How to Recover an Unpaid Invoice in France: A Practical Toolkit

The recovery roadmap: from amicable steps to an enforced judgment

To recover an unpaid invoice in France is rarely a single act; it is a sequence. The path runs from informal reminders, through a formal demand, to a court decision, and finally to enforcement against the debtor's assets. Understanding the whole sequence before you start lets you choose a route that reaches an enforceable title quickly and at proportionate cost, rather than reacting step by step.

The first stage is amicable. Chasing letters and phone calls are followed by a formal demand, the the formal demand (mise en demeure), which puts the debtor on notice and produces legal effects that matter later. Only if the debt remains unpaid do you move to a court procedure. French law offers several, and they are not interchangeable: each is designed for a different combination of amount, urgency and whether the debtor actually contests the sum.

The second stage produces a title (a titre exécutoire) — a court order or judgment confirming the debt. The third stage is enforcement: a commissaire de justice uses that title to seize bank accounts, receivables or goods. A creditor who wins in court but cannot locate assets recovers nothing, so enforcement should shape your strategy from the outset, not be an afterthought.

Amicable recovery and the formal demand (mise en demeure)

Most invoices are paid after a reminder, and the amicable stage is not merely a courtesy — it builds your file. Keep every chasing email and letter; if the matter reaches a judge, this correspondence shows the debtor was aware of the sum and did nothing. Before you can recover an unpaid invoice in France through the courts, you will want a clear record that amicable resolution was attempted and failed.

The pivotal document is the mise en demeure, a formal demand for payment. It fixes a clear sum, states the basis of the claim, sets a deadline and warns that proceedings will follow. Sent by registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt, or served by a commissaire de justice, it starts default interest running and is a precondition to several remedies. We explain the drafting and effects in detail in the formal demand (mise en demeure).

For smaller sums a prior attempt at amicable resolution is not optional but mandatory. Where a claim of 5,000 euros or less is taken to the judicial court, the creditor must first attempt conciliation, mediation or a participatory procedure, failing which the action is declared inadmissible of the court's own motion. There are narrow exemptions — manifest urgency, in particular — but a business selling into France should plan for this requirement rather than be caught by it.

Choosing a procedure by amount, urgency and dispute

French procedure gives a creditor a menu, not a single door. The three variables that select the route are the amount at stake, how urgently you need an enforceable decision, and whether the debtor has a serious argument against the debt. Getting this diagnosis right is the single most valuable step when you set out to recover an unpaid invoice in France.

Amount governs both the court and whether a lawyer is compulsory. Representation by an avocat is mandatory once the sum exceeds 10,000 euros before both the commercial court and the judicial court; below that threshold a creditor may act in person or be represented by a person of its choice. The identity of the court also depends on the debtor: commercial debts against a trader or a commercial company go to the commercial court, other debts to the judicial court, and where the debtor is a trader but the creditor is not, the creditor may choose between the two.

Urgency and dispute point to the type of procedure. An undisputed, precisely quantified invoice suits the order to pay, an ex parte paper procedure. A claim that cannot be seriously contested but where you want a fast, immediately enforceable decision suits the référé provision. A truly contested debt, or one where you also seek damages, requires the full action on the merits. Territorial competence follows the usual rule — the defendant's domicile — but for a contractual claim the creditor may instead sue where the goods were delivered or the service performed.

The order to pay (injonction de payer) for an undisputed debt

The order to pay, or injonction de payer, is the workhorse of French debt recovery. It is a fast, low-cost, ex parte procedure: the creditor completes a form, attaches supporting documents and files it with the competent court, without a hearing and, whatever the amount, without a lawyer. The judge rules on the papers alone. It is the natural first choice whenever you need to recover an unpaid invoice in France that the customer has not actually contested.

The procedure is available where the debt has a contractual cause and is certain and liquidated — its amount fixed by the terms of the contract (Article 1405 of the Code of Civil Procedure). Sums that require a complex or discretionary calculation, such as an open-ended guarantee, fall outside it. If the judge grants the request, the resulting order (ordonnance) must be served on the debtor by a commissaire de justice within six months, or it lapses.

