Payment demand in the Netherlands: ingebrekestelling

Quick answer

A debtor in the Netherlands is in default (verzuim) once an agreed payment date has passed or, otherwise, after a written formal notice (ingebrekestelling) with a reasonable deadline (art. 6:82–6:83 BW). A consumer owes collection costs only after a veertiendagenbrief: a reminder stating the exact costs and giving 14 days from the day after receipt (art. 6:96 lid 6 BW). Statutory interest is 4% in 2026 for consumers, from default; between businesses, 10.40% from 1 July 2026 runs automatically, plus at least €40. A written reminder interrupts limitation. Unpaid claims up to €25,000 go to the kantonrechter.

This guide covers sums already due from a consumer or a company in the Netherlands, such as an unpaid invoice or an agreed refund. It is general information, not legal advice. For a rental deposit, see tenant letters in the Netherlands; for a faulty product or service, see formal complaints in the Netherlands; for a company that keeps billing after you cancelled, see cancelling a contract in the Netherlands.

Check the debt and whether the debtor is in default

Interest and collection costs depend on default (verzuim): the debt must be due, and the conditions of art. 6:82–6:83 BW met (art. 6:81 BW). If you agreed a fixed date for payment, the debtor is in default as soon as it passes, unless the term had another purpose (art. 6:83 onder a). Otherwise, default starts only after a written ingebrekestelling that gives a reasonable deadline, once that deadline passes without payment (art. 6:82 lid 1). The law does not fix the deadline; 14 days is common practice. If the debtor says it will not pay, a written statement holding it liable is enough (art. 6:82 lid 2 and 6:83 onder c). There is no statutory payment term for consumers: you set a reasonable one on the invoice.

Watch limitation (verjaring): a contractual claim expires five years after it became due (art. 3:307 BW), but the price of goods sold to a consumer only two years (art. 7:28 BW). A written reminder or a written statement that unambiguously reserves your right to payment interrupts the period, and a new one starts (art. 3:317 lid 1 and 3:319 BW), but only once it reaches the debtor.

Business debtors: terms, interest and €40

Between businesses, an agreed payment term may not exceed 60 days unless a longer term was expressly agreed and is not grossly unfair to the creditor (art. 6:119a lid 5 BW). A large company paying a sole trader or SME may take at most 30 days; a longer clause is void (lid 6). Commercial statutory interest (wettelijke handelsrente) runs automatically from the day after the payment date, or, if none was agreed, from 30 days after the day after the invoice was received (lid 1–2). It is the ECB rate plus 8 points, reset every 1 January and 1 July (art. 6:120 lid 2): 10.40% since 1 July 2026. At least €40 in collection costs is owed without any reminder (art. 6:96 lid 4); the consumer scale below is not mandatory between businesses, so the contract may set other costs.

A business debtor is often already in default, but a formal letter still sets a final date, claims interest and costs, and interrupts limitation. Give your company name and KvK (trade register) number, the invoice details and a date that leaves time for delivery.

Onderwerp: Ingebrekestelling — factuur [factuurnummer] van [factuurdatum]

Geachte heer, mevrouw,

Op [factuurdatum] heeft [bedrijfsnaam] (KvK-nummer [KvK-nummer]) u factuur [factuurnummer] gestuurd voor [geleverde goederen of diensten], ten bedrage van [hoofdsom] euro, met als uiterste betaaldatum [vervaldatum]. [Op [datum] hebben wij u een betalingsherinnering gestuurd.] Deze factuur is nog niet betaald.

Wij stellen u hierbij in gebreke en sommeren u het openstaande bedrag van [hoofdsom] euro uiterlijk op [datum] te voldoen op rekeningnummer [IBAN] ten name van [naam rekeninghouder], onder vermelding van [factuurnummer].

Vanaf de dag na de uiterste betaaldatum bent u de wettelijke handelsrente verschuldigd (artikel 6:119a BW), evenals een vergoeding voor buitengerechtelijke incassokosten van [bedrag, ten minste 40] euro (artikel 6:96 lid 4 BW).

Betaalt u niet binnen deze termijn, dan zullen wij zonder nadere aankondiging rechtsmaatregelen nemen, waarvan de kosten voor uw rekening kunnen komen. Wij behouden ons uitdrukkelijk al onze rechten voor, waaronder ons recht op nakoming.

Met vriendelijke groet, [Voornaam en achternaam] [Bedrijfsnaam]

Consumer debtors: the veertiendagenbrief

A consumer owes extrajudicial collection costs only if, after default, you sent a reminder stating the consequences of non-payment, including the amount of the costs, and the debtor did not pay within 14 days starting the day after the reminder (art. 6:96 lid 6 BW). The Hoge Raad, the Dutch Supreme Court, held that the 14 days start the day after receipt (ECLI:NL:HR:2016:2704). Wording such as “binnen 14 dagen na dagtekening”, “na heden” or “na verzending”, or a fixed date counted from sending, is invalid; “binnen veertien dagen vanaf de dag nadat deze brief bij u is bezorgd” or a longer term linked to receipt is valid. A defective letter cannot be repaired by giving extra time: send a new one. You must prove when the letter arrived, and courts expect the summons to say when it was sent and received.

