You invoiced a customer in another EU country, the goods arrived, nobody complained, and the payment still hasn't come. Reminders go unanswered. Suing in a foreign court feels expensive, slow and full of unknowns. For exactly this situation, the EU created a shortcut: the European Payment Order.
This guide explains what the European Payment Order is, when you can use it, how the procedure works step by step, which court to file with, what happens if the debtor objects, and how to enforce the order once you have it. If you only have 40 seconds, start with the video.
Read the video transcript
You're in Barcelona. Your client is in Munich. The invoice is 94 days late. Suing abroad the old way means a foreign lawyer, a foreign court, translations of every document and months before anything moves. There's a shortcut: the European Payment Order, under Regulation (EC) No 1896/2006, one standard procedure for unpaid, undisputed cross-border claims in the EU. Step 1: fill in Form A, a standard form available in every official EU language. Step 2: send it to the competent court, usually where the debtor is based unless your contract names a different one. Step 3: the court issues the order on Form E, normally within 30 days of filing, and it is served on the debtor. Step 4: the debtor has 30 days to object; they can pay, object or stay silent. Step 5: if there is no objection in time, the order is declared enforceable on Form G. It is then enforceable in 26 member states, with no extra recognition step in the country where you enforce. Denmark does not take part in the procedure. Use it when the claim is cross-border, the debt is not disputed, for any amount, and no lawyer is required to file. It stops when the debtor lodges an objection on Form F within the 30 days; the case then moves to ordinary civil proceedings. Skip the foreign lawsuit: Collecty runs your European Payment Order from Form A to enforcement.
Key takeaways
- The European Payment Order (officially the European order for payment procedure) is a standard EU procedure for recovering uncontested, cross-border money claims in civil and commercial matters.
- It runs almost entirely on standard forms. You file Form A, the court issues the order on Form E, and the debtor has 30 days from service to object.
- If the debtor stays silent, the court declares the order enforceable on Form G. It can then be enforced in any participating member state without a separate recognition procedure.
- There is no maximum claim amount, and you don't need a lawyer to file.
- It works in every EU member state except Denmark. If the debtor disputes the claim, the case moves to ordinary court proceedings.
What is the European Payment Order?
The European Payment Order is a simplified court procedure created by Regulation (EC) No 1896/2006. It has applied since 12 December 2008, and its forms were updated by Regulation (EU) 2015/2421. Its purpose is simple: to give creditors a fast, low-cost way to get an enforceable title for pecuniary claims that the debtor doesn't actually contest.
In practice, it replaces the patchwork of national payment-order systems (the German Mahnverfahren, the French injonction de payer, the Spanish proceso monitorio and others) with one uniform procedure. The same forms, deadlines and rules apply whichever participating country you file in.
The key idea is that the court does not hold a hearing or examine the merits in depth. It checks that your application is complete and that the claim appears well founded on the information you provide. It then issues an order and puts the burden on the debtor: object within 30 days, or the order becomes final.
When can you use a European Payment Order?
The procedure is available when all of these conditions are met:
- The case is cross-border. At least one party must be domiciled or habitually resident in a member state other than the country of the court you file with. A Spanish creditor filing against a German debtor qualifies; a Spanish creditor filing against another Spanish company does not.
- The claim is for money. It must be a specific amount that is due at the time you apply. Claims for goods, services or declarations are excluded.
- It is a civil or commercial matter. Unpaid invoices, loans, rent and service contracts are typical examples. Tax, customs and administrative matters, insolvency, social security, matrimonial property and succession are outside the scope.
- The claim is not disputed. This is not a formal entry condition, but it is the practical one. The procedure only works well when the debtor has no real defence, because any objection sends the case into ordinary proceedings.
- Both countries participate. Every EU member state takes part except Denmark.
Non-contractual claims, such as damages for a tort, are generally excluded. The exceptions are claims the debtor has agreed to or admitted, for example in a settlement or an acknowledgement of debt.
There is no upper limit on the amount. A €900 invoice and a €900,000 invoice go through the same procedure. That is one of the main differences from the European Small Claims Procedure, which is capped at €5,000.
When the European Payment Order is not the right tool
Choose a different route if the debtor has already complained in writing (defective goods, late delivery, wrong quantities), because an objection is then likely and mediation or ordinary proceedings make more sense. Check solvency first too: a court order does not create assets, and once insolvency proceedings start you must lodge your claim there instead. Purely domestic claims belong in the national payment-order procedure, and debtors outside the EU or in Denmark need local proceedings.
How the European Payment Order works, step by step
Step 1: Fill in Form A
Everything starts with the application, Form A in Annex I of the Regulation. It is available in every official EU language on the European e-Justice Portal, which also offers a guided online version. You provide:
- the names and addresses of both parties (and representatives, if any);
- the principal amount, plus interest, contractual penalties and costs if you claim them;
- the cause of action, such as a sales contract or service agreement, with a short description of the circumstances;
- a description of the evidence that supports the claim, such as invoices, the contract, delivery notes or emails confirming receipt;
- the grounds for the court's jurisdiction and the cross-border nature of the case.
You don't normally have to attach the evidence itself, only describe it. You must sign a declaration that the information is true to the best of your knowledge. Deliberately false statements can lead to penalties under national law.
Within the EU, the Late Payment Directive (2011/7/EU) generally allows B2B creditors to claim statutory interest and a fixed €40 recovery fee per invoice. Remember to include these in Form A. Many creditors forget, and the court cannot award what you don't ask for.