The debtor then has one month from service to file an opposition, which reopens the matter into a contradictory hearing. In practice opposition is uncommon — the commercial court in Paris reports a rate below 10% — and where none is filed the order takes the enforceable form and produces all the effects of a contradictory judgment. One trap deserves emphasis: the request does not interrupt the limitation period; only service of the order does. If your five-year deadline is close, use the ordinary procedure instead. The step-by-step is set out in the order to pay procedure (injonction de payer).

The référé provision for an urgent, non-disputable claim

Where the debt is clear but you want speed and immediate enforceability, the référé provision is the tool. It is a summary procedure in which the judge can order the debtor to pay a provisional sum wherever the obligation is not seriously disputable — the test being the absence de contestation sérieuse (Article 835 of the Code of Civil Procedure before the judicial court, and the equivalent provision before the commercial court). A decision is typically obtained in about a month and is enforceable at once.

Unlike the order to pay, the référé is contradictory from the start: the debtor is summoned and can argue. Paradoxically this can make it faster, because there is no separate opposition stage that reopens the case. Where the file is well documented, the provision can reach the full amount of the invoice, and statutory late-payment penalties calculated at the European Central Bank rate plus ten points can be awarded in full, since the Cour de cassation has held that those penalties are not a penalty clause subject to reduction.

The référé has two limits to keep in mind. First, it is provisional: a référé order has no authority on the merits, so the debtor remains free, in theory, to bring the matter before the trial court — though in practice this almost never happens once a creditor has obtained a provision. Second, damages cannot be awarded in référé; the judge may add moratory interest and order its capitalisation, but a claim for a distinct loss must go to the court on the merits. When you weigh this route against the order to pay to recover an unpaid invoice in France, speed and immediate enforcement are its selling points.

The full action (assignation au fond) for a disputed debt

When the debtor raises a serious defence — contesting the quality of the goods, the performance of a service or the sum itself — the fast tracks are closed and you must bring the ordinary action on the merits, the assignation au fond. Here a commissaire de justice serves a formal writ summoning the debtor to appear before the competent court on a fixed date, and the case is decided after a full exchange of arguments and evidence.

The full action is slower and more expensive, but it is also the most complete. It is the only route in which you can claim damages for a loss distinct from the mere delay in payment — the delay itself being compensated by late-payment interest — provided you quantify and prove that separate loss. You can also seek a contribution to your irrecoverable costs under the rule on procedural expenses, valued by reference to the time and legal fees spent on recovery.

Two features favour the creditor. Since 2020, first-instance decisions are provisionally enforceable by right unless the law or the judgment provides otherwise, so the debtor must pay, or be subject to seizure, even while an appeal is pending. And where the debt exceeds 5,000 euros an appeal is available, while smaller judgments are rendered in last resort. Remember that above 10,000 euros a lawyer is compulsory; below it, a creditor may present its own case. The disputed-debt route is examined in the order to pay procedure (injonction de payer) as its natural alternative when opposition is filed.

Cross-border recovery and enforcement across the EU

Foreign creditors selling into France, and French creditors chasing debtors abroad, sit within the European framework on jurisdiction and enforcement. As a rule, a debtor domiciled in another EU member state is sued in that state; but where the debtor is a business, it may be sued where the contractual obligation was or should have been performed — the place of delivery of the goods or the place the service was supplied. Where the debtor is a consumer, it can be sued only at its own domicile.

For undisputed cross-border claims, the European order for payment offers a streamlined route. Established by Regulation (EC) 1896/2006, it applies to civil and commercial cross-border matters where at least one party is domiciled in a member state other than the court seised, the claim is uncontested, and it can be used whatever the amount. A parallel European Small Claims procedure handles cross-border disputes up to 5,000 euros without an exequatur, though it is used less often. We compare these tools in the European Payment Order.

Winning is only half the exercise; you must then enforce. An enforceable French or EU decision is executed by a commissaire de justice against the debtor's assets — bank accounts, receivables and goods. Locating those assets, and choosing the right seizure, decides whether you actually recover an unpaid invoice in France or simply hold an unpaid judgment. Enforcement measures and seizures are covered in enforcing a judgment and seizures.

