Payment demand in Italy: sollecito and messa in mora

Quick answer

A friendly reminder (sollecito di pagamento) often comes first, but what counts legally is a written demand that puts the debtor in default (messa in mora, art. 1219 c.c.), unless default is automatic. Legal interest then runs: 1.60% a year in 2026. Between businesses, interest runs without any demand, plus a flat €40. A demand interrupts prescription once it reaches the debtor: keep proof of receipt. A diffida ad adempiere is different: it ends the contract. The court route is a decreto ingiuntivo.

This guide covers sums already due from a company or individual in Italy: an unpaid invoice, an agreed refund, or a loan or deposit not returned. It is general information, not legal advice. For a rental deposit, see letters for tenants and landlords in Italy; to complain or use an out-of-court body, see formal complaints in Italy; to end a contract, see cancelling a contract in Italy.

Check the claim and the due date

Know why the money is owed and when it fell due, and keep the contract, invoice, transfer records and messages. For a loan (mutuo) with no agreed repayment date, the court sets one (art. 1817 c.c.). If a refund depends on a withdrawal or a faulty product, establish that basis first.

Start with a sollecito di pagamento

A sollecito has no set form. Art. 1219 c.c. only requires a written “intimazione o richiesta” (demand or request), so a clear written request for payment can already put the debtor in default. To leave no doubt, use the formal demand below.

Oggetto: Sollecito di pagamento — fattura n. [numero] del [data]

Spett.le [Società],

Vi segnalo che risulta ancora da saldare la fattura n. [numero] del [data], relativa a [beni o servizi], scaduta il [data di scadenza], per un importo di [importo] euro.

Vi chiedo cortesemente di provvedere al pagamento entro il [data] mediante bonifico sul conto intestato a [intestatario], IBAN [IBAN], indicando nella causale il numero della fattura.

Se il pagamento è già stato effettuato, Vi prego di inviarmi gli estremi del bonifico; se invece ritenete che l’importo non sia dovuto, Vi prego di comunicarmene per iscritto i motivi.

Distinti saluti [Nome e cognome]

Put the debtor in default: messa in mora

No formal notice of default (messa in mora) is needed if the debt arises from an unlawful act, the debtor refused in writing, or a sum payable at your domicile has fallen due (art. 1219 c.c.). Unless otherwise agreed or customary, money is payable at the creditor’s domicile (art. 1182 c.c.), so default is often automatic for a fixed sum with a due date, though this can be disputed if the amount is uncertain. From default, legal interest is due without proof of loss (art. 1224 c.c.): 1.60% a year in 2026, a rate the Ministry of Economy and Finance can change each year (art. 1284 c.c.).

Between businesses, including professionals, or with a public authority, D.Lgs. 231/2002 applies: unless agreed otherwise, payment is due 30 days after the invoice arrives, then interest at the ECB reference rate plus 8 percentage points runs without any demand, plus a flat €40 (art. 4 to 6). No minimum deadline applies to a demand; 15 days from receipt is common.

Oggetto: Diffida e messa in mora — [riferimento: fattura, contratto o accordo]

Gentile [Nome e cognome],

in forza di [contratto, accordo o fattura] del [data] Lei è tenuto/a a corrispondermi [importo] euro entro il [data di scadenza], a titolo di [motivo del pagamento]. Ad oggi ho ricevuto [importo già pagato, eventualmente 0] euro e restano dovuti [importo residuo] euro.

Con la presente La invito formalmente a corrispondere [importo residuo] euro entro [numero] giorni dal ricevimento di questa lettera, mediante bonifico sul conto intestato a [intestatario], IBAN [IBAN], causale [riferimento].

La presente vale quale costituzione in mora ai sensi dell’art. 1219 c.c. e quale atto interruttivo della prescrizione ai sensi dell’art. 2943 c.c. Sulla somma decorrono gli interessi legali dalla mora (art. 1224 c.c.).

Se ritiene di non dovere la somma o di averla già pagata, La prego di comunicarmelo per iscritto. In mancanza di pagamento nel termine indicato, mi riservo di agire nelle sedi competenti.

Distinti saluti [Nome e cognome]

Diffida ad adempiere is a different tool

“Diffida” is often used for any formal warning, as in the example above, which terminates nothing. A diffida ad adempiere (art. 1454 c.c.) is narrower: in a contract with obligations on both sides, you set a written deadline, normally at least 15 days, and declare that the contract will be terminated if it is not performed. When the deadline passes, the contract ends automatically, generally with retroactive effect, and you claim restitution and damages instead of performance (art. 1453 and 1458 c.c.). That can suit a supplier who never delivered after you paid, rarely an invoice for finished work.

If payment still does not arrive

Watch prescription: ten years for most claims (art. 2946 c.c.), five for rent, interest and periodic payments (art. 2948), three for professionals’ fees, under special presumptive rules (art. 2956). Besides a demand, the debtor’s acknowledgment of the debt, such as a request for instalments, interrupts it (art. 2944).

The usual court route is a decreto ingiuntivo (payment order) for a liquid sum backed by written proof, which for businesses can include certified extracts of the accounts or e-invoices sent through the SdI system (art. 633 and 634 c.p.c.). You normally need a lawyer, except for claims of up to €1,100 before the giudice di pace (art. 82 c.p.c.). The debtor has 40 days from service to pay or oppose; otherwise the decree can be declared enforceable (art. 641 and 647 c.p.c.).

Before an ordinary lawsuit for up to €50,000, your lawyer must first invite the debtor to assisted negotiation (negoziazione assistita); this does not apply to a decreto ingiuntivo, to contracts between a business and a consumer, or where you need no lawyer (art. 3 D.L. 132/2014). Mediation is a precondition in matters such as leases, condominium, insurance, banking and supply contracts (art. 5 D.Lgs. 28/2010); if the debtor opposes a decreto ingiuntivo in these matters, the creditor must start it (art. 5-bis).

If you and the debtor are in different EU countries, the European Small Claims Procedure covers claims of up to €5,000 (Reg. (EC) 861/2007), and the European order for payment, for uncontested money claims, gives the defendant 30 days to oppose (Reg. (EC) 1896/2006); forms are on the EU e-Justice portal. MaisonMail posts letters; it does not go to court or collect debts.

Post the final letter and keep evidence

Upload your completed PDF or write your letter in MaisonMail, and add supporting PDFs in the send flow. The recipient address determines the destination; available services, estimated delivery and the final price appear before payment. Keep the exact letter, attachments and any delivery evidence. Tracking shows that an item arrived, not what it contained.

A demand takes effect when it reaches the debtor, presumed once it arrives at their address (art. 1334 and 1335 c.c.), so to interrupt prescription or prove default you must be able to prove receipt. In Italy that usually means a raccomandata A/R (registered letter with a signed return receipt) or a PEC (posta elettronica certificata, certified email with legally valid receipts, art. 48 D.Lgs. 82/2005); businesses and professionals list their PEC addresses in the public INI-PEC directory. A standard or tracked letter is not a raccomandata A/R. If proof of receipt matters, use one of those methods as well.