Debt Collection Agency in Chile: No Win, No Fee
Need a debt collection agency in Chile? With Debitura, we match your case to a licensed local partner. You pay only when money is recovered.
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Why choose Debitura for debt collection in Chile
Getting started is simple
- Create your free Debitura account and submit your Chilean claim with the invoice and debtor details.
- Delloro Abogados 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.
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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 a legal quote, with court costs stated separately, 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 Chile?
Debt collection in Chile starts with an amicable phase led by Delloro Abogados, our licensed local partner: a formal payment demand and negotiation, aimed at full payment or a written instalment plan under Chile's consumer protection collection rules. Most straightforward claims settle at this stage. If the debtor still does not pay, moving to court for an enforceable title is a separate step you approve first, never automatic.
- Submit your claim online in 2 minutes.
- Your licensed local partner acts on the ground in Chile.
- No Cure, No Pay: you pay only when we recover funds.
- You stay in control: nothing escalates without your approval.
- Get paid: recovered funds are remitted to you.
The four steps from unpaid invoice to recovered cash
- Amicable collection: reminders, a formal payment demand and negotiation, handled by your licensed local partner. Most undisputed claims are resolved in this phase, without going to court.
- Enforceable title: if the debtor still does not pay, your partner assesses the legal route to obtain an enforceable title, and you approve a legal quote, with court costs stated separately, before anything proceeds.
- Enforcement: with an enforceable title, the competent enforcement authority can seize assets, garnish wages or freeze bank funds until the claim is recovered.
- Insolvency: if the debtor turns out to be insolvent, your proof of claim is filed and any distributions are monitored on your behalf.
Every step is tracked in your dashboard, and nothing escalates without your approval. The full legal detail for Chile, including timelines, costs, courts and enforcement, follows in the guide below.
Debt collection in Chile - the complete 2026 guide
This guide to debt collection in Chile explains, for creditors and in-house counsel, how the amicable phase works, how to obtain an enforceable title, how enforcement runs through the courts, and what happens if the debtor becomes insolvent.
On this page:
Why you can trust this guide
Written from primary legal sources and reviewed by licensed local experts in this jurisdiction.
Questions or feedback? Email us at contact@debitura.com , we update this guide based on your input.
Debitura By the Numbers:
- 180 countries covered - each case handled by a local partner
- More than 5,000 businesses registered with Debitura
- 33 days median time to first payment on European cases
About the author
Written by Lars Holdgaard, Founder of Debitura (+10 years in global B2B debt recovery).
Contributing local experts:
Last updated:
Debt collection in Chile - quick answers
How much does debt collection cost in Chile?
Statutory interest is set periodically by the Comisión para el Mercado Financiero (CMF, the financial regulator that replaced the SBIF) under Ley Nº 18.010: the interés máximo convencional (maximum lawful interest) cannot exceed the published interés corriente (current rate) by more than 50%. Under the certificate in force since 14 August 2026, the most common short-term Chilean-peso bracket carries an interés corriente of 34.00% and an interés máximo convencional of 51.00% a year; other brackets run lower for larger, longer-term or inflation-indexed operations. Extrajudicial collection costs charged to the debtor are separately capped by a progressive scale under Ley Nº 19.496 art. 37 letra f), and the creditor must send at least one collection notice free of charge within 15 business days of default before any cost can accrue. Debitura's own fee follows the debtor's country and is No Cure, No Pay (see pricing).
How long does debt collection take in Chile?
The amicable phase is usually the fastest route, because Chile's ordinary courts run no fast-track procedure for civil debt claims generally. An uncontested claim is often resolved through negotiation before any court filing; a disputed claim moves into the juicio de menor cuantía, juicio de mínima cuantía or juicio ordinario described below, and its length then depends on the court's caseload and whether the debtor contests it.
What is the limitation period for a debt claim in Chile?
An ordinary civil action prescribes 5 years after the debt falls due (Código Civil art. 2515). An executive action, one based on a título ejecutivo (enforceable title), prescribes after 3 years, then survives a further 2 years as an ordinary action. A small group of short-term claims (1 to 3 years, for example merchants' and professionals' fees, Código Civil arts. 2521-2522) prescribe faster, but convert into the ordinary 5-year rule once interrupted (art. 2523).
How often can a collector contact a debtor in Chile?
