Injunction to Pay: How to do it?

order for paymentThe injunction to pay is a very effective procedure that anyone can set up: professionals, companies, and even individuals.
This is a legal procedure that takes place on a case file, without you having to go to court.

Injunction to Pay: the conditions of implementation :

When a debt or an unpaid debt has not been settled amicably (after reminder and formal notice), it is possible to order the debtor to pay his debts. This judicial procedure of the order for payment is carried out on file, and it is necessary to be sure to enter in the cases provided for by the law :

  • the claim (debt) arises from a contract or statutory obligation, and its amount is determined. For example, in the case of a loan,
    • or it results from a bill of exchange, a promissory note, the acceptance of an assignment of a professional claim (Dailly slip).

There is no minimum amount for initiating such proceedings. The only impact on the amount of the claim is the choice of court.

Namely: the order for payment cannot be used to obtain payment of an NSF cheque, for which there is a specific collection procedure.

injunction to pay; how to do it?

Two solutions are available to you:
- You can build your case yourself, by collecting a form from the competent court, and filling it out.
Please note that this request must contain :

  • for natural persons, the indication of the surname, first names, profession, domicile, nationality, date and place of birth of the applicant,
  • an indication of the name and domicile of the person against whom the application is made or, in the case of a legal person, its name and registered office,
  • the object of the request,
  • a precise indication of the amount of the sum claimed with a breakdown of the various elements of the claim and the basis of the claim.

It is accompanied by all the supporting documents proving the validity of the request (purchase order, contract, unpaid invoice, letter of formal notice, etc.).

If one of the indications is missing, the application is void.

The competent court is that of the domicile (or registered office) of the debtor. However, there are exceptions, such as in the case of unpaid co-ownership charges; the competent court is then the court of the place where the property is located.

- If you prefer to call in a professional to do this, our study will help you by filling in the request for an Order to Pay for you, at a cost of around 50 euros.
However, you should be aware that there is a charge for filing the application before the Commercial Court.

In all cases, the procedure is the same: the judge will study your application, analyse it and on the basis of your attachments will either rule in your favour or reject your application.

Once the decision (the order) is made, you must send it to a bailiff who will serve the order on your debtor.

You should know that our study can take care of this process for you: all you need to do is contact us. Send your Payment Orders to the following address: Etude d'Huissiers de Justice Leroi & Associés, BP 215, 92002 Nanterre la Défense Cedex, France.

Once the decision has been served on your debtor, he or she has one month to ask to be heard by the court. In this case, he or she files an objection to the order, and the parties are summoned to appear before the judge.

Otherwise, after one month, the decision becomes enforceable and you (we) must request the issuance of the Enforceable Payment Order. It is this final decision that will allow the bailiff to start the seizure procedures, if necessary, to allow you to finally be paid.