Order for payment: the procedure for recovering a B2B invoice

An invoice has been unpaid for several months, email reminders have produced nothing, and the customer, another business, disputes neither the service nor the amount. Bringing ordinary proceedings seems disproportionate for a debt of a few thousand euros. This is precisely the situation addressed by the order for payment (injonction de payer): a fast, written and inexpensive procedure for obtaining an enforceable title against a business debtor. This guide sets out each step of the procedure between businesses, its real cost and, above all, what to anticipate if the debtor lodges an objection, which moves the case to a hearing on the merits.

The order for payment: a procedure suited to B2B unpaid invoices

The order for payment (injonction de payer) is a simplified court procedure governed by Articles 1405 to 1425 of the French Code of Civil Procedure. It allows a creditor to obtain a court decision ordering the debtor to pay, without a prior hearing and without the debtor being informed before the judge rules. The first phase is described as "non-adversarial": the judge examines the application alone, on the documents.

Its appeal lies in its speed and low cost. Where ordinary proceedings require a hearing, an exchange of submissions and sometimes several months of procedural timetable, the order for payment often results in an order within a few weeks. It is particularly suited to B2B relationships, where debts rest on solid written documents (purchase orders, invoices, general terms of sale, confirmation emails).

However, this procedure is available only if the debt meets three cumulative conditions. It must be certain (its existence cannot seriously be disputed), liquid (its amount is determined) and due (the payment period has expired). An invoice that has been issued, not disputed within the time allowed and has fallen due generally meets all three. Conversely, a dispute over the quality of a service or the performance of a contract makes the debt uncertain: an order for payment is then poorly suited, because the debtor will lodge an objection and the judge will rule on the merits.

Contractual or commercial origin of the debt

To recover an unpaid invoice between businesses, the debt must arise from a contractual undertaking or a bill of exchange or promissory note. An invoiced service, a sale of goods delivered, commercial rent due: all are eligible debts. The condition is that the amount claimed flows directly from the debtor's undertaking, without any need to reconstruct a loss or assess damages.

Step 1: prepare the file and send a formal notice

Before any application to the court, the first step is to send a formal notice to pay (mise en demeure) by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt. It is not a mandatory formality for filing an application for an order for payment, but it has two useful effects. It starts the running of default interest, and it is evidence of the debtor's default, which the judge often takes into account. The content and drafting of this document are set out in our article on the formal notice to pay an invoice between businesses.

Between businesses, the formal notice also makes it possible to quantify precisely the sums due beyond the principal. Article L441-10 of the French Commercial Code provides that any late payment between businesses gives rise to late payment penalties, at a rate that may not be lower than three times the legal interest rate, as well as a fixed indemnity for recovery costs. This indemnity is set at €40 by Article D441-5 of the same code, and it is due as of right, without any need to claim it expressly in the invoice. On the calculation of these sums, see our analysis of late payment penalties and the fixed recovery indemnity between businesses.

The file must then bring together all the supporting documents for the debt:

• the contract, the signed quotation or the purchase order
• the unpaid invoice or invoices, with their mandatory particulars
• the general terms of sale accepted by the debtor
• proof of delivery or performance of the service
• the formal notice and its acknowledgement of receipt
• the detailed statement of the sums claimed (principal, penalties, fixed indemnity, interest)

The strength of these documents determines the success of the procedure. The judge rules solely on the file: a vague statement of account or an invoice not supported by a delivery note weakens the application.

Checking limitation

Before acting, it is necessary to ensure that the debt is not time-barred. In commercial matters, Article L110-4 of the French Commercial Code sets a limitation period of five years from the date the debt falls due. After that period, the debtor may plead limitation and defeat recovery. An invoice more than five years old that has never been claimed therefore risks being refused.

Step 2: file the application with the competent court

The order for payment is initiated by an application, provided for by Article 1407 of the French Code of Civil Procedure. It is not a summons: the creditor summons no one and applies directly to the judge by a written document.

The choice of court depends on the nature of the debt. For a debt arising between traders or from a commercial act, the commercial court (tribunal de commerce) has jurisdiction. This is the most frequent case in B2B: a company claiming payment for goods or services from another company falls within the commercial court of the place where the debtor is based. Where the debt is civil in nature (for example, against a self-employed professional who is not a trader), the judicial court (tribunal judiciaire) has jurisdiction.

The application must state the full identity of the parties, the precise amount claimed with the breakdown of the various items (principal, interest, fixed indemnity), and the basis of the claim. It is accompanied by all the supporting documents.

Electronic filing

Before the commercial court, the application may be filed online, in particular through the platforms of the commercial court registries. This route speeds up processing and allows the status of the case to be tracked. Filing in person at the registry remains possible.

