When a payment order from the enforcement office reaches you, the first thing to do is note the date of service. The period allowed for objecting to enforcement proceedings runs from that date and is quite short: seven days in proceedings without a judgment, five days in proceedings on negotiable instruments.
Time limits for objecting #
- Proceedings without a judgment (promissory note, invoice, contract, current account): 7 days from service.
- Proceedings specific to negotiable instruments (cheque, promissory note, bill of exchange): 5 days.
- Proceedings on a judgment (based on a court decision): no objection is possible; only an order staying enforcement can be obtained.
- Proceedings for rent arrears with a request for eviction: seven days to object to the debt, and the objection to the lease must be separate and express.
The scope of the objection: the most common mistake #
You must state expressly in the objection what it is you are objecting to. The mistake made most often in practice is that, although the signature is alleged to be forged, the objection says only “I object to the debt”. Unless the objection to the signature is stated separately and expressly, the signature is treated as admitted. That consequence cannot be undone.
Likewise, if you are objecting to the interest, to the rate of interest or to jurisdiction, each of those must appear separately in the objection.
What happens if an objection is made? #
In proceedings without a judgment, a timely objection stops the proceedings automatically. The creditor then has two options:
- Action to set aside the objection: brought in the general courts within one year of service of the objection. If the creditor succeeds, compensation for denial of enforcement of not less than 20 % of the principal claim is awarded against the debtor.
- Removal of the objection: where the creditor holds a document within the meaning of article 68 of the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Act (a note with an admitted signature, an official document), this is applied for at the enforcement court within six months. It is faster but narrower.
In proceedings on negotiable instruments an objection does not stop the proceedings automatically; a separate order staying the proceedings must be obtained from the enforcement court.
If you have missed the deadline #
The proceedings become final and move to the attachment stage. But two routes still remain:
- Late objection: if you missed the period without fault on your part (illness, detention, being abroad, defective service), you can apply to the enforcement court within three days of the impediment ceasing.
- Action for a declaration of no debt: you can bring a claim in the general courts for a declaration that you are not indebted. The proceedings do not stop automatically; a stay of enforcement can be sought against security. If payment has already been made, the claim becomes one for recovery of the sum paid.
What you should know at the attachment stage #
- At most one quarter of a salary can be attached; alimony claims fall outside that limit.
- A retirement pension cannot be attached without the debtor’s written consent.
- Apart from valuables such as money, gold and antiques, the personal belongings of the debtor and of family members living under the same roof, and all household goods in the family’s shared use, cannot be attached.
- The valuation can be challenged within seven days of service — an undervaluation causes serious loss at the sale.
If you are the creditor #
Attaching the supporting documents to the request in full, giving the address and identity details correctly and ensuring that service is properly effected all prevent the proceedings being annulled at a later stage. Defective service can throw a file that appeared won back by months.
What should the objection say? #
An objection can be short, but its scope must be complete. State separately each of the headings below that you are objecting to:
- Objection to the debt: “I am not indebted”, “the debt has been paid”, “the debt is time-barred”.
- Objection to the signature: if you allege that the signature on the instrument is not yours, this must appear separately and expressly in the objection. Saying only “I object to the debt” means the signature is treated as admitted.
- Objection to interest and to the rate: state it if the type or rate of interest claimed is wrong.
- Objection to jurisdiction: if the enforcement office where the proceedings were opened is not competent, object and identify the competent office.
- Objection to the lease: in proceedings with a request for eviction, an objection to the existence or content of the lease must be made separately.
The objection can be made to the enforcement office conducting the proceedings in writing or orally; an electronic objection through e-Devlet is also possible. If your time is about to run out, the electronic route is the fastest.
The defence of limitation #
Even where the debt arose, if the limitation period has expired the debtor can raise it as a defence. The judge does not take limitation into account of their own motion. The periods most often encountered:
- General obligations: 10 years
- Rent claims, employment claims, interest and periodic payments: 5 years
- Cheque: 3 years against the drawer from the period for presentation
- Promissory note and bill of exchange: 3 years from maturity
- Enforcement of judgments: 10 years
To see the period in your own file, you can use our time limit checker.
Property that cannot be attached #
The Enforcement and Bankruptcy Act places certain property beyond attachment in order to protect the debtor’s minimum living conditions:
- Apart from valuables, the personal belongings of the debtor and of family members living under the same roof, and all household goods in the family’s shared use (having more than one of the same kind is not a ground for attachment)
- Tools and books needed to carry on their profession
- Three quarters of the salary — alimony claims fall outside that limit
- A retirement pension (absent the debtor’s written consent)
- Student grants, alimony claims and certain social benefits
If property that cannot be attached has been attached, a complaint must be made to the enforcement court within seven days of learning of it.
A family-home note does not prevent attachment. The family-home note on the land register makes a transfer, mortgage or similar transaction carried out by the owner spouse of their own will conditional on the express consent of the other spouse (Civil Code art. 194); by contrast, in transactions that take place independently of the owner’s will — attachment, forced sale and execution of a court judgment — the spouse’s consent is not required (Land Registry and Cadastre General Directorate Circular No. 2014/4). Property bearing a family-home note can therefore still be attached and sold.
Speeding up the proceedings as a creditor #
If you are on the creditor’s side, the stage that loses the most time is service. Identifying the address correctly, serving at the registered address and, where necessary, requesting an address search all shorten the process. Defective service can lead to the proceedings being annulled later and cost months.
The debtor’s assets can be searched through the judicial portal: immovable property, vehicles, bank accounts, social security records and shareholdings. Once the proceedings are final, attachment is applied on the basis of those searches. For the process and the options, see our enforcement and bankruptcy law page.
If the proceedings are based on a cheque or a note #
The seven-day objection period described in this guide applies to the general attachment route. If the proceedings are based on a cheque, a promissory note or a bill of exchange, the attachment route specific to negotiable instruments applies: the objection period is five days, the objection is made not to the enforcement office but to the enforcement court, and it does not stop the proceedings on its own. For this distinction see our guide to recovering cheque and promissory note debts.
After the debt is paid: closing the file #
Paying the debt does not close the enforcement file by itself. Once payment has been made, the removal of the attachment notes must be applied for separately; otherwise the block on the land register, the vehicle record or the bank account continues.
The file closes if the creditor notifies that they are abandoning the proceedings; if they do not, the debtor documents the payment and asks the enforcement office to lift the attachment. If that request is refused, a complaint to the enforcement court is available. Keeping the receipt obtained at the time of payment and the file number shortens this stage.
Order of priority in salary attachment, and the alimony exception #
At most one quarter of a salary can be attached. Where there is more than one creditor, they cannot all take deductions at the same time: the attachments queue and the next does not start until the earlier file is finished.
The exception to that rule is alimony claims: an alimony claim does not join the queue and is deducted ahead of the other attachments and without being bound by the one-quarter limit. A retirement pension, on the other hand, cannot as a rule be attached without the debtor’s consent; to have a block on a pension account at the bank lifted, the complaint route is used. That complaint must be made within seven days of learning of the block.
