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH, 10 cantons), Republika Srpska (RS) and the self-governing Brčko District (BD). FBiH's municipal courts and RS's basic courts (plus RS's dedicated district commercial courts for company disputes) hear civil and commercial claims at first instance, with appeal to each entity's second-instance court and a final Supreme Court of that entity. The Brčko District runs its own Basic Court and Appellate Court. The state-level Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina has only narrowly assigned jurisdiction and does not sit as a general civil appeal court above the entities.
Key legislation
The Zakon o obligacionim odnosima (Law on Obligations, "ZOO") governs contractual obligations, limitation periods and general default-interest principles; originally a 1978 former-Yugoslav law, it was taken over separately by FBiH and RS, and RS has since amended several of its articles. Litigation runs under each entity's own Zakon o parničnom postupku (Civil Procedure Code, "ZPP"), and enforcement under each entity's own Zakon o izvršnom postupku (Law on Enforcement Procedure, "ZIP"). FBiH's current default-interest rate is set by the Zakon o visini stope zatezne kamate (Sl. novine FBiH 18/2020) and RS's by the Zakon o zateznoj kamati (Sl. glasnik RS 61/18). Insolvency runs under the Law on Bankruptcy Proceedings, shared with entity-specific variations by FBiH and RS, while the Brčko District has its own separate insolvency law.
Consumer and data protection
Unlike the civil and procedural laws above, consumer protection is regulated at BiH state level: the Zakon o zaštiti potrošača u Bosni i Hercegovini (Law on Consumer Protection in Bosnia and Herzegovina) applies nationwide regardless of entity. [NEEDS VERIFIED SOURCE] for the current name and mandate of the state-level oversight body and for any debt-collection-specific conduct rules beyond the law's general existence. [NEEDS VERIFIED SOURCE] also for a specific state-level statute governing how debtor personal data may be processed and contacted during collection activity, which was not independently confirmed this session.
Step 1 - How does amicable (pre-legal) debt collection work in Bosnia and Herzegovina?
Amicable collection in Bosnia and Herzegovina starts with a written payment demand from a licensed local partner, stating the principal, any interest and a payment deadline, commonly 8-15 days. This is standard commercial practice rather than a statutory requirement, since no BiH entity has an independently verified statutory pre-action notice protocol.
What a demand achieves, and what it does not
An informal demand letter alone does not interrupt the limitation period. Only the debtor's own acknowledgment of the debt, express or through partial payment or an interest payment, or an action taken before a court or another competent authority, interrupts and restarts the clock (ZOO arts. 387-388). Sending the demand by registered mail, often through a law firm, gives documented proof of its date and content, which matters if the claim later needs to go to court.
Timeline
| Day | Action |
|---|---|
| Day 0 | Claim submitted; your local partner reviews the debtor and the applicable entity's rules. |
| Day 1-15 | Formal payment demand sent, stating principal, interest and a deadline. |
| Day 15-60 | Follow-up contact and negotiation, including a written instalment agreement where the debtor engages. |
| Day 60-90 | If the debtor stays unresponsive or breaks a payment plan, your partner recommends the next step and you approve a fixed-price quote before anything escalates. |
When to escalate
Escalation to court is a separate, approved step, never automatic. It becomes the recommended route where the debtor is unresponsive, disputes the claim without grounds, or repeatedly breaks an agreed payment plan. A notarially solemnised payment deed, if one exists, offers a materially faster route since it counts as an executive title in its own right and can bypass ordinary litigation entirely.
Step 2 - How do you obtain an enforceable title in Bosnia and Herzegovina?
A monetary claim up to 5,000 KM (about EUR 2,556) qualifies for the small-value dispute track ("spor male vrijednosti") under FBiH ZPP art. 429 and RS ZPP art. 429, word for word identical in both entities, which keeps the procedure faster and less formal. Real-property, employment and possession-disturbance disputes are excluded from this track regardless of value (ZPP art. 430).
Ordinary litigation above the threshold
A larger claim proceeds through the debtor's entity's general first-instance court: a municipal court in FBiH, or a basic court (a district commercial court for a company dispute) in Republika Srpska, or the Basic Court of Brčko District. The claim, once decided, can be appealed to the entity's second-instance court and, ultimately, its Supreme Court.