Take a practical case: a small digital services business invoiced a software development service to another company, delivered and accepted, for an amount that remained unpaid despite two reminders. The debt is certain (service accepted), liquid (amount set in the quotation) and due (payment date passed). The business files its application with the commercial court for the registered office of its debtor customer, together with the signed quotation, the acceptance report and the formal notice. The file is complete: the judge has everything needed to rule.

The cost of the order for payment

The cost of an order for payment is one of its main advantages, but it is not limited to filing the application. Several items must be distinguished.

Filing the application with the commercial court gives rise to a registry fee of a regulated amount, in the order of a few tens of euros. Before the judicial court, the application is in principle free of charge. This first item therefore remains modest compared with ordinary proceedings.

The most significant item arises at the next step: service of the order by a commissaire de justice (bailiff) (the new title of huissiers de justice since 1 July 2022). This cost is governed by a regulated tariff and varies according to the amount of the debt. It is borne by the creditor, who advances the costs, but it may be charged to the debtor.

Finally, if the creditor instructs a lawyer, the lawyer's fees are added. Instructing a lawyer is not mandatory for an order for payment, but it becomes valuable in the event of an objection, because the hearing on the merits then follows the rules of ordinary procedure. In practice, being assisted by a professional from the application stage makes it possible to secure the statement of account, to anticipate challenges and to prepare from the outset for the possibility of a hearing on the merits.

Overall, the order for payment procedure remains economically worthwhile where the debt exceeds the cumulative amount of the costs incurred. For a debt of small amount on which an objection is likely, the foreseeable cost must be weighed against the likelihood of actual recovery.

Step 3: the judge's order and its service

After examining the application, the judge may make an order for payment. Three outcomes are possible. The judge may grant the application for all the sums claimed, grant it in part (if the judge considers that part of the debt is not justified), or dismiss the application. If the application is dismissed, the creditor cannot appeal that decision, but remains free to proceed by way of ordinary summons.

Where the order is favourable, it has no value until it has been brought to the debtor's attention. This is the service step, entrusted to a commissaire de justice. Article 1411 of the French Code of Civil Procedure imposes a mandatory time limit: the order must be served within six months of its date, failing which it lapses (non avenue), that is, it is deprived of all effect. A negligent creditor loses the benefit of the decision and must start again.

Service starts the period within which the debtor may react. It is the pivotal moment of the procedure, because it determines whether the case closes quickly or moves to an adversarial hearing.

Step 4: what to do if the debtor lodges an objection

An objection is the remedy open to a debtor who disputes the order for payment. Article 1416 of the French Code of Civil Procedure provides that the debtor has a period of one month from service to lodge an objection. Where service was not made on the debtor in person (for example, where the document was left at the commissaire de justice's office), the period runs from the first act served on the debtor in person or, failing that, from the first enforcement measure.

An objection is made by a declaration to the registry of the court that made the order. It need not state reasons: the debtor does not need, at this stage, to justify the grounds of the challenge. This simplicity explains why the order for payment is suitable only for debts that are genuinely beyond dispute: a debtor acting in bad faith may lodge an objection for the sole purpose of gaining time.

Moving to the merits: the procedure becomes adversarial again

As soon as an objection is lodged, the procedure changes in nature. The case is brought before the court that made the order, and it is heard under the ordinary procedure, with a hearing and adversarial argument. This is referred to as the "move to the merits" (passage au fond). The initial order is in a sense put in brackets: the court re-examines the whole of the debt, hears both parties and gives a judgment that replaces the order.

This phase changes the position for the creditor. The creditor must now demonstrate that the debt is well founded in an ordinary contentious setting, produce its documents, answer the debtor's arguments and, depending on the amount and the court, comply with the rules requiring representation by a lawyer. Being assisted by a lawyer, which is optional at the application stage, becomes strategic here.

Let us return to the example of the small digital services business. If its debtor customer lodges an objection citing malfunctions in the software delivered, the commercial court will examine that challenge on the merits. The business will have to prove that its service was conforming (signed acceptance report, absence of reservations, exchanges approving the deliverables). If its evidence is solid, the court will dismiss the objection and confirm the debt. If the challenge is serious, the judge may reduce the sum, or even reject the claim. Hence the importance of impeccable documentation from the outset.

The outcome of the hearing on the merits

At the end of the hearing, the court gives judgment. The judgment may confirm the debt in whole or in part, or dismiss the creditor's claim. Unlike the order for payment, this judgment is an adversarial decision, open to appeal under the ordinary rules depending on the amount at stake. The creditor who succeeds then holds a fully enforceable title.

One point deserves attention: the judgment given on an objection may also order the losing party to bear part of the other party's costs under Article 700 of the French Code of Civil Procedure, as well as the costs of the proceedings. A debtor who lodges a dilatory objection therefore risks increasing the final burden.

