Debt Recovery in Romania: A Practice Guide for Foreign Creditors
In brief. Romania offers three procedural routes for collecting an unpaid commercial invoice: the payment order (ordonanță de plată), which costs €40 in court fees and can produce an enforceable title in approximately 45 days; the small claims procedure for debts up to approximately €10,000; and ordinary court proceedings for contested or complex claims. The statute of limitations is three years from the due date. Late-payment interest runs at 14.50% per annum for B2B transactions (BNR reference rate of 6.50% plus 8 percentage points, confirmed at the BNR Board meeting of 7 April 2026). This guide explains each route in detail, from the first demand letter to bank account garnishment.
The Problem You Are Facing
You are a company based in Germany, the Netherlands, France, the UK, or the United States. You supplied goods or performed services for a Romanian company. The invoices are overdue — by 60 days, 90 days, perhaps 180 days. Your emails go unanswered. Your finance department has sent reminders that were ignored. You are weighing whether the cost and uncertainty of pursuing a debtor in a foreign legal system you know nothing about is worth the effort.
This is one of the most common matters we handle. According to the Atradius Payment Practices Barometer for Romania (2025), average B2B payment terms stand at 45 days from invoicing, but overdue invoices currently affect 46% of all B2B sales on credit. Foreign creditors are disproportionately impacted, because many Romanian debtors operate on a straightforward calculation: a company based abroad is unlikely to engage local counsel and pursue formal legal action over a single unpaid invoice.
That calculation works in your favour if you are prepared to prove it wrong. Romania is, in practice, a creditor-friendly jurisdiction for well-documented commercial debts. Court fees are among the lowest in Europe. The payment order procedure is purpose-built for exactly this type of dispute. And enforceable titles can be obtained faster here than in many of the creditor's own home jurisdictions.
What follows is the complete playbook, step by step.
Before You Do Anything: Check Your Deadline
The statute of limitations for commercial debt claims in Romania is three years from the date the payment became due. This is codified in Article 2.517 of the Civil Code and is a hard deadline. If three years pass from the invoice due date without you initiating legal proceedings or taking a recognised step that interrupts the limitation period, your claim is extinguished. Not weakened. Extinguished. The court will dismiss it of its own motion.
The limitation period can be interrupted — meaning it resets and starts running again from zero — by filing a lawsuit, by the debtor acknowledging the debt (even a partial payment qualifies, as does a written promise to pay or an email requesting more time), or by initiating enforcement proceedings.
It can be suspended in narrower circumstances: force majeure, the existence of prior formal negotiations explicitly agreed upon by both parties, or the pendency of a legal obstacle that prevents the creditor from acting.
The practical implication is simple: do not wait. Every quarter of inaction makes recovery harder, not only because the debtor may dissipate assets, but because the legal clock does not pause for indecision. If your oldest unpaid invoice is approaching the three-year mark, stop reading this article and contact a Romanian lawyer today.
Phase 1: The Demand Letter
Before you can use Romania's most efficient debt-recovery instrument — the payment order — you must send the debtor a formal demand letter. This is not a suggestion. It is a mandatory admissibility condition under Article 1015 of the Romanian Code of Civil Procedure. If you file a payment order application without proof that you sent the demand letter and that the statutory waiting period expired without payment, the court will reject your application on procedural grounds, without examining the merits.
The demand letter (somație de plată or notificare prealabilă) must meet specific formal requirements. It must be sent either through a bailiff (executor judecătoresc) or by registered mail with acknowledgment of receipt (scrisoare recomandată cu confirmare de primire). It must clearly identify the amount owed, the contractual or legal basis of the obligation, and a payment deadline of at least 15 days. The proof of delivery — the bailiff's process-verbal or the postal acknowledgment — becomes a mandatory exhibit in the court file.
At this stage, it is also advisable to include a notice that you intend to claim late-payment interest and the fixed €40 recovery cost under Law 72/2013, which transposed the EU Late Payment Directive (Directive 2011/7/EU) into Romanian law. This signals to the debtor that you are not writing informally from a finance department abroad — you are operating through Romanian counsel, under Romanian law, and the procedural machinery is already in motion.