Determining the competent court
The competent court is determined by the debtor's registered seat or domicile: a claim against a debtor based in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina goes to an FBiH court, one against a Republika Srpska debtor to an RS court, and one against a Brčko District debtor to the Basic Court of Brčko District. An enforceable title obtained in one entity is enforceable in the other two without a separate cross-entity recognition step.
Faster documentary routes
Two routes can shorten the path to an enforceable title. First, a "vjerodostojna isprava" (authentic document), a protested bill of exchange or cheque, or a communal-services invoice for water, heating or refuse, lets a creditor apply directly for enforcement without first obtaining a judgment (FBiH ZIP art. 29); an ordinary unpaid commercial invoice outside these categories still needs a court judgment or a notarial deed. Second, an "izvršna notarska isprava" (enforceable notarial document) is itself an executive title under FBiH ZIP art. 23(1), and skips the court's usual steps of setting a voluntary-performance deadline and confirming enforceability (ZIP arts. 27(4), 35(3)), since its enforceability is determined directly under the Zakon o notarima (Notaries Law).
More on court proceedings in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Costs
Under the "loser pays" rule (FBiH ZPP art. 386), the fully losing party reimburses the winning side's necessary litigation costs, assessed per the applicable tariff, such as the bar association's attorney-fee schedule; a partially successful party has costs split proportionally. [NEEDS VERIFIED SOURCE] for the specific court-fee tariffs, which may also vary by canton within FBiH.
Step 3 - How does debt enforcement work in Bosnia and Herzegovina?
Once you hold an enforceable title, it is the competent court's own enforcement department, not a private bailiff, that carries out enforcement in every entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina: the country has no private bailiff profession.
Executive titles
Under FBiH ZIP (Zakon o izvršnom postupku, the Law on Enforcement Procedure) art. 23, an executive title ("izvršna isprava") is an enforceable court decision or settlement, an enforceable administrative decision or settlement ordering payment, an enforceable notarial document, or any other document a specific law designates. A title issued anywhere in Bosnia and Herzegovina is enforceable in any other entity without a separate recognition step (ZIP art. 23(2)). Republika Srpska and the Brčko District apply their own equivalent Enforcement Procedure Laws to the same general effect.
How enforcement proceeds
The enforcement department works with banks to garnish bank accounts and wages, and with land and vehicle registries to register and seize other assets. The creditor is responsible for identifying the debtor's assets to target in the enforcement proposal. If the statutory default-interest rate changes after the title was issued, the court applies the updated rate for the relevant period on request (FBiH ZIP art. 28).
Ways to enforce
| Method | What it does |
|---|---|
| Bank account garnishment | The enforcement department instructs the debtor's bank to pay the claim from available funds. |
| Wage garnishment | Part of the debtor's salary is withheld and paid to the creditor until the claim is satisfied. |
| Movable and immovable asset seizure | Registered assets, such as vehicles and real property, are seized and sold to satisfy the claim. |
Documentary enforcement
An enforcement proposal founded on a "vjerodostojna isprava" (a protested bill of exchange or cheque, or a communal-services invoice) must also ask the court to order the debtor to settle the claim and assessed costs within 8 days of being served, or 3 days for bill-of-exchange and cheque disputes (FBiH ZIP art. 36(3)).
[NEEDS VERIFIED SOURCE] for the detailed asset-seizure mechanics, including movable and immovable property, receivables and any salary-seizure caps, beyond this general framework.
Step 4 - How do insolvency procedures affect debt recovery in Bosnia and Herzegovina?
Insolvency is presumed once a debtor fails to pay matured, outstanding debts for 30 days in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina or 60 days in Republika Srpska, under the Law on Bankruptcy Proceedings that both entities share, with entity-specific variations. The Brčko District applies its own separate insolvency law.
Who can open proceedings
Either the debtor or a creditor may petition to open bankruptcy proceedings on the ground of actual insolvency. Proceedings can also open on threatened, imminent insolvency, but only the debtor itself may petition on that ground.
Creditor priority
| Rank | Claim type |
|---|---|
| 1 | Bankruptcy proceeding costs and administrator's fees |
| 2 | Higher-priority creditors: employee claims, tax and public claims |
| 3 | General creditors |
| 4 | Lower-priority (subordinated) creditors |
Secured creditors, such as pledge or mortgage holders, realise their security separately, outside this general tiering, for the secured portion of their claim.