State the costs as a euro amount under the statutory scale: 15% of the first €2,500, 10% of the next €2,500, 5% of the next €5,000, 1% of the next €190,000 and 0.5% above that, with a minimum of €40 and a maximum of €6,775; no VAT unless the conditions of the decree are met. Put every invoice for the same debtor in one letter, and add up the amounts (art. 6:96 lid 7). For small monthly bills, the costs are €40 for the first unpaid instalment and €20 for each further one in six months (lid 8). You may not charge anything for sending the 14-day letter itself. Statutory interest of 4% a year in 2026 runs from default (art. 6:119 BW).

Send this letter only once the consumer is in default. If the invoice had no clear due date, send an ingebrekestelling first: whether one letter can serve as both is unsettled, and practice differs between courts. Replace every placeholder and calculate the cost amount yourself.

Onderwerp: Aanmaning — factuur [factuurnummer] van [factuurdatum]

Geachte [heer/mevrouw] [achternaam],

Op [factuurdatum] heb ik u factuur [factuurnummer] gestuurd voor [geleverde goederen of diensten], ten bedrage van [hoofdsom] euro. De uiterste betaaldatum was [vervaldatum]. [Op [datum] heb ik u een betalingsherinnering gestuurd.] Ik heb uw betaling nog niet ontvangen.

Ik verzoek u het bedrag van [hoofdsom] euro te betalen binnen veertien dagen, te rekenen vanaf de dag nadat deze brief bij u is bezorgd, op rekeningnummer [IBAN] ten name van [naam rekeninghouder], onder vermelding van [factuurnummer]. Aan deze brief zijn geen kosten verbonden.

Betaalt u niet binnen deze termijn, dan bent u daarnaast buitengerechtelijke incassokosten verschuldigd van [bedrag incassokosten] euro, berekend volgens het Besluit vergoeding voor buitengerechtelijke incassokosten (artikel 6:96 BW). Over de hoofdsom bent u vanaf [datum waarop het verzuim is ingetreden] de wettelijke rente verschuldigd (artikel 6:119 BW).

Hebt u inmiddels betaald, dan kunt u deze brief als niet verzonden beschouwen. Bent u het niet eens met de factuur, laat mij dan binnen dezelfde termijn schriftelijk weten waarom.

Met vriendelijke groet, [Voornaam en achternaam of bedrijfsnaam]

Collection agencies from 1 October 2026

A collection agency (incassobureau) that collects for someone else from a person living in the Netherlands must be listed in the Justis register of collection agencies (Wet kwaliteit incassodienstverlening, Wki). From 1 October 2026, the debtor need not pay an unregistered agency, and owes no collection costs for its work and no statutory interest from its first written payment request (art. 18 Wki). The registration rule covers collection for a third party, not a creditor chasing its own invoice, so you may send the letters above yourself. If you hire an agency, check the register first; official sources do not say expressly how the rule applies to an agency based abroad.

If payment still does not arrive

The kantonrechter (sub-district court) hears money claims up to €25,000, including interest up to the summons, and you may act without a lawyer (art. 93 and 79 Rv). You draft the summons (dagvaarding); a court bailiff (gerechtsdeurwaarder) signs and serves it, normally at least seven days before the first hearing. If the debtor does not respond, a default judgment usually follows within two weeks. In 2026, the court fee for natural persons is €93 to €753 and for companies €139 to €1,504, depending on the claim. Only a bailiff can enforce a judgment. If you are in another EU country, the European order for payment (Reg. (EC) 1896/2006) covers uncontested claims; in the Netherlands, the District Court of The Hague handles it and accepts applications only in Dutch. MaisonMail posts letters; it does not go to court or collect debts.

Post the letter and keep evidence

Upload your final PDF or write the letter in MaisonMail, and add invoices as PDFs in the send flow. The recipient address determines the destination; available services, estimated delivery and the final price appear before payment. Dutch law requires these letters to be in writing but prescribes no channel: a standard or tracked letter is valid. What counts is that it reaches the debtor (art. 3:37 lid 3 BW), and you must prove when it did, especially for the veertiendagenbrief, or the court refuses the costs. Allow time for printing and delivery, send the same letter by e-mail, and ask for an acknowledgement. If receipt is likely to be disputed or limitation is close, also send it by Dutch registered post (aangetekende brief) or have a bailiff serve it; a tracked letter is not registered post. Keep a copy of the exact letter: tracking shows that an item arrived, not what it contained.