What happens in practice at this stage. About 15 to 25% of cases settle after the demand letter, when it is sent by a Romanian law firm on the creditor's behalf. The debtor, having assumed the foreign creditor would never engage locally, recalculates the risk and pays. Some request a payment schedule, which can be formalised in an enforceable agreement. For the remaining 75 to 85%, we proceed to court — but the demand letter has already fulfilled its procedural function and the file is ready to move.
Phase 2: Choosing the Right Procedural Path
Romanian law provides three distinct procedures for recovering a monetary claim. The choice between them depends on three variables: the value of the debt, the clarity of your documentation, and the likelihood that the debtor will contest the claim on its merits.
| Factor | Payment Order | Small Claims | Ordinary Litigation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Court fee | RON 200 (€40) flat | RON 50–200 (€10–40) | Progressive — up to €2,720 on €200K claim |
| Claim value cap | None | Up to RON 50,000 (€10,000) | None |
| Timeline to title | ~45 days | 2–4 months | 12–18 months (+ appeal 6–12 mo) |
| Demand letter required | Yes — 15-day waiting period | Recommended, not mandatory | Recommended, not mandatory |
| Oral hearings | Minimal / written | Written procedure | Full evidentiary hearings |
| Enforceable immediately | Yes — even during appeal | Yes — by operation of law | Generally only after final judgment |
| Works if debtor contests merits | No — court redirects to ordinary | Limited | Yes — designed for it |
| Expert evidence available | No | No | Yes |
| Typical attorney fee | €1,000 – €3,000 | €800 – €2,500 | €3,000 – €15,000 |
| Best for | Undisputed B2B debt, clean docs | Under €10K, simple facts | Contested or complex claims |
Path A — The Payment Order (Ordonanță de Plată): The Fastest Route
This is the procedure you should use whenever the facts allow it. It is fast, inexpensive, and designed precisely for claims where the debt is certain (certă), liquid (lichidă), and due (exigibilă) — meaning the obligation is clearly established, the amount is determined or determinable, and the payment date has passed.
When it applies. Your claim arises from a civil or commercial contract. The amount is documented. The due date has passed. There is no value cap — the payment order procedure is available for claims of any size, from €500 to €5 million.
Court fee. A fixed RON 200 (approximately €40), regardless of the claim value. For a €500,000 debt, you pay the same €40 as for a €5,000 debt. This makes the payment order one of the most cost-effective debt-recovery instruments available anywhere in the European Union. Compare it to the stamp fees in ordinary proceedings, where a €100,000 claim generates approximately €1,720 in court fees alone.
Timeline. If the debtor does not file a substantive defence, the court typically issues the payment order within 45 days from the date the application is filed (excluding time for service of process). The court sets a payment deadline of 10 to 30 days from communication of the order to the debtor.
Enforceability. The payment order is enforceable immediately, even if the debtor files an application to annul it (cerere în anulare). This is an important feature: you can proceed to enforcement — bank garnishment, asset seizure — while the debtor is challenging the order. The procedural risk is yours: if the order is ultimately annulled on appeal, you must return what you collected. But in practice, this risk is low when the underlying documentation is solid.
What you need to file. The application itself (cerere privind ordonanța de plată). The contract, purchase order, or commercial agreement establishing the obligation. All unpaid invoices, with original due dates. Proof of delivery or performance — shipping documents, delivery notes, acceptance protocols, service completion confirmations. Proof of the demand letter and expiration of the 15-day deadline. Proof of payment of the RON 200 court fee. A power of attorney for your Romanian lawyer, notarised and apostilled if issued abroad.
When this procedure does not work. If the debtor raises a genuine, substantive defence — arguing that the goods were defective, that the services were never performed, that the contract was terminated or invalid — the court will typically reject the payment order application and direct you to ordinary proceedings. The payment order is built for cases where the documents speak for themselves. If the file requires witness testimony, expert reports, or extensive factual investigation, the court will not resolve it through this accelerated procedure.
