Debt Recovery in France: How Foreign Sellers Get Paid

Debt recovery in France starts long before the invoice is late

For a foreign business, effective debt recovery in France is less about aggressive collection at the end and more about discipline at the start. Every unpaid invoice tells the same story in reverse: a customer who was never properly checked, a contract that gave the seller no security, and a claim pursued too slowly once payment stopped. The firms that get paid treat collection as a chain of three linked stages — vet the customer, secure the payment, then recover the debt — and they build each stage into their sales process rather than improvising when the money fails to arrive.

The first stage is prevention. Before extending credit you assess whether the customer can pay and will pay, using France's public registers, filed accounts and credit data. The second stage is protection. The contract, the general terms and conditions and the payment instrument are drafted so that, if the buyer defaults, you hold rights the buyer's other creditors do not — a retention-of-title clause, compliant payment terms, and where appropriate a guarantee. The third stage is recovery: a formal demand, then the fast French court procedures, and finally enforcement against the debtor's assets.

This article is the pillar of our getting paid in France series and stays at overview level. It shows how the three stages fit together and where the French specifics bite, then points you to the detailed hubs on each stage. Read it first to understand the whole map; follow the internal links to the hub you need for a live problem, whether that is how to check a French company before you sell, securing payment in France, or how to recover an unpaid invoice in France.

Why French specifics matter to a foreign seller

A seller who applies its home-country instincts to a French customer can lose a recoverable debt through avoidable mistakes. France regulates business-to-business payment terms by statute, caps how long you can wait to sue, offers court procedures that have no exact equivalent abroad, and treats retention of title as a powerful real right rather than a mere contractual promise. None of this is hostile to creditors — much of it favours them — but it only helps a seller who knows the rules and has structured the sale accordingly.

Three features tend to surprise foreign sellers. First, the maximum payment period between businesses is fixed by law, and late-payment interest and a fixed recovery indemnity apply automatically under Article L441-10 of the Commercial Code, whether or not the contract mentions them. Second, the limitation period for a commercial claim is short — five years under Article L110-4 of the Commercial Code — and it runs from the date the invoice fell due, not from the day you decide to act. Third, France offers a genuine fast track: the injonction de payer (order to pay) and the référé-provision let a creditor obtain an enforceable decision in weeks, often without a lawyer for smaller claims.

Cross-border sellers gain further tools and further traps. A claim against a customer in another EU member state can be pursued through the European Payment Order under Regulation (EC) 1896/2006, which produces a title enforceable across the Union for an uncontested debt. But jurisdiction, applicable law and the language of the contract all have to be handled up front, because a defective clause can push your dispute into a court you did not choose. Understanding b2b debt collection in France means understanding that the outcome is largely fixed before the first reminder is sent.

Stage one: vetting a French customer before you sell

The strongest protection against non-payment is not selling to a customer who cannot pay. French company information is unusually open, so there is little excuse for extending credit blind. Every registered company has a SIREN identifier, and its official identity document — the extrait Kbis — is issued from the trade and companies register (RCS) and shows the legal form, share capital, registered office, directors, business activity and, critically, any insolvency proceedings on foot. A recent Kbis is the first document to obtain before opening an account.

Beyond identity, French companies must file their annual accounts, and those accounts are available to third parties for most companies. Reading them reveals the customer's equity, results and any deterioration in its position, and a company that has stopped filing is itself a warning sign. Specialist registers — of pledges, privileges and protested bills — and commercial credit agencies add a layer on solvency and payment behaviour. Your own commercial and accounting teams supply the freshest signal of all: slow payment, disputes raised late, or a change in ordering pattern often precede default.

Vetting is not a one-off. A credit policy sets limits per customer, refreshes the check periodically, and flags customers to watch. This first stage has its own hub and detailed guides; see how to check a French company before you sell for the registers, the Kbis, the accounts and the warning signs of a customer heading for insolvency.

Stage two: securing payment in your French contracts

Once you decide to sell on credit, the contract is where you build your security. The single most valuable clause for an unpaid seller of goods is retention of title (réserve de propriété). Under Article 2367 of the Civil Code, the seller keeps ownership of the goods until full payment, so that if the buyer defaults — even in insolvency — the seller can reclaim goods still identifiable in the buyer's stock rather than rank as an ordinary creditor. To work, the clause must be agreed in writing no later than delivery and drafted with care; a retention-of-title clause buried in an unacknowledged invoice may fail.

