European payment order: how to collect from a business in another EU country

The European payment order in short

The European payment order (also called the European order for payment) is an EU court procedure for collecting a fixed, due money claim from a debtor in another EU country. You file standard Form A with the competent court, the court issues the order normally within 30 days without hearing the debtor, and the debtor has 30 days from service to oppose it. If the debtor does not oppose, the order becomes enforceable in every EU country except Denmark, with no further court step. The rules are in Regulation (EC) No 1896/2006.

It works best for an uncontested claim against a business that simply has not paid. If the debtor opposes, which needs no reasons, the case moves to an ordinary court procedure. That is why most creditors first try pre-legal collection in the debtor's country and keep the payment order for when that fails. This guide is general information, not legal advice.

When the European payment order works

The procedure is open when all of these are true (Regulation 1896/2006, articles 2 to 4):

• A civil or commercial claim. Revenue, customs and administrative matters are out, and so are bankruptcy and insolvency proceedings, rights in property from marriage, wills and succession, social security, and most non-contractual claims (article 2).
• A cross-border case. At least one party is domiciled or habitually resident in an EU country other than the country of the court you apply to (article 3). For this regulation, Denmark does not count as a member state (article 2(3)).
• A money claim for a specific amount that is already due when you apply (article 4). An unpaid invoice past its due date is the typical case.

There is no maximum amount. The procedure is written so the court checks your claim on the form alone; it does not check the evidence (article 12(4)(a)). That is its strength for undisputed invoices and its weak point for anything the customer contests.

Creditors outside the EU: the UK, the US and Switzerland

The cross-border test in article 3 looks at domicile in EU member states only. On its wording, a creditor based in the UK, the US or Switzerland that applies to a court in the debtor's own EU country does not meet it, because the debtor is in the court's country and the creditor is not in another member state. In that case the national procedure of that country applies, such as the German Mahnverfahren (court payment order).

For the UK, the UK Ministry of Justice confirms that the payment order regulation was revoked in UK law at the end of the Brexit transition period and still applies only to payment orders applied for before that date (MoJ guidance, 31 December 2020). A UK creditor collecting from an EU business today uses pre-legal collection, a national procedure in the debtor's country or, after a UK judgment, the route in enforcing a judgment abroad.

If you are not sure whether your case is cross-border in this sense, ask a lawyer in the debtor's country before you file.

How the procedure works, step by step

1. Find the right court. Jurisdiction follows the EU rules on jurisdiction, in practice Brussels Ia (article 6). Usually that is the debtor's country, or the court chosen in your contract. Forms and court information are on the European e-Justice Portal.
2. Fill in Form A. The application states the parties, the amount with principal, interest and costs, the interest rate and period, the cause of action, a description of the evidence, the grounds for jurisdiction and why the case is cross-border (article 7(2)). You declare that the information is true (article 7(3)).
3. File it. On paper or by any electronic means the country of the court accepts (article 7(5)). You do not need a lawyer for the application (article 24).
4. The court examines the form. It checks the conditions and whether the claim appears founded, on the form alone, and may do so automatically (article 8). It can ask you to complete the form (Form B), propose a partial order (Form C) or reject the application (Form D), with no appeal against a rejection (articles 9 to 11).
5. The court issues the order. As soon as possible and normally within 30 days of the application, on Form E (article 12(1)). The court serves it on the debtor (articles 12(5) and 13 to 15).
6. The debtor has 30 days. The debtor can pay or oppose with Form F within 30 days of service, and does not have to give reasons (article 16).
7. No opposition: enforceable. The court declares the order enforceable on Form G (article 18). It is then recognized and enforced in the other member states without a declaration of enforceability (article 19).
8. Enforce it. Give the enforcement authority in the debtor's country a copy of the enforceable order and, where needed, a translation (article 21). Enforcement then follows that country's law.

If the debtor opposes, the case continues in the courts of the country that issued the order, under the European Small Claims Procedure if it applies or the national civil procedure, unless you asked for the proceedings to end in that event (article 17).

The forms, A to G

All forms are in the annexes of the regulation and can be completed online on the European e-Justice Portal.

Costs and timelines

Time. The regulation sets two clocks: the court issues the order normally within 30 days of the application, not counting the time you take to complete the form (article 12(1)), and the debtor has 30 days from service to oppose (article 16(2)). Service abroad and the enforcement step add time, and both depend on the countries involved.

Court fees. Each country sets its own fees. The regulation only limits them: if the debtor opposes and the case moves to ordinary proceedings, the total court fees may not exceed what the ordinary procedure would have cost without the payment order first (article 25). Check the fee with the court or on the e-Justice Portal before you file.

Other costs. A lawyer is not required for the application or the opposition (article 24), but most creditors use one when the court is abroad. Translation of the order may be needed for enforcement (article 21(2)(b)), and enforcement agents charge under local rules.

Interest. You can include interest in the claim, with the rate and period, unless statutory interest is added automatically in the country of the court (article 7(2)(c)). See late payment interest by country for the rates.

The European Small Claims Procedure

For smaller claims there is a second EU procedure, under Regulation (EC) No 861/2007 as amended by Regulation (EU) 2015/2421. It applies in cross-border civil and commercial cases where the claim does not exceed €5,000, excluding interest, expenses and disbursements, when the court receives the claim form (article 2(1)). The ceiling was raised to €5,000 from 14 July 2017.

• You start with standard claim Form A, with a description of the evidence (article 4).
• The procedure is written; a hearing only takes place if the court considers it necessary or a party asks and the court agrees (article 5(1a)).
• The defendant has 30 days to respond (article 5(3)), and the court gives judgment within 30 days of the response or of the last step it ordered (article 7).
• You do not need a lawyer (article 10).
• The judgment is recognized and enforced in other member states without a declaration of enforceability (article 20).

Unlike the payment order, small claims is a full procedure in which the court decides a contested claim. Forms are on the e-Justice Portal.

Why most creditors start with pre-legal collection

A payment order is a court route. It is efficient when the debtor stays silent, but a business debtor that wants time can oppose with one form and no reasons, and you are then in an ordinary court case abroad. Before that, most creditors try pre-legal collection by a local partner in the debtor's country: a demand in the debtor's language, under local law, from someone the debtor cannot easily ignore.

That is how Debitura works for business claims across borders, in 180 countries:

• We match your case to a vetted local partner in the debtor's country, based on the type of debtor, the claim and how partners perform on our platform.
• One Standard Debt Collection Agreement covers pre-legal collection of undisputed unpaid invoices in every country we serve, on No Cure, No Pay terms.
• No upfront cost: you pay a success fee only when money is recovered. Fees are from 6% in Europe and 7.5% elsewhere, depending on claim size and the debtor's country (see your fee).
• On European cases, the median time to first payment is 33 days and the median time to close is 44 days.
• If the debtor still does not pay, legal action, including a payment order or a national court procedure, is optional, quoted separately and only starts if you accept the quote.

See how it works, debt collection in Europe, B2B debt collection explained and the commercial collection agency guide. If the invoice is fresh, start with what to do with unpaid invoices.

Which route fits your claim

Country by country, the local procedure and our partner are described on the country pages, for example Germany, France, Italy and Spain.

After the order: enforcement and what it cannot do

An enforceable payment order is a title, not money. Enforcement follows the law of the country where the debtor's assets are, through its enforcement agents (article 21). If the debtor has no assets, or is in bankruptcy or insolvency proceedings, the order does not change that. For judgments from ordinary proceedings, and for creditors outside the EU, see how to enforce a judgment abroad. For the full path from first reminder to enforcement, see how to collect a debt from a business customer abroad.