Path B — The Small Claims Procedure (Cerere cu Valoare Redusă): For Debts Up to Approximately €10,000
This simplified procedure applies to monetary claims up to RON 50,000 (approximately €10,000). It is conducted primarily in writing, without oral hearings in most cases, and the resulting judgment is enforceable by operation of law — meaning enforcement can begin immediately, even before the appeal period expires.
Court fee. RON 50 (approximately €10) for claims up to RON 2,000. RON 200 (approximately €40) for claims between RON 2,001 and RON 50,000.
Timeline. The court typically issues judgment within 30 days after the evidentiary exchange is complete. The debtor can appeal within 30 days, but the appeal does not suspend enforcement.
When to use it. When your claim falls below the €10,000 threshold and the payment order was rejected or is not suitable — for instance, because the claim does not arise from a contract (a tortious claim, an unjust enrichment claim) or because the debtor filed a defence that made the payment order route unavailable.
Path C — Ordinary Court Proceedings (Procedura de Drept Comun): For Contested or Complex Claims
When neither the payment order nor the small claims procedure is available — or when the debtor raises substantive defences that require a full evidentiary hearing — recovery must proceed through ordinary civil or commercial litigation.
Court fees. Calculated progressively based on the claim value under Government Emergency Ordinance No. 80/2013. For claims up to RON 500 (approximately €100): 8%, with a minimum of RON 20. From RON 501 to RON 5,000: RON 40 plus 7% of the amount exceeding RON 500. From RON 5,001 to RON 25,000: RON 355 plus 5% of the amount exceeding RON 5,000. From RON 25,001 to RON 50,000: RON 1,355 plus 3% of the amount exceeding RON 25,000. From RON 50,001 to RON 250,000: RON 2,105 plus 2% of the amount exceeding RON 50,000. Over RON 250,000: RON 6,105 plus 1% of the amount exceeding RON 250,000.
To put these figures into practical context: a claim of €50,000 (approximately RON 250,000) generates a stamp fee of roughly RON 6,105 (approximately €1,220). A claim of €100,000 (approximately RON 500,000) generates approximately RON 8,605 (around €1,720). A claim of €200,000 (approximately RON 1,000,000) generates roughly RON 13,605 (around €2,720).
Timeline. A first-instance judgment typically takes 12 to 18 months. An appeal adds 6 to 12 months. A second appeal (recurs), available only on limited grounds of law, adds a further 6 to 12 months. Unlike the payment order and small claims procedures, enforcement in ordinary proceedings generally requires a final (definitivă) judgment — meaning you must wait for the appeal to conclude before you can garnish accounts or seize assets, unless you obtain a provisional enforcement order.
When to use it. When the debtor genuinely disputes the underlying obligation. When the claim requires expert evidence — for instance, an assessment of defective goods, a calculation of damages, or a determination of the reasonable market value of disputed services. When the factual complexity exceeds what the payment order or small claims procedures can accommodate. Or, simply, when the special procedures have been attempted and the court has redirected the matter to ordinary proceedings.
You Are an EU Creditor: Should You Use a European Procedure Instead?
If your company is based in an EU Member State, you have access to two additional cross-border instruments.
The European Payment Order (Regulation 1896/2006) allows you to obtain an enforceable title for uncontested monetary claims using a standardised form, filed with the court of the Member State where the debtor is domiciled. If the debtor does not oppose the order within 30 days, it becomes enforceable across the entire EU without any intermediate recognition step. If the debtor opposes, the procedure converts automatically to ordinary proceedings under the national law of the court hearing the case — which, in this scenario, means Romanian ordinary litigation.
The European Small Claims Procedure (Regulation 861/2007) applies to cross-border claims up to €5,000 and is conducted primarily in writing. The judgment is directly enforceable in any EU Member State without the need for a declaration of enforceability.