Payment terms must also be built to the French standard. Article L441-10 of the Commercial Code caps business-to-business payment periods and makes late-payment interest and a fixed forty-euro recovery indemnity due by operation of law, with the interest rate set by reference to the European Central Bank rate plus ten points unless the parties agree a compliant figure. Terms exceeding the statutory ceiling are not merely unenforceable — they expose the seller to administrative fines. Getting the payment clause and the mandatory invoice mentions right both accelerates payment and preserves your penalties when it is late.

Where the customer's own covenant is not enough, a third party can stand behind the debt. A guarantee (cautionnement), an autonomous first-demand guarantee, a payment delegation or a pledge each shifts or adds security, and the right instrument depends on the deal and the counterparty. Choosing and documenting these protections is the subject of our second hub; see securing payment in France for retention of title, compliant terms, guarantees and the choice of payment instrument.

Stage three: recovering an unpaid invoice in France

When payment does not arrive, recovery begins with a formal demand. The mise en demeure — a registered letter putting the debtor on notice to pay — is the pivot between amicable and contentious recovery. It fixes the default, starts or confirms the running of interest, and is the document a court will expect to see. Many debts are paid at this stage; a clear demand from a French lawyer, referencing the invoice, the contractual penalties and the next procedural step, often produces payment without litigation.

If the demand fails and the debt is certain, France offers fast recovery routes. The injonction de payer (order to pay) under Article 1405 of the Code of Civil Procedure is a documents-only procedure: the creditor files a request with supporting evidence, the judge issues an order without a hearing, and the debtor may object within a short window — objection rates are low in practice. The référé-provision is an alternative summary procedure that yields an immediately enforceable award, useful where the claim is barely arguable but the debtor may resist. For a larger or contested debt, an ordinary claim before the commercial court (with a lawyer above the statutory threshold) is the route, and the commercial court hears disputes between traders.

For a debtor in another EU member state, the European Payment Order under Regulation (EC) 1896/2006 recovers an uncontested cross-border claim through a standard-form procedure and produces a decision enforceable across the Union without further formality. Whichever route yields the title, recovery is not finished until the judgment is executed. A commissaire de justice can then attach the debtor's bank accounts, receivables or movable assets (saisies); an enforceable title can be executed for ten years. Note that the court may grant the debtor a grace period of up to two years under Article 1343-5 of the Civil Code, staggering payment — a reason to press for security earlier rather than relying on the debtor's cash at the end.

The recovery stage has the most moving parts, from choosing the right procedure to enforcing against assets abroad. Our third hub walks through each route in turn; see how to recover an unpaid invoice in France for the demand, the order to pay, the courts, the European Payment Order and enforcement.

The five-year prescription and the deadlines that end your claim

The most avoidable way to lose a good debt is to run out of time. Under Article L110-4 of the Commercial Code, obligations arising between traders, or between traders and non-traders, are prescribed after five years unless a shorter special period applies. The general civil rule in Article 2224 of the Civil Code sets the same five years for personal and movable claims. Once the period expires, the claim is barred: even a well-founded debt will not be examined by the court, and the burden of proving the starting point of the period lies on the party relying on it.

The clock does not run from the invoice date but from the day the debt fell due. Where an invoice says net within 14 days, the five years run from the end of that period, not from issue; where a service provider bills late, time runs from when the services were performed. The Cour de cassation has held that the period expires at midnight on the final day and is not extended because that day falls on a weekend or public holiday — a claim issued one day late is barred. Sellers who bill promptly and diary the deadline protect themselves against this trap.

Different counterparties can attract different periods. A professional's claim against a consumer for goods or services is generally cut to two years, while the reduction and transitional rules of the 2008 prescription reform still surface in older debts. Prudent creditors do not litigate close to the deadline: the order-to-pay procedure, for example, may not reliably interrupt prescription, so a creditor acting near the limit should prefer an ordinary claim. When a deadline is near, the safe course is to act early and, if needed, take advice on interrupting or suspending the period.

The cost of debt recovery in France — and how to recover it

Recovery costs money, and part of the discipline is knowing which costs you can pass to the debtor. Late-payment interest and the fixed forty-euro recovery indemnity under Article L441-10 of the Commercial Code are due automatically on a late B2B invoice, and a well-drafted contract can add a penalty clause fixing a lump sum for default. Where the debtor's bad faith causes loss beyond the delay itself, damages may be available, but ordinary late payment is compensated by interest rather than by separate damages.