Extrajudicial collection contact is limited by law (Ley Nº 19.496 art. 39 B/39 C, as amended by Ley Nº 21.320) to the hours of 08:00 to 20:00, Monday to Saturday, with no more than one phone call or visit and two other-channel contacts (post, SMS, email or messaging apps) per calendar week. Communications to third parties uninvolved in the debt are prohibited, and collection records must be kept for at least 2 years.
Which route leads to an enforceable title in Chile?
Chile has no civil "procedimiento monitorio"; a purpose-built one exists only in a still-pending Congressional reform bill. Claims up to 10 UTM (about CLP 717,210 in September 2026) go through the juicio de mínima cuantía; claims over 10 UTM and up to 500 UTM (about CLP 35,860,500) go through the juicio de menor cuantía; larger or more complex claims go through the ordinary juicio ordinario. A creditor who already holds a título ejecutivo can skip straight to enforcement.
| Claim size | Procedure |
|---|---|
| Up to 10 UTM (~CLP 717,210) | Juicio de mínima cuantía (CPC art. 703) |
| Over 10 UTM up to 500 UTM (~CLP 35,860,500) | Juicio de menor cuantía (CPC art. 698) |
| Above 500 UTM | Juicio ordinario (ordinary proceedings) |
What documents do you need to start a claim in Chile?
To obtain an enforceable title or to skip straight to enforcement, your partner needs the underlying título ejecutivo (enforceable title) under CPC art. 434: this can be a final judgment, an authorised public-deed copy, a court-approved settlement record, an acknowledged private instrument, or an unchallenged protested bill of exchange, promissory note or cheque. For an ordinary or small-claims filing, the original invoices, contracts, purchase orders and any correspondence evidencing the debt and the failed amicable attempts are the baseline documents your partner will ask for.
Who does what in Chile debt collection?
Chilean debt recovery involves three main actors: the licensed local partner running the amicable phase, the ordinary courts that grant an enforceable title, and the receptor judicial who carries out enforcement.
Licensed local partner (law firm)
Your claim in Chile is handled by Delloro Abogados, a Santiago (Las Condes) law firm established in 2014. During the amicable phase the partner sends payment demands and negotiates directly with the debtor, within the hours and channel limits set by Ley Nº 19.496 (the Consumer Protection Act) as amended by Ley Nº 21.320. Once negotiation is exhausted, the same partner can prepare and file the court action needed to obtain an enforceable title. Debitura's advantage: one dashboard tracks every step, and escalation to court only happens with your approval.
The courts
Ordinary civil and commercial debt claims start before a Juzgado de Letras (Civil) as the court of first instance. Appeals go to the territorially competent Corte de Apelaciones, and a final cassation-type review, not a full re-hearing of the merits, lies with the Corte Suprema in Santiago.
The receptor judicial (enforcement officer)
Once a court issues a mandamiento de ejecución (writ of execution), a receptor judicial, an auxiliar de la Administración de Justicia and ministro de fe regulated by the Código Orgánico de Tribunales, personally serves the requerimiento de pago (formal payment demand) on the debtor and physically carries out the embargo (asset seizure) if payment is not made on the spot. The number of receptores is fixed by the President of the Republic, and their arancel (fee schedule) is set under Ley Nº 16.250.
Insolvency authority
If the debtor is insolvent, the Superintendencia de Insolvencia y Reemprendimiento (SIR/SUPERIR) administers the procedures under Ley Nº 20.720, licenses the Liquidadores and Veedores involved, and directly receives an individual debtor's Renegociación filing.
Which laws and courts apply to debt collection in Chile?
The civil court system
Chile runs a single track of ordinary courts for civil and commercial debt claims: a Juzgado de Letras (Civil) hears the case at first instance, the territorially competent Corte de Apelaciones hears appeals, and the Corte Suprema in Santiago hears a final cassation-type recourse rather than a full re-trial of the facts. There is no separate commercial-court tier and no fast-track procedure available to every civil debt claim regardless of size.
Key legislation
- Código Civil (Civil Code): governs the underlying obligation and its limitation period, ordinarily 5 years from the due date (art. 2515), or 3 years for an action based on a título ejecutivo, converting into a further 2-year ordinary action once that period runs out.