Both instruments have their place, but there is a practical consideration that governs our recommendation in most cases: enforcement always happens where the debtor's assets are located. Even if you obtain a European Payment Order from a court in Germany or the Netherlands, the enforcement stage — the garnishment of bank accounts, the seizure of inventory, the forced sale of property — must be carried out in Romania, by a Romanian bailiff, under Romanian procedural law.
For this reason, we generally recommend handling the entire process in Romania from the outset. You avoid the jurisdictional round-trip. You work with a single legal team that manages everything from demand letter to bank garnishment. And you use the Romanian payment order procedure, which is faster (45 days versus the European Payment Order's variable timeline), cheaper (€40 flat fee), and produces an immediately enforceable title that a Romanian bailiff can execute without any intermediate step.
The EU instruments become more valuable in two specific scenarios: when the debtor might have assets in multiple EU Member States and you need a title that travels without recognition formalities, or when you want to file from your own jurisdiction and the claim is likely to remain uncontested.
Post-Brexit note for UK creditors. The European Payment Order and Brussels I bis Regulation do not apply to UK-based creditors after Brexit. This does not prevent you from filing claims in Romanian courts — nationality and domicile of the creditor are irrelevant to the court's jurisdiction over the debtor. The Romanian domestic procedures described in this guide are fully available to UK, US, Swiss, and all other non-EU creditors.
Phase 3: Enforcement — Converting the Title Into Money
An enforceable title — whether a payment order, a small claims judgment, or a final court decision — has no value in itself. Its value lies entirely in your ability to execute it against the debtor's assets. In Romania, enforcement is carried out by a bailiff (executor judecătoresc), a licensed officer of the court who operates under the supervision of the enforcement court (instanța de executare).
The enforcement process follows a defined sequence.
Step 1: File with a bailiff. You select a competent bailiff within the jurisdiction where the debtor has its registered office or where its identifiable assets are located. Any creditor — including a foreign company acting through a Romanian lawyer — can initiate enforcement.
Step 2: Court authorisation. Within three days of receiving your request, the bailiff submits it to the enforcement court. The court rules within seven days, in chambers, without summoning the parties. This authorisation (încuviințarea executării silite) is mandatory — no enforcement can proceed without it. The court verifies that the title is valid, enforceable, and that no legal impediment exists.
Step 3: Final notice to the debtor. The bailiff serves the debtor with the court authorisation, the enforceable title, and a notice (somație) granting a short final period — typically 10 days — for voluntary compliance. Most debtors who intend to pay do so at this stage, when the formality of the process leaves no room for further delay.
Step 4: Forced execution. If voluntary compliance does not occur, the bailiff proceeds with compulsory enforcement. The main tools available under Romanian law are the following.
Bank account garnishment (poprire). The bailiff identifies the debtor's bank accounts — through the National Union of Judicial Enforcement Officers' (UNEJ) centralised bank account inquiry system — and issues garnishment orders directly to the banks. The banks are legally obligated to freeze the corresponding amounts and transfer them to the bailiff's escrow account for distribution to the creditor. This is the fastest and most commonly used enforcement method. A competent bailiff can garnish accounts within days of receiving court authorisation.
Seizure of movable assets. The bailiff can identify, seize, and sell physical goods: equipment, inventory, vehicles, receivables owed to the debtor by third parties.
Seizure and forced sale of immovable property. For larger claims, the bailiff can initiate the forced sale of the debtor's real estate through a public auction procedure. This is the most complex enforcement method — it requires property valuation, a minimum two-round auction process, and Land Registry formalities — but it is effective for high-value recoveries where the debtor owns real property.
Garnishment of third-party receivables. If the debtor has outstanding invoices owed by its own clients, the bailiff can garnish those receivables directly. The debtor's customers are legally compelled to pay you instead of paying the debtor.