The five-year limit, costs, and a table of recovery routes

Every recovery strategy is governed by a clock. The general limitation period is five years, and for commercial obligations between traders, or between a trader and a non-trader, the Commercial Code fixes the same five years (Article L110-4 of the Commercial Code). The period usually starts from the payment date shown on the invoice — so an invoice payable net 14 days starts the clock at the end of those fourteen days, not on the invoice date. Debts owed by consumers carry a shorter two-year period, and specialist regimes such as carriage of goods run to one year.

Cost is the other constant. Court fees for the fast tracks are modest, and below 10,000 euros no lawyer is required, so the out-of-pocket outlay to recover an unpaid invoice in France can be small. Above that threshold, or on the merits, lawyer's fees are the main expense — but the rule on procedural costs lets the creditor ask the court to order the debtor to contribute, and provisional enforcement means the debtor generally pays before any appeal is resolved.

The table below places the main routes side by side so you can match the procedure to your invoice. It is a map, not a substitute for advice: the best route depends on the exact facts, the debtor's solvency and how close you are to the limitation deadline.

A step-by-step plan to recover an unpaid invoice in France

The following sequence turns the roadmap into action. It works for most B2B invoices and helps you avoid the common traps — a missed deadline, a defective demand, or the wrong procedure — that cost creditors both time and money.

Frequently asked questions about how to recover an unpaid invoice in France

How do I recover an unpaid invoice in France?

Start amicably with reminders and a formal demand (mise en demeure). If the debt is unpaid, choose a court procedure by amount, urgency and whether it is disputed: the order to pay for an undisputed debt, the référé provision for an urgent non-disputable claim, or the full action for a contested debt. Obtain an enforceable title, then enforce it through a commissaire de justice.

What is the fastest recovery procedure?

For an undisputed, quantified invoice, the injonction de payer is fast and cheap and needs no lawyer. Where you want a decision that is immediately enforceable, the référé provision typically produces one in about a month, provided the debt is not seriously disputable. Both beat the full action on the merits, which is reserved for truly contested claims.

Do I need a lawyer to recover a debt?

Not always. Below 10,000 euros you may act in person or be represented by a person of your choice before both the commercial and judicial courts, and the order to pay needs no lawyer whatever the amount. Once the claim exceeds 10,000 euros, representation by an avocat becomes compulsory in the ordinary and référé procedures.

How long do I have to sue?

The general and commercial limitation period is five years (Article L110-4 of the Commercial Code), usually running from the payment date on the invoice. Debts owed by consumers carry a two-year period, and some sectors, such as carriage of goods, run to one year. Note that filing an order to pay does not stop the clock — only service of the order does.

How much does recovery cost?

The fast tracks involve modest court fees and, below 10,000 euros, no compulsory lawyer, so costs can be low. On the merits, or above the threshold, legal fees are the main expense, but you can ask the court to order the debtor to contribute to your costs, and provisional enforcement means the debtor usually pays before any appeal is resolved.

Can I recover from a debtor in another EU country?

Yes. Jurisdiction generally follows the debtor's domicile, but a business debtor can often be sued where the goods were delivered or the service was performed. For an uncontested cross-border claim, the European order for payment under Regulation (EC) 1896/2006 offers a streamlined route usable whatever the amount, and a decision can be enforced across the EU.

What is the difference between the injonction de payer and the référé provision?

The order to pay is a paper, ex parte procedure decided without a hearing; the debtor can file an opposition within a month that reopens the case. The référé provision is contradictory from the start and produces an immediately enforceable, but provisional, decision. Neither allows a claim for damages — that requires the full action on the merits.

How our French lawyers help with recovering an unpaid invoice in France

Petroff Avocats acts for creditors and debtors on both sides of an unpaid invoice. For creditors, we assess the debt and the limitation deadline, issue an effective mise en demeure, choose between the order to pay, the référé provision and the full action, and drive the matter through to service and enforcement, including cross-border claims within the EU. For debtors, we test whether the sum is truly due, raise serious contestation to move a claim off the fast tracks, file oppositions in time and negotiate payment terms. In each case we align the procedure with the amount, the urgency and the counterparty's solvency, so that effort is spent where it produces payment.

This article is for general information only. It does not constitute legal advice, and it does not create a lawyer-client relationship. The law and procedure summarised here may change and apply differently to your facts. Contact our French lawyers for advice on your situation.