- Código de Procedimiento Civil (Code of Civil Procedure, CPC): governs litigation and enforcement, including the juicio de menor cuantía (art. 698), juicio de mínima cuantía (art. 703), the títulos ejecutivos (art. 434) and the mandamiento de ejecución (art. 443).
- Ley Nº 19.496 (Consumer Protection Act), substantially amended by Ley Nº 21.320 (2021): sets the conduct rules for extrajudicial (amicable) collection, including permitted hours, contact frequency and cost caps.
- Ley Nº 18.010: empowers the CMF (Comisión para el Mercado Financiero, the financial regulator) to set and publish interés corriente (the current rate) and the interés máximo convencional (the maximum lawful rate) by category of credit operation.
- Ley Nº 20.720 (Ley de Reorganización y Liquidación de Activos de Empresas y Personas), amended by Ley Nº 21.563 (2023): governs business and individual insolvency, administered by the Superintendencia de Insolvencia y Reemprendimiento (SUPERIR).
- Código Orgánico de Tribunales: organises the court system and regulates the receptor judicial (enforcement officer), whose arancel (fee schedule) is set under Ley Nº 16.250.
Consumer protection
SERNAC (Servicio Nacional del Consumidor) enforces Ley Nº 19.496's collection-conduct rules. Every act of extrajudicial collection must meet 7 statutory principles: proporcionalidad, razonabilidad, justificación, transparencia, veracidad, respect for the debtor's dignity and physical and psychological integrity, and privacidad del hogar (home privacy). A separate 6-month prescription period, distinct from the creditor's own civil claim, applies only to SERNAC's own sanctioning action against a supplier for breaching these duties (Ley Nº 19.496 art. 26); it does not shorten the creditor's underlying claim.
Step 1 - How does amicable (pre-legal) debt collection work in Chile?
Amicable collection in Chile means formal payment demands and negotiation, run by your licensed local partner without going to court. Most straightforward claims are resolved at this stage.
The rules that govern contact
Ley Nº 19.496 (the Consumer Protection Act) art. 37, as amended by Ley Nº 21.320 (in force since 20 April 2021), binds every act of extrajudicial collection to 7 principles: proporcionalidad (proportionality), razonabilidad (reasonableness), justificación (justification), transparencia (transparency), veracidad (truthfulness), respect for the debtor's dignity and physical and psychological integrity, and privacidad del hogar (home privacy). Contact is restricted to 08:00-20:00, Monday to Saturday, and limited to no more than one phone call or visit plus two other-channel contacts (post, SMS, email or messaging apps) per calendar week, with at least a 2-business-day gap between contacts, under the same 2021 reform. Communications to anyone other than the debtor are prohibited, and collection records must be kept for at least 2 years. Collection must stop immediately once the debtor is judicially served with a lawsuit or enters an insolvency procedure.
Costs during the amicable phase
At least one collection notice must be sent free of charge within 15 business days of default. After that, extrajudicial collection costs charged to the debtor are capped by a progressive percentage scale under Ley Nº 19.496 art. 37 letra f). A further Reglamento (regulation), which would set out more granular mechanics such as an exhaustive list of permitted channels, remains an unsigned draft under Ministry of Economy public consultation; only the statute's own 7 principles and the 08:00-20:00 hour window are currently binding.
When to escalate
If the debtor disputes the debt or simply stops responding, your partner assesses whether to move to court for an enforceable title, described in Step 2. That decision, and its legal quote, is always approved by you first.
Step 2 - How do you obtain an enforceable title in Chile?
Chile has no enacted civil "procedimiento monitorio". A civil monitorio procedure exists only inside a still-pending Congressional reform bill (the Nuevo Código Procesal Civil, Boletín 8197-07), in tramitación for over 14 years and not yet law. The currently operative routes to an enforceable title are the Código de Procedimiento Civil's own small-claims and ordinary procedures.
| Claim size | Procedure |
|---|---|
| Up to 10 UTM (~CLP 717,210 at the September 2026 UTM value) | Juicio de mínima cuantía (CPC art. 703): a verbal procedure before the same juez de letras, started with an acta. |
| Over 10 UTM up to 500 UTM (~CLP 35,860,500) | Juicio de menor cuantía (CPC art. 698): an abbreviated ordinary procedure (no réplica/dúplica, an 8-day answer period and a 15-day proof period). |
| Above 500 UTM | Juicio ordinario before a Juzgado de Letras (Civil), the full ordinary procedure with appeal rights. |
Skipping straight to enforcement with a título ejecutivo
If the creditor already holds a título ejecutivo (enforceable title) under CPC art. 434, such as a final judgment, an authorised public-deed copy, a court-approved settlement record (acta de avenimiento), an acknowledged private instrument, or an unchallenged protested bill of exchange, promissory note or cheque, there is no need to litigate an ordinary judgment first. The creditor can move directly into the juicio ejecutivo (executive enforcement proceeding) described in Step 3.