Bailiff fees. These are regulated by Ministerial Order and calculated as a percentage of the amounts recovered. They are ultimately borne by the debtor as part of the enforcement costs. The creditor advances a modest initial fee — typically €100 to €300 — to open the enforcement file; this amount is recoverable from the debtor.
Late-Payment Interest: What You Are Owed Beyond the Principal
You are entitled to more than just the face value of the unpaid invoice. Romanian law — implementing the EU Late Payment Directive through Law 72/2013 — provides for mandatory compensation in all B2B transactions where payment is late.
Statutory interest rate. For commercial transactions between professionals, the late-payment interest rate is the BNR reference rate plus 8 percentage points per annum. As of 7 April 2026, the BNR reference rate stands at 6.50% (held unchanged for the twelfth consecutive meeting since October 2024). The applicable B2B late-payment interest rate is therefore 14.50% per annum.
Interest accrues automatically, without the need for formal notice, from the day following the contractual payment due date. If the contract specifies no due date, interest begins 30 calendar days after the debtor received the invoice, or 30 days after the goods or services were delivered, whichever is later.
Fixed recovery compensation. In addition to interest, Article 9 of Law 72/2013 entitles you to a fixed €40 compensation (the RON equivalent at the exchange rate on the date interest begins to accrue) for internal recovery costs, without being required to prove any actual loss. This amount is owed automatically once interest starts running.
Contractual penalty clauses. If your agreement with the debtor includes a penalty clause (clauză penală) that sets a higher interest rate or a fixed late-payment penalty, you may claim the contractual amount instead. Romanian courts will enforce penalty clauses unless they are found to be manifestly excessive — a threshold that, in commercial litigation, is applied conservatively. Courts are generally reluctant to intervene in agreed penalty mechanisms between sophisticated commercial parties.
Practical illustration. For an unpaid invoice of €50,000 with a due date 12 months in the past, the statutory interest alone amounts to approximately €7,250. Adding the €40 fixed compensation and your attorney fees (which the court can order the debtor to reimburse), the total recovery may exceed the original invoice value by 20% or more.
The Nuclear Option: Filing for the Debtor's Insolvency
If the debtor owes you at least RON 50,000 (approximately €10,000) and the payment has been overdue for at least 60 days, you have the right to petition for the opening of insolvency proceedings against the debtor under Romania's Insolvency Code (Law 85/2014).
This is not an enforcement tool in the traditional sense. Insolvency is a collective proceeding — it affects all of the debtor's creditors, not just you. A judicial administrator or liquidator is appointed, the debtor's management may lose control of the company, the proceedings are published in the Insolvency Bulletin (Buletinul Procedurilor de Insolvență) and the Trade Register, and the company's commercial relationships suffer immediate and often irreversible damage.
Which is precisely why the insolvency threat is so effective. Many Romanian companies will pay a creditor who has filed — or credibly threatened to file — an insolvency petition, because the consequences of actual insolvency proceedings are far more costly to the debtor than the invoice they have been avoiding. Banks call in loans. Suppliers demand prepayment. Clients shift to competitors. Key employees leave.
We use this tool strategically, not reflexively. It works when the debtor has an operating business, real assets, and commercial relationships it wants to protect — in other words, when the debtor has something to lose. For dormant companies, shell entities, or businesses already on the verge of failure, an insolvency petition achieves little except adding your name to a table of creditors competing over an empty estate.
Procedural note. If your individual claim is below the RON 50,000 threshold, you can aggregate it with other creditors' claims to meet the minimum. Romanian law permits joint creditor petitions. If you are aware that other suppliers are also unpaid, coordinating a joint filing amplifies both the legal standing and the commercial pressure.
Cross-Border Angle: Freezing Debtor Accounts Across EU Borders
If you suspect the Romanian debtor has bank accounts in other EU Member States — or if you are concerned that funds may be moved out of Romania to frustrate enforcement — the European Account Preservation Order (Regulation 655/2014) provides a cross-border freezing mechanism.