The creditor process
A Bankruptcy Judge oversees the case from petition to closure and appoints a Bankruptcy Trustee to manage the estate, keep records and distribute proceeds according to the creditor tiering and the creditors' assembly's decisions. Secured and unsecured creditors alike must submit their claims to the trustee within the deadlines set for the case. [NEEDS VERIFIED SOURCE] for the exact claim-filing deadlines and creditor-list publication timeline under the Law on Bankruptcy Proceedings.
Types of insolvency and likely outcomes
Bankruptcy proceedings can end in liquidation, where the trustee sells the debtor's assets and distributes proceeds by the priority order above, or, where a restructuring plan is agreed, in a reorganisation that lets the business keep operating while it repays creditors under agreed terms. Which outcome applies depends on the debtor's viability and whether creditors agree a plan during the proceeding. [NEEDS VERIFIED SOURCE] for a distinct personal, non-business insolvency or discharge regime separate from this business-facing bankruptcy framework: none was independently confirmed for any entity this session.
Pre-insolvency restructuring
FBiH and the Brčko District offer a court-supervised pre-insolvency restructuring procedure that lets a debtor and its creditors negotiate a liquidity-improving agreement while the business keeps operating, before formal bankruptcy becomes necessary. Republika Srpska introduced its own broadly similar restructuring mechanism as a bankruptcy alternative in 2016. A creditor weighing whether to support a restructuring plan or push for liquidation should compare the trustee's expected liquidation recovery against the plan's proposed repayment.
Fees, interest and who pays what in Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Our fee: success-based, No Cure, No Pay (see pricing).
- Court & enforcement fees: state fees apply only if the case escalates to legal action, and any notary cost for a solemnised deed is quoted upfront.
- Statutory debtor items: default interest and recoverable litigation costs are added to the debt where the law allows.
- Who keeps what: recovered principal is yours; statutory interest and costs follow the debtor's entity's own rules.
Statutory default interest by entity
| Entity | Statutory default interest |
|---|---|
| Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina | Fixed 10% per year (Zakon o visini stope zatezne kamate, Sl. novine FBiH 18/2020) |
| Republika Srpska | 0.03% per day, about 10.95% a year (Zakon o zateznoj kamati, Sl. glasnik RS 61/18) |
| Brčko District | 0.03% per day plus a consumer-price coefficient |
All three laws cap total accrued interest at the principal amount, and none distinguishes a business debtor from a consumer. Where a case escalates, litigation costs are reimbursed by the losing side under the "loser pays" rule in each entity's Civil Procedure Code, assessed per the applicable tariff. [NEEDS VERIFIED SOURCE] for specific court-fee tariffs, which may also vary by canton within FBiH.
Cross-border debt collection in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina is an EU candidate country, not an EU member state, as of 2026: the EU granted candidate status in December 2022 and approved opening accession negotiations in March 2024. EU-only cross-border tools, the European Payment Order, the European Small Claims Procedure and Brussels I Recast automatic recognition, do not apply here.
Bosnia and Herzegovina is a party to the 1958 New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards, through state succession to former Yugoslavia's membership, binding from 6 March 1992. A foreign arbitral award from another Convention state is therefore enforceable in Bosnia and Herzegovina, subject to the Convention's standard grounds for refusal. [NEEDS VERIFIED SOURCE] for the exact recognition procedure and refusal grounds that apply to a foreign court judgment, as distinct from an arbitral award, and for any bilateral judicial-assistance treaty that might streamline recognition with a specific trading partner's courts.
Find a Local Debt Collection Lawyer
Need court-ready representation? Share your case once and receive up to three proposals from vetted litigation attorneys. Free, fast, and with no commitment.
- Verified specialists
- Quotes in 24 h, no hidden fees
- Fair, pre-negotiated rates
IA Law Firm is a premier law firm in Bosnia and Herzegovina offering effective risk-free debt collection services, positioning the firm as the go-to partner for debt recovery since 2016 with accolades such as Top Law Firm and exclusive Debitura partnership, offering No Cure No Pay collection based on Debitura's risk-free standard terms and pricing.
.webp)
.png)
.png)
Frequently Asked Questions
Explore our most common FAQs below, or reach out directly at contact@debitura.com if you need help with a specific case.
.svg){kind=icon}
.png)
.png)
.svg)
.svg)
