The European Payment Order and Cross-Border Debt Recovery in the EU

Recovering across a border: two mirror-image situations

Cross-border recovery inside the European Union covers two mirror-image situations. In the first, you are a foreign creditor trying to recover from a debtor established in France. In the second, you are a creditor based in France chasing a debtor established elsewhere in the Union. Both raise the same two practical worries: which court can order the debtor to pay, and once you hold that order, whether it will actually bite in the country where the debtor keeps its assets. The European Payment Order and its companion procedures were built to answer both worries in a single, standardised step.

The starting point on jurisdiction is the Brussels I bis Regulation (EU) 1215/2012. As a rule, a debtor domiciled in a member state is sued in the courts of that state (Article 4). Where the debtor is a business, the creditor may instead sue at the place where the contractual obligation was or should have been performed, which for a sale of goods means the place of delivery and for services the place of supply (Article 7). A debtor who is a consumer benefits from stronger protection and can, in principle, only be sued in the courts of their own domicile (Article 18). These rules decide which national court you file in before any EU recovery form is used.

The good news for creditors is that the Union has replaced the old requirement of exequatur, the separate procedure by which one country recognised another country's judgment before it could be enforced. Under Brussels I bis, a judgment given in one member state is recognised and enforced in the others without any special procedure. The three dedicated recovery instruments below go further still, giving you a ready-made European title from the outset. For the domestic groundwork before you reach these tools, see how to recover an unpaid invoice in France and applicable law and court for a cross-border sale.

The European Payment Order (Regulation 1896/2006)

The European Payment Order is a European procedure created by Regulation (EC) 1896/2006. It applies to cross-border disputes in civil and commercial matters, meaning cases where at least one party is domiciled or habitually resident in a member state other than that of the court seised. The claim you bring must be a pecuniary claim that is uncontested at the time you apply, in other words a debt the creditor presents as due and payable rather than a matter the debtor is already actively disputing. Crucially, there is no upper limit on the amount, which sets the European Payment Order apart from the small-claims route.

You start the procedure by completing a standard application form annexed to the Regulation. The form is available online, including through the European e-Justice portal and, in France, through the public-service portals. In France the domestic mechanics are set out in the Code of Civil Procedure, and the competent court is determined by the ordinary jurisdiction rules, which for a business debtor point to the debtor's domicile or the place of performance of the obligation. You describe the claim, its basis and the evidence, but you do not file the underlying documents at the outset; the court reviews the form and, if the conditions are met, issues the order.

Once issued, the order is served on the debtor, who then has a period fixed by the Regulation to lodge a statement of opposition. If the debtor does not oppose in time, the order is declared enforceable and, decisively, it circulates throughout the Union without any need for exequatur or a declaration of enforceability in the country of enforcement. If the debtor does oppose, the matter is not lost: it simply shifts to ordinary civil proceedings before the competent court, unless the creditor has asked that the case end at that point. This is why the tool is best suited to debts the creditor expects to be uncontested, such as unpaid invoices supported by signed orders and delivery notes.

The European Small Claims Procedure (Regulation 861/2007)

The European Small Claims Procedure, established by Regulation (EC) 861/2007, is a second route for cross-border recovery. Like the European Payment Order, it addresses disputes in which one of the parties is domiciled in a member state other than that of the court seised. It is available in commercial as well as civil matters, subject to a short list of exclusions that do not affect ordinary debt recovery. Its defining feature is the ceiling: the claim must not exceed 5,000 euros, a threshold raised from 2,000 euros on 14 July 2017.

The procedure is designed to be simple and largely paper-based. The parties complete standard forms, the court can decide the matter without a hearing, and legal representation is not mandatory, which keeps costs proportionate to modest sums. As with the European Payment Order, the resulting judgment is enforceable in the other member states without exequatur, so a creditor can move directly to enforcement in the country where the debtor holds assets. In France the domestic implementing rules sit in the Code of Civil Procedure.