More on court proceedings in Chile
Not to be confused with the labour-court monitorio
Ley Nº 21.394 (2021) did create a "procedimiento monitorio" ceiling, but only inside the Código del Trabajo (labour courts), raising it from 10 to 15 ingresos mínimos mensuales (art. 496 CT). That mechanism is reserved for labour claims and has no application to ordinary civil or commercial debt collection.
A reform to watch
The pending Nuevo Código Procesal Civil bill would introduce Chile's first general civil monitorio procedure. As of 2026 it remains in Congressional tramitación with no enactment date confirmed, so creditors should plan around the existing juicio de menor/mínima cuantía and juicio ordinario routes described above until it passes into law.
Step 3 - How does debt enforcement work in Chile?
With a título ejecutivo (enforceable title) in hand, enforcement in Chile runs through the juicio ejecutivo (executive enforcement proceeding) under the Código de Procedimiento Civil.
The mandamiento de ejecución
The court issues a mandamiento de ejecución (writ of execution, CPC art. 443), which orders: a requerimiento de pago (formal payment demand), served on the debtor personally or, if the debtor cannot be found, through substituted service (CPC art. 44); the embargo (seizure) of sufficient assets to cover the debt, interest and costs, carried out immediately if the debtor fails to appear for a cited requerimiento; and the designation of a provisional depositary for the seized assets. The court may authorise the assistance of public force (auxilio de la fuerza pública) if it fears the writ will be disobeyed. If the debt is still unpaid once assets are seized, those assets can be sold at public auction (remate) under the procedure set out in the Código de Procedimiento Civil, with the proceeds applied to the debt, interest and costs.
Who carries it out
A receptor judicial, an auxiliar de la Administración de Justicia and ministro de fe regulated by the Código Orgánico de Tribunales, personally serves the requerimiento de pago and physically carries out the embargo. The President of the Republic fixes the number of receptores on a favourable report from the relevant Corte de Apelaciones, and their arancel (fee schedule) is set under Ley Nº 16.250.
Assets exempt from seizure
Certain assets are inembargables (exempt from seizure) under CPC art. 445, including most State and Municipal salaries and pensions (except up to 50% for alimony debts), wages under Código del Trabajo arts. 40 and 153, forced alimony pensions, subsistence-level third-party or foundation income, certain Banco Estado-protected funds, and life-insurance proceeds, though the premiums paid remain seizable.
From enforcement to insolvency
A creditor holding 2 or more overdue títulos ejecutivos, with 2 or more executions already under way against the same debtor who fails to present sufficient assets within 4 days of being required to, has an independent statutory ground (Ley Nº 20.720 art. 117 No. 2) to petition for that debtor's forced liquidation, described next in Step 4.
Step 4 - How do insolvency procedures affect debt recovery in Chile?
Chilean business and individual insolvency runs under Ley Nº 20.720 (Ley de Reorganización y Liquidación de Activos de Empresas y Personas), amended by Ley Nº 21.563 (2023) and administered by the Superintendencia de Insolvencia y Reemprendimiento (SIR/SUPERIR).
Forced liquidation of a business debtor
Any creditor may petition for the Liquidación Forzosa (forced liquidation) of an Empresa Deudora (business debtor) on one of three grounds (Ley Nº 20.720 art. 117): the debtor defaults on a título ejecutivo obligation tied to the business relationship with that creditor; the debtor has 2 or more overdue títulos ejecutivos from different obligations, with 2 or more executions already under way, and has not presented sufficient assets within 4 days of being required to; or the debtor and its administrators cannot be found and have closed their premises. The petitioning creditor must post a 100 UF guarantee (bank guarantee or certified cheque) to cover initial costs and the Liquidador's fees, refundable as a preferred claim if the liquidation is granted, and may nominate a Veedor to supervise the debtor pending any Juicio de Oposición.