Procedural cost varies sharply by route, which is why route selection matters. The order-to-pay procedure is inexpensive and needs no lawyer below the statutory threshold; the référé-provision and ordinary claims cost more but suit contested or larger debts. Since 2020, a lawyer is compulsory before the commercial court for claims above ten thousand euros, and a creditor acting alone can only do so under that ceiling. The commissaire de justice's enforcement fees and, in some courts, a contribution for high-value claims add to the budget. Weighing likely recovery against these costs — and against the debtor's solvency — is a commercial decision, not only a legal one.

The cheapest recovery remains the one you never have to run. Costs recovered from a solvent debtor are welcome, but they are a poor substitute for having been paid on time, and they evaporate entirely if the debtor is insolvent. This is why the three stages are a single system: robust vetting reduces the number of defaults, good security improves the odds of recovering in insolvency, and only the residue reaches the courts, where fast procedures keep the cost proportionate.

A roadmap from first order to enforced judgment

The stages come together as a practical sequence. The steps below trace a French sale from onboarding a new customer to executing a judgment, so that each protection is in place before it is needed and no deadline is missed along the way.

Frequently asked questions about debt recovery in France

How do I get paid by a French company?

Treat it as three stages: vet the customer before you sell using the Kbis and filed accounts, secure the sale with a retention-of-title clause and compliant payment terms, and if payment fails, recover through a formal demand and the French court procedures. The earlier protections are in place, the more reliably you are paid.

What is the deadline to recover a debt in France?

Most commercial debts are prescribed after five years under Article L110-4 of the Commercial Code, running from the day the invoice fell due rather than the invoice date. The period expires at midnight on the final day and is not extended over weekends or holidays, so a claim filed one day late is barred.

What is the fastest way to recover an unpaid invoice in France?

For a certain, likely uncontested debt, the injonction de payer (order to pay) under Article 1405 of the Code of Civil Procedure is a documents-only procedure that produces an order in weeks without a hearing. The référé-provision is an alternative summary route that yields an immediately enforceable award where the debtor may resist.

How do I protect against non-payment before it happens?

Vet the customer through the RCS, the Kbis and its filed accounts, then secure the sale with a written retention-of-title clause agreed by delivery, statutory-compliant payment terms, and a guarantee for larger exposures. These protections are cheap to add at the contract stage and hard to obtain once the customer is late.

Can I recover a debt from a customer based abroad?

Yes. For a debtor in another EU member state, the European Payment Order under Regulation (EC) 1896/2006 recovers an uncontested cross-border claim and produces a decision enforceable across the Union. The choice of law, forum and contract language should be settled in the contract to avoid ending up in an unexpected court.

What late-payment penalties apply to a French B2B invoice?

Under Article L441-10 of the Commercial Code, late-payment interest and a fixed forty-euro recovery indemnity are due by operation of law on an overdue business invoice, with interest at the European Central Bank rate plus ten points unless the parties set a compliant figure. Terms exceeding the statutory ceiling can also draw administrative fines.

Can a French court give my debtor more time to pay?

Yes. Under Article 1343-5 of the Civil Code a court may grant a debtor a grace period of up to two years, staggering or deferring payment while taking account of the creditor's needs. This is one reason to secure the debt through retention of title and guarantees rather than rely on the debtor's cash at the enforcement stage.

How our French lawyers help with debt recovery in France

Petroff Avocats acts on both sides of the payment relationship. For sellers, we build the protective architecture — customer due diligence, retention-of-title clauses, statutory-compliant payment terms, guarantees and the right choice of law and forum — and then run recovery through the mise en demeure, the order to pay, the référé-provision, the ordinary commercial claim, the European Payment Order and enforcement against assets. For buyers facing a demand, we assess whether the claim is well founded, whether it is time-barred, and whether a grace period or a genuine dispute over conformity or delivery provides a defence. Whether you are pursuing an unpaid invoice or contesting one, we translate the French rules into a clear commercial strategy.

This article is for general information only. It does not constitute legal advice, and the law and procedure may change. Any figures, deadlines and thresholds mentioned are indicative and depend on your circumstances. Contact our French lawyers for advice on your situation.