In practice the small-claims route has seen limited uptake, in part because it competes with the European Payment Order, which is often quicker and, unlike the small-claims procedure, can be used whatever the size of the debt. The small-claims procedure comes into its own where the claim is genuinely contested but modest in value, since it provides a full, if streamlined, adjudication rather than an order that collapses into ordinary proceedings on opposition. For a larger or clearly uncontested sum, most creditors prefer the order for payment.

The European Enforcement Order (Regulation 805/2004)

The third instrument is the European Enforcement Order, governed by Regulation (EC) 805/2004. It is different in nature from the two procedures above. Rather than being a way to obtain a decision, it is a way to certify a decision you already hold so that it can be enforced abroad more quickly. The Regulation lets a creditor have a national judgment, court settlement or authentic instrument on an uncontested claim certified as a European Enforcement Order in the member state of origin.

The point of the certificate is speed of cross-border enforcement. A judgment certified as a European Enforcement Order can be enforced in another member state without any intermediate recognition procedure, whatever the location of the debtor's assets across Europe. In substance it achieves the same removal of exequatur that Brussels I bis now provides generally, but it does so through a certificate attached to the decision in the country where it was given, which can be practical where the creditor wants a self-contained enforceable package to hand to a foreign enforcement agent.

The certificate is available only for claims that are uncontested in the sense the Regulation defines, for example where the debtor expressly agreed the debt, did not object during the proceedings, or defaulted. That overlaps closely with the situations in which the European Payment Order is useful, and a creditor will usually pick one path rather than run both. Where you already have a French judgment or an enforceable settlement, certification as a European Enforcement Order is the tool that carries it across the border.

Choosing between the EU instruments

The three instruments are not rivals so much as tools for different moments in the recovery timeline. If you have no decision yet and the debt is uncontested, the European Payment Order is usually the efficient choice because it produces a directly enforceable European title with no ceiling on the amount. If the debt is contested but small, the European Small Claims Procedure gives you a full adjudication capped at 5,000 euros. If you already hold a French judgment, settlement or authentic instrument, the European Enforcement Order certifies it for enforcement elsewhere in the Union.

Two threshold questions decide almost every case: is the claim contested, and have you already obtained a title? Answering them in order steers you to the right instrument without wasted filings. The steps below set out a practical sequence a creditor can follow when a debtor established in another member state has not paid, whether you are chasing a French company from abroad or a foreign company from France.

Language, forms and service of documents

The practical friction in cross-border recovery is rarely the law and often the paperwork. Each EU procedure runs on standard multilingual forms, but the substance you enter, and any supporting evidence a court asks for, may need to be produced in the language accepted by the court or by the authority in the country of enforcement. A creditor who prepares the claim in the wrong language, or who leaves the amount and basis of the debt vaguely described, risks delay while the court seeks clarification or the debtor seizes on the gap to oppose.

Service of documents across borders is the other recurring pressure point. The debtor must be properly served with the order or the claim according to the rules that apply to cross-border service within the Union, and the reckoning of the debtor's time to oppose depends on valid service. Defective service is a classic ground on which a debtor later challenges enforcement, so the moment of service should be documented with care, usually through the appropriate transmitting and receiving agencies or the permitted methods of postal service with acknowledgement of receipt.

Turning the European title into payment in France

Where the debtor's assets are in France, a European title, whether an enforceable European Payment Order, a small-claims judgment or a judgment carrying a European Enforcement Order certificate, is enforced through the ordinary French enforcement machinery, without a preliminary exequatur. In France, enforcement is carried out by a commissaire de justice acting on an enforceable title, and the debtor must be served with the title before any seizure. From there the creditor can move to the usual measures, such as attachment of the debtor's bank accounts or seizure and sale of goods.

The mirror situation, a French creditor enforcing a French or European title against a debtor established elsewhere in the Union, follows the same logic in the other direction. The creditor carries the enforceable title, and, if needed, a European Enforcement Order certificate, to an enforcement agent in the debtor's country and proceeds under that country's enforcement rules. The Union framework removes the recognition barrier; it does not standardise the seizure procedures themselves, which remain national. For the French side of that process, see enforcing a judgment and seizures.

