What is a French payment order?
The French payment order (injonction de payer, articles 1405 et seq. of the French Code of Civil Procedure) is a simplified court procedure. The creditor files an ex-parte petition to the competent court along with supporting documents. The judge reviews the petition on paper only — without summoning the debtor or holding a hearing — and issues an order if the claim appears well-founded.
It is the preferred procedure for undisputed B2B debts. With a clean file (signed contract, invoices, formal notice ignored, proof of delivery), an enforceable order is typically obtained in 2 to 3 months, far faster and cheaper than a full action on the merits (which can take 12 to 24 months).
Commercial Court (tribunal de commerce) — both parties are merchants (typical B2B). Petition filed at the court of the debtor's registered office.
Judicial Court (tribunal judiciaire) — civil claims, professionals (doctors, consultants), or mixed cases.
Process and timeline
to D+30
- File assembly: contract, invoices, formal notice + acknowledgement of receipt, proof of delivery.
- Petition drafted by the attorney, motivated in fact and law, and filed at the competent court.
- Court review on paper. No hearing, no debtor convened. Decision: typically 15-30 days.
- Order issued for the principal, plus interest, costs and recovery indemnity.
- Service on the debtor by a French judicial officer (commissaire de justice / huissier). Service must occur within 6 months of the order.
- Opposition window: the debtor has 1 month from service to oppose. In practice, the opposition rate is 5-10%.
- If no opposition: an enforcement clause is affixed, and the order becomes an enforceable title.
- Enforcement: bank account garnishment, asset seizure, salary garnishment, mortgage on real estate.
European Payment Order (Reg. 1896/2006) — for EU creditors
If your business is registered in another EU member state (and not in France), Regulation (EC) 1896/2006 created a European Payment Order (EPO) specifically for cross-border claims within the EU. The procedure is similar to the French national one, but with one significant advantage: the EPO is directly enforceable across the EU without any exequatur procedure (no need to "translate" the French order into your local court system).
For EU creditors, our recommendation is generally to use the French payment order when the debtor's assets are clearly in France (faster, cheaper). The EPO becomes preferable when assets may also be located in another EU country, allowing you to enforce against multiple jurisdictions on one order.
You will typically use the French national payment order, not the EPO. The order is enforceable in France immediately. To enforce it in your home jurisdiction (e.g. against the debtor's other assets abroad), you would need a recognition / exequatur procedure in your local court — which we can coordinate with local counsel if needed.
When to use a payment order vs. other procedures
The French legal system offers several recovery routes. Each fits a specific scenario:
- Payment order (injonction de payer) — debt is undisputed, you have clear documents. Fastest, cheapest court route.
- Summary judgment for provisional payment (référé provision) — debt is contested but the contestation is not serious (delay tactics, bad faith). Hearing within 2-6 weeks, immediately enforceable.
- Full action on the merits (assignation au fond) — debt is seriously contested (defective performance, vice cache, scope dispute). Full adversarial proceedings, 12-24 months. Final judgment.
- Asset preservation (saisie conservatoire / EAPO) — to be combined with one of the above when there is a risk the debtor empties bank accounts before judgment.
Frequently asked questions
Our attorney fee starts at €600 ex VAT for a standard payment order, including drafting the petition, filing, and case management until the enforceable title is obtained. Court filing fees (€30-70) and judicial-officer service fees (€50-80) are paid in addition. These costs are recoverable from the debtor under Art. 700 CPC.
Opposition cancels the order and sends the case to a regular adversarial court procedure. The opposition rate is in practice low (5-10%), because the debtor must motivate the opposition with serious arguments — and we file payment orders only when we believe the file resists challenge. If opposition is filed, we continue representation through the merits proceeding.
Technically yes, but in practice we always send a formal notice first. About 40% of cases settle after the notice — saving you the cost of a court procedure. The notice also strengthens the file: an order issued after an ignored notice signals bad faith on the debtor's side.
No. The French payment order has no statutory cap. Whether your claim is €5,000 or €5 million, the procedure works in the same way. The ratio of cost to claim improves dramatically as the claim grows.
French courts accept evidence in English (and other languages) but generally require a French translation for the operative documents. We arrange the necessary certified translations as part of the case management. If your contract has an English-jurisdiction clause, the analysis becomes more complex — see our cross-border guide.
If insolvency proceedings open against the debtor (sauvegarde, redressement judiciaire, liquidation judiciaire), the payment-order procedure is suspended. We then file a creditor claim within the insolvency procedure. The recovery rate falls dramatically — which is why we always recommend asset preservation (EAPO / saisie conservatoire) when there are red flags pointing to insolvency.
No. The procedure is fully dematerialised on our side via RPVA / e-Barreau. You provide documents by email, sign a power of attorney electronically, and receive updates by email. No physical presence in France is required at any stage.
Once the order is enforceable, we instruct a French judicial officer (commissaire de justice) to enforce. The most common route is bank-account garnishment (saisie-attribution) using the FICOBA database (which lists all bank accounts of French entities). Other routes: asset seizure, salary garnishment, judicial mortgage on real estate.
Yes, provided they all relate to the same debtor and are all certain, liquid and due. Combining invoices is highly recommended: one filing fee, one petition, one enforceable title.
5 years from the original due date for commercial claims (Art. L.110-4 of the French Commercial Code). Filing a payment order interrupts the limitation. If your claim is approaching the 5-year mark, act fast — every day matters.
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