The EAPO allows a creditor to apply to a court in one Member State for an order that freezes funds in a bank account located in another Member State. The order is issued ex parte — without notifying the debtor — and is designed to operate as a surprise measure to prevent asset dissipation.
In Romania, the competent authority for obtaining bank account information under Article 14 of the Regulation is the Romanian National Union of Judicial Enforcement Officers (UNEJ). A Romanian court can issue an EAPO if you have already obtained a judgment, or if you can demonstrate, before judgment, that without the preservation order there is a real risk that subsequent enforcement will be rendered impossible or substantially more difficult.
The EAPO is particularly useful in cases where the debtor has announced — or you have evidence — that it intends to transfer assets abroad. It complements the domestic sechestru asigurător (precautionary seizure under Romanian civil procedure), which operates within Romania's borders. Used together, the two instruments can lock down both domestic and foreign-held assets simultaneously.
Realistic Timelines: What to Expect From Start to Finish
The following timelines are based on our case experience across hundreds of debt-recovery matters. They assume competent handling, clean documentation, and a functioning Romanian court — meaning no extraordinary delays caused by judicial vacations, COVID-era backlogs, or recusal of judges.
Payment order route (uncontested claim). Demand letter and 15-day waiting period: approximately 3 weeks (accounting for postal service and delivery confirmation). Court proceedings from filing to order: 30 to 45 days. Enforcement from court authorisation to bank garnishment: 2 to 8 weeks, depending on the bailiff's caseload and the debtor's banking situation. Total: approximately 2 to 4 months from engagement to collection.
Small claims route (claims up to €10,000). Demand letter: 3 weeks. Court proceedings: 2 to 4 months. Enforcement: 2 to 8 weeks. Total: approximately 3 to 6 months.
Ordinary litigation route (contested claim). Pre-litigation demand and negotiation: 2 to 4 weeks. First instance: 12 to 18 months. Appeal, if filed: 6 to 12 months. Enforcement after final judgment: 2 to 8 weeks. Total: approximately 14 to 30 months for a contested case resolved through two instances.
The single most important variable in reducing these timelines is the quality of your documentation. Clean contracts with clear payment terms, signed and stamped delivery notes, invoices that match the contractual terms, and a paper trail of payment reminders eliminate ambiguity. Ambiguity is what slows courts down. Clarity is what speeds them up.
What It Will Cost You: A Transparent Breakdown
We believe that creditors should know exactly what the recovery process costs before they commit. Opaque fee structures discourage enforcement. Transparency encourages it.
Court fees. For a payment order: RON 200 (€40), fixed, regardless of claim value. For the small claims procedure: RON 50 to RON 200 (€10 to €40). For ordinary proceedings: progressive, calculated on the claim value as set out above. To illustrate: a €50,000 claim generates approximately €1,220 in stamp fees; a €100,000 claim, approximately €1,720; a €200,000 claim, approximately €2,720.
Attorney fees. For a straightforward payment order (demand letter, court filing, enforcement supervision): €1,000 to €3,000, depending on claim value and complexity. For contested ordinary proceedings through judgment and appeal: €3,000 to €15,000, depending on the number of hearings, the need for expert evidence, and the factual complexity. We offer fixed-fee arrangements for payment orders and transparent stage-based estimates for litigation, agreed in writing before any work begins.
Bailiff fees. The creditor advances a modest amount — typically €100 to €300 — to initiate the enforcement file. The substantive bailiff fees (calculated as a regulated percentage of the amount recovered) are borne by the debtor and added to the enforceable amount. You do not pay the bailiff's success fee — the debtor does.
Translation, notarisation, and apostille. If you are providing a power of attorney and supporting documents from abroad, budget €200 to €500 for notarisation of the power of attorney, apostille under the Hague Convention, and certified translation of the key documents into Romanian.
Can you recover your costs? Yes. Romanian courts routinely order the losing party to reimburse the prevailing party's litigation costs: court fees in full, attorney fees (which the court may reduce if it considers them disproportionate to the complexity of the case, though in commercial matters courts generally respect reasonable fee levels), expert fees, translation costs, and bailiff advances. These amounts are incorporated into the enforceable title and collected from the debtor as part of the overall recovery.