A debtor is not without defences at the enforcement stage. Beyond challenges to service, a French debtor may ask the enforcement judge for time to pay, and the court can defer or stagger payment within statutory limits. These protections do not reopen the merits of an uncontested European title, but they can slow recovery, which is a further reason to secure a clean, well-documented order from the outset. Conservatory measures taken early, before or alongside the title, can protect assets while the procedure runs its course.

The EU cross-border instruments compared

The table below sets the three dedicated instruments side by side, with Brussels I bis as the underlying jurisdiction and enforcement framework. Reading them together shows how they fit: Brussels I bis tells you where to sue and confirms that judgments circulate without exequatur, while the three procedures give you either a fresh European title or a certificate for an existing one. Choosing correctly at the start saves a great deal of time later.

None of these tools removes the need for a solid underlying file. Whichever route you take, the decisive evidence is the same as in domestic recovery: signed order forms and delivery notes, matching invoices, and a formal notice to pay. The EU layer accelerates the cross-border passage of your claim, but it rewards a creditor who has assembled the paperwork before filing.

Frequently asked questions about the European Payment Order and cross-border recovery

How do I recover a debt from a French company from abroad?

If you are established in another EU member state, you can use the European Payment Order under Regulation 1896/2006 for an uncontested claim, or the European Small Claims Procedure for a contested claim up to 5,000 euros. Jurisdiction is set by Brussels I bis, which as a rule points to the debtor's domicile in France or the place of performance. The resulting title is enforced in France without exequatur through a commissaire de justice.

What is the European Payment Order?

It is a standardised EU procedure, under Regulation (EC) 1896/2006, for obtaining an enforceable order on an uncontested pecuniary claim in a cross-border civil or commercial matter. There is no ceiling on the amount. If the debtor does not oppose within the period fixed after service, the order becomes enforceable across the Union without any separate recognition step.

What is the European Small Claims Procedure?

It is a simplified, largely paper-based procedure under Regulation (EC) 861/2007 for cross-border claims not exceeding 5,000 euros, a ceiling raised from 2,000 euros in July 2017. It is available in civil and commercial matters, does not require a lawyer, and produces a judgment that is enforceable in other member states without exequatur.

Do I need exequatur to enforce an EU title in France?

No. Under Brussels I bis and the three dedicated instruments, a title from another member state circulates without exequatur or a separate declaration of enforceability. You take the enforceable European title directly to a French commissaire de justice, who must first serve it on the debtor before proceeding to seizure.

Which EU instrument should I use?

Use the European Payment Order for an uncontested debt of any size, the European Small Claims Procedure for a contested claim up to 5,000 euros, and the European Enforcement Order to certify a judgment or settlement you already hold. The two decisive questions are whether the debt is contested and whether you already have a title.

What happens if the debtor opposes a European Payment Order?

Opposition lodged in time stops the order from becoming enforceable. Unless the creditor asked for the case to end at that stage, the dispute continues as ordinary civil proceedings before the competent national court. This is why the procedure suits debts the creditor reasonably expects to be uncontested, backed by signed orders and delivery notes.

Does the European Payment Order apply to a consumer debtor?

The procedure covers cross-border civil and commercial matters, but where the debtor is a consumer, Brussels I bis generally requires that they be sued in the courts of their own domicile. The consumer's protective rules on jurisdiction and, at enforcement, requests for time to pay can shape and slow the recovery even where the EU title itself is valid.

How our French lawyers help with cross-border debt recovery

Petroff Avocats acts on both sides of the border. For foreign creditors, we assess whether the debt qualifies for a European Payment Order or the small-claims route, fix the correct French jurisdiction under Brussels I bis, prepare and file the standard forms, manage service and any opposition, and enforce the title in France through a commissaire de justice. For French creditors chasing debtors elsewhere in the Union, we secure a French judgment or European Enforcement Order certificate and coordinate enforcement abroad. On the debtor side, we review the validity of service, examine defences and, where appropriate, request time to pay before the enforcement judge.

This article is for general information only. It does not constitute legal advice and cannot replace an assessment of your specific situation. The EU regulations mentioned are cited for orientation and their application depends on the facts of each case. Contact our French lawyers for advice on your situation.