Step 5: the enforcement formula where there is no objection

If no objection is lodged within the one-month period, the creditor may apply for the enforcement formula (formule exécutoire) to be affixed to the order. Article 1422 of the French Code of Civil Procedure provides that this application must be made within the month following the expiry of the period for objection. After this further period, the order loses its force.

The order bearing the enforcement formula then has the effects of an adversarial judgment. It becomes a genuine enforceable title, not open to any appeal. The creditor may then take enforcement measures: attachment of bank accounts (saisie-attribution), seizure of assets, or any other measure entrusted to the commissaire de justice to recover the unpaid invoice.

This is the outcome sought: an unpaid debt converted, within a few weeks and at a controlled cost, into a title enabling the debtor to be compelled to pay. For that to happen, however, the debtor must not have lodged an objection, which presupposes a debt that is genuinely beyond dispute.

Conclusion: an effective procedure, to be reserved for solid debts

The order for payment is the most efficient recovery tool for undisputed B2B unpaid invoices: fast, written and economical, it converts an unpaid invoice into an enforceable title without the burdens of a trial. But its effectiveness depends on a simple and decisive condition: the debt must be beyond dispute. Where there is a real dispute over the service or the amount, an objection by the debtor is almost certain, and the procedure then moves to a hearing on the merits that cancels out the advantage of speed.

The position to retain is therefore as follows: the order for payment is not a magic wand, it is an accelerator for clean debts. Before filing an application, a prudent creditor honestly assesses the likelihood of an objection. If the debtor has already expressed a written challenge, it is sometimes better to issue proceedings directly on the merits so as not to lose time. The choice between an order for payment, summary proceedings for an interim payment (référé-provision) and proceedings on the merits is addressed separately in our article on applying to the commercial court for an unpaid invoice.

In practice, secure each file in advance: systematically keep signed purchase orders and acceptance reports, and include in your general terms of sale the late payment penalties and the fixed indemnity provided for by the Commercial Code. And before any application is filed, have a lawyer check that your debt meets the three conditions (certain, liquid, due) and that your statement of account can be relied on against the debtor: it is this initial check that makes the difference, whether the case is dealt with quickly or moves to the merits.

Frequently asked questions

Is an order for payment possible without a lawyer between businesses?

Yes. Filing an application for an order for payment does not require a lawyer, whether before the commercial court or the judicial court. The creditor may prepare and file the file alone. However, if the debtor lodges an objection, the case is heard on the merits under the ordinary procedure, and representation by a lawyer may then become mandatory depending on the court and the amount at stake. Being assisted by a lawyer from the application stage remains advisable to secure the statement of account and anticipate a challenge.

Which court should be seized for an unpaid invoice between two companies?

For a debt arising from a commercial act between traders, the commercial court of the place where the debtor is based has jurisdiction. This is the most common situation in B2B (sale of goods, provision of services between commercial companies). If the debt is civil in nature, for example against a self-employed professional who is not a trader, the judicial court has jurisdiction. The choice of court determines whether the application is admissible.

What is the time limit for objecting to an order for payment?

The debtor has one month from service of the order by the commissaire de justice to lodge an objection, in accordance with Article 1416 of the French Code of Civil Procedure. If service was not made on the debtor in person, the period runs from the first act served in person or from the first enforcement measure. An objection is made by a simple declaration to the registry and need not state reasons at this stage.

What happens if the debtor disputes the order for payment?

An objection moves the case to a hearing on the merits. The case is brought before the court that made the order and heard under the ordinary procedure, with a hearing and adversarial argument. The creditor must then prove that the debt is well founded and answer the debtor's arguments. The court gives a judgment that replaces the order and is open to appeal under the ordinary rules.

How much does an order for payment procedure cost?

The cost of an order for payment combines several items: a regulated registry fee of a few tens of euros for filing before the commercial court (free before the judicial court), the costs of service of the order by the commissaire de justice (regulated tariff varying according to the amount of the debt) and, where applicable, lawyer's fees. The procedure remains inexpensive as long as there is no objection; a move to the merits significantly increases the overall cost.

What is the limitation period for recovering an invoice between businesses?

In commercial matters, Article L110-4 of the French Commercial Code sets a limitation period of five years from the date the debt falls due. Beyond that, the debtor may plead limitation and defeat recovery. It is therefore essential to act before this period expires. A formal notice and, even more so, legal proceedings interrupt the limitation period.

Can an order for payment be used to recover late payment penalties?

Yes. The application may include, beyond the principal, the late payment penalties and the fixed indemnity for recovery costs provided for by the Commercial Code. Article L441-10 requires penalties at a rate not lower than three times the legal interest rate, and Article D441-5 sets the fixed indemnity at €40, due as of right. These sums must appear clearly in the statement of account attached to the application for the judge to award them.