Renegociación for individual debtors
A natural-person debtor (Persona Deudora) with 2 or more diverse obligations overdue by more than 90 days and totalling more than 80 UF can apply for Renegociación (Ley Nº 20.720 art. 260) directly with SUPERIR, not a court, by filing a sworn declaration listing all obligations and creditors (art. 261). Alimony, family-law compensation, tort and criminal-fine obligations are excluded from the procedure's scope, though they must still be disclosed. A parallel, debtor-initiated Liquidación Voluntaria route also exists.
Discharge and creditor priority
Once a Liquidación's resolución de término (closing resolution) becomes final, the debtor's pre-procedure unpaid balances are extinguished automatically by operation of law (art. 255), except alimony, family-law compensation and tort- or crime-derived obligations, which survive; guarantors and co-debtors cannot invoke the discharge. Liquidation proceeds are distributed by statutory priority (Código Civil art. 2472, as replaced by Ley Nº 20.720), in 9 ranked categories:
| Rank | Claim category |
|---|---|
| 1st | Court costs incurred in the general interest of creditors |
| 2nd | Necessary funeral expenses of a deceased debtor |
| 3rd | The debtor's sickness expenses (court-fixed if the illness exceeded 6 months) |
| 4th | Estate-administration and asset-realisation costs, including Liquidador loans for those purposes |
| 5th | Workers' remuneration, family allowances, capped severance (up to 90 UF per worker) and social-security contributions |
| 6th | Fisco claims against AFPs for advanced pension contributions (DL 3.500 art. 42) |
| 7th | Subsistence articles supplied to the debtor and family in the last 3 months |
| 8th | Legal/contractual labour indemnities, capped at 3 monthly minimum wages per year of service (max 11 years) |
| 9th | Fisco claims for withholding and surcharge taxes |
Filing a claim
To lodge a claim in a Chilean insolvency procedure, creditors typically need the original invoices, contracts, delivery notes and any power of attorney supporting the debt. Filing deadlines are fixed case by case in the court or SUPERIR resolution that opens the procedure, so check the specific deadline stated in that resolution as soon as it opens.
Fees, interest and who pays what in Chile
- Our fee: success-based - No Cure, No Pay (see pricing).
- Court & enforcement fees: state fees apply only if the case escalates to legal action.
- Statutory debtor items: late-payment interest and recoverable collection costs are added to the debt where the law allows.
- Who keeps what: recovered principal is yours; statutory costs and interest follow local rules.
Statutory interest in Chile
Under Ley Nº 18.010, the CMF (Comisión para el Mercado Financiero) publishes interés corriente (the average bank rate) periodically in the Diario Oficial, by category of credit operation. No credit operation may lawfully charge more than interés corriente plus 50% (the interés máximo convencional). The certificate in force since 14 August 2026 publishes 8 brackets by currency, term and amount; the two extremes are shown below.
| Operation type | Interés corriente | Interés máximo convencional |
|---|---|---|
| Short-term CLP operations up to 5,000 UF (most common bracket) | 34.00% | 51.00% |
| Large, long-term, inflation-indexed operations (lowest published bracket) | 4.22% | 6.33% |
| Pension-deduction credit operations | n/a | 27.50% (separate statutory cap) |
Collection cost caps
Extrajudicial collection costs chargeable to the debtor are capped by a progressive percentage scale under Ley Nº 19.496 art. 37 letra f), and at least one collection notice must be sent free of charge within 15 business days of default before any chargeable cost can start to accrue.
Partners in our network
These firms are partners in our network for this country. Open a profile to learn more about each one. If court action is needed on your case, your partner sends a quote on the platform; nothing starts until you accept it.
- Verified specialists
- Nothing starts until you accept the quote
- Fair, pre-negotiated rates
Chirgwin is a premier law firm in Las Condes offering effective Debt Collection services in Chile, recognized by The Legal 500 and Leaders League, with memberships in Andersen Global and Lexwork International, serving clients since 2009.
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Dell’Oro Abogados is a premier law firm in Santiago de Chile offering effective Debt Collection services in Chile, positioning itself as the go-to partner for debt recovery since 2014, leveraging advanced technology and specialized expertise to deliver optimal outcomes.
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.
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