Step 2: File it with the competent court
Send the form to the competent court on paper or, where the country allows it, electronically. Some countries centralise all applications. In Germany, for example, every European Payment Order is handled by the Amtsgericht Wedding in Berlin. The e-Justice Portal lists the competent court for each member state.
The court checks that the application is complete and that the claim seems well founded. If something is missing, it can ask you to complete or correct the form on Form B. If only part of the claim meets the requirements, it can offer you a reduced order on Form C. If the application is rejected (Form D), there is no appeal, but you are free to file a new application or use another procedure.
Step 3: The court issues the order (Form E)
If the application is admissible, the court issues the European order for payment on Form E. It should do so as soon as possible and normally within 30 days of the application being lodged. The order is served on the debtor together with a copy of your application, following the service rules in the Regulation.
The order tells the debtor clearly that they have two options: pay the amount, or lodge a statement of opposition.
Step 4: The 30-day window
The debtor has 30 days from the date of service to object, using Form F. The objection does not need to give reasons. A simple statement that the claim is contested is enough.
In practice, many debtors pay once a formal court order arrives. Others do nothing.
Step 5: Declared enforceable (Form G)
If no objection arrives within the deadline, the court declares the order enforceable using Form G and sends it to you. The European Payment Order is now an enforceable title with the same weight as a court judgment.
The whole process can take as little as two to three months from filing, depending on the court's workload and how long service takes. That compares with a year or more for ordinary cross-border litigation in many member states.
Which court should you file with?
Jurisdiction follows the general EU rules in the Brussels I recast Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012. For B2B claims, you usually have these options:
- The courts of the debtor's domicile. This is the default rule and the most common choice.
- A court chosen in your contract. If your terms and conditions or contract contain a valid choice-of-court clause, you can file there, even in your own country.
- The place of performance. For contracts for the sale of goods or the provision of services, you may be able to file where the goods were delivered or the services were provided.
If the debtor is a consumer, the claim can only be brought in the country where the consumer lives.
This is one reason why a well-drafted choice-of-court clause in your credit terms and conditions is worth having before any invoice goes unpaid.
What happens if the debtor objects?
If the debtor files Form F in time, the European Payment Order stops. The case then continues as ordinary civil proceedings in the member state where the order was issued, under that country's normal procedural rules. The exception is if you stated in your application that you want the proceedings to end in that case. Since the 2015 amendment, you can also ask for the case to continue under the European Small Claims Procedure if the claim falls within its scope.
So decide in advance whether you want to continue if the debtor objects, and tick the right box in Form A, or you may end up in full proceedings abroad that you did not budget for. An objection is not the end of the claim either: it often signals a wish to negotiate or delay, and a local collection partner can frequently settle before the proceedings go far.
After the 30 days, a debtor can only ask for a review in exceptional cases, such as not being served in time through no fault of their own.
Enforcing the order across the EU
This is where the European Payment Order shows its value. An order declared enforceable in one member state is recognised and enforced in all other participating member states without any declaration of enforceability, and recognition cannot be opposed. There is no separate exequatur procedure.
To enforce, you give the enforcement authority in the relevant country (a bailiff, huissier or Gerichtsvollzieher, depending on the country) a copy of the order declared enforceable. If they ask for it, you also provide a translation into the local language. Enforcement then follows local law: bank account attachment, seizure of assets, garnishment of receivables and so on.
Enforcement can only be refused in very limited situations, mainly if the order conflicts with an earlier judgment between the same parties on the same matter.
Costs and timeframes
Court fees are set by each member state and may not exceed the fees for ordinary proceedings there. Representation is not mandatory, though a rejected or incomplete application costs time and enforcement abroad needs local knowledge. Budget for translations if you enforce in another country. As a rough guide, count on about 30 days for the court to issue the order, plus service time, plus the 30-day objection window. Also watch limitation periods: they vary by country and can be as short as one to three years for commercial invoices.
European Payment Order vs other routes
| Route | Claim limit | Best for | Hearing? | Enforceable EU-wide without exequatur? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| European Payment Order | No limit | Undisputed cross-border money claims | No | Yes |
| European Small Claims Procedure | Up to €5,000 | Small disputes, including contested ones | Usually written | Yes |
| National payment order (e.g. Mahnverfahren, monitorio) | Depends on country | Domestic claims | No | Needs Brussels I recast certificate |
| Ordinary court proceedings | No limit | Disputed claims, complex cases | Yes | Yes, via Brussels I recast certificate |
| Amicable collection | No limit | Most claims, as the first step | No | Not a title |
How Collecty handles a European Payment Order
Collecty has worked on international B2B debt collection since 1999, with local collectors and legal partners across Europe. When a claim fits the procedure, we check that it is cross-border, due, documented and genuinely uncontested, and verify the debtor's registered details and solvency. We try amicable collection first, in the debtor's language and from within their country. If that fails, we prepare and file Form A with the competent court (including interest and the €40 recovery fee), follow service and the 30-day window, and enforce the order through local enforcement officers where the debtor's assets are. If the debtor objects, we advise on the next step: negotiation, the Small Claims Procedure or ordinary proceedings.
If you have an unpaid invoice from a customer in another EU country, send us the details for a free assessment.
Frequently asked questions
Elena Vasquez
Legal Affairs Director
Elena leads our legal escalation team with expertise in multi-jurisdictional enforcement and commercial litigation strategy.