The bottom line. For a €50,000 uncontested payment order, your all-in cost — attorney fees, court fees, bailiff advances, translation — is approximately €1,500 to €3,500. The recovery, including statutory interest at 14.50%, may exceed €55,000. The economics of enforcement are decisively in your favour.
What to Prepare Before You Contact Us
To give you an accurate assessment — the right procedural path, a realistic timeline, and an honest cost estimate — within 24 hours of receiving your file, we need the following:
The contract, purchase order, or framework agreement governing the transaction. If there is no written contract, any email chain, order confirmation, or commercial correspondence that evidences the agreed terms.
All unpaid invoices, with the original due dates clearly visible.
Proof of delivery or performance. Delivery notes signed by the debtor or its warehouse. Shipping documents and tracking confirmations. Service completion reports. Acceptance protocols. Anything that demonstrates you held up your end of the agreement.
Correspondence with the debtor about the unpaid amounts. Emails, letters, WhatsApp messages, SMS exchanges. These serve two purposes: they evidence the debt, and they may contain admissions or partial acknowledgments that strengthen your position and potentially reset the limitation period.
Information about the debtor: the company name, CUI (tax identification number), and registered address. All of this is publicly available through the Romanian Trade Register (recom.onrc.ro), but if you have it readily, it accelerates the process.
If you have previously sent demand letters or formal reminders, copies of those together with proof of delivery.
If you do not have all of these, that does not mean recovery is impossible. It means we need to assess which procedural path remains available given the documentation you do have. A payment order requires clean, self-explanatory documents. Ordinary proceedings allow for a broader evidentiary process, including witness testimony and expert reports. In most cases, something can be done — the question is which route offers the best return for the effort and cost involved.
How We Handle Debt Recovery for Foreign Creditors
At Mihai Attorneys, debt recovery for foreign companies is not a sideline. It is a core component of our litigation practice. We handle every stage under one roof — demand letter, court proceedings, enforcement — in English, with a single point of contact throughout.
Our approach works as follows. You send us the invoice and the contract. We assess the file within 24 hours and respond with three things: the recommended procedural route, a realistic timeline, and a fixed or capped fee proposal. If you approve, we send the demand letter within days. If the debtor does not pay, we file in court immediately upon expiration of the 15-day deadline. If we obtain an enforceable title, we move to enforcement without delay.
We do not charge for the initial assessment. There is no commitment until you sign the engagement letter.
You can check the debtor's litigation history and financial health before engaging us, using two free tools on our website: the Romania Court Records Search, which searches public case records across all Romanian courts, and the Business Partner Screening Tool, which flags insolvency, litigation, and reputation risks in seconds.
We advise creditors based outside Romania on the recovery of commercial receivables from Romanian counterparties, from the initial demand through enforcement. Files are reviewed on receipt — we respond with a procedural recommendation and a fixed or capped fee proposal, in writing, within one business day.
- Pre-action demand & negotiationDays
- Payment order proceedings~45 days
- Small claims & ordinary litigation3–18 months
- Enforcement & bank garnishment2–8 weeks
- Insolvency petitionsCase-specific
- Cross-border EAPO & EU instrumentsCase-specific
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to file a payment order in Romania?
The court fee is a fixed RON 200 (approximately €40), regardless of the claim value. Whether you are recovering €5,000 or €500,000, the filing fee does not change. This makes the Romanian payment order one of the most cost-effective debt-recovery instruments in the European Union.
Do I need to send a demand letter before going to court?
Yes, for the payment order procedure. Article 1015 of the Romanian Code of Civil Procedure requires the creditor to send the debtor a formal notice granting at least 15 days to pay. The notice must be sent by bailiff or by registered mail with acknowledgment of receipt. Without proof of this step — both the sending and the expiration of the 15-day period — the court will reject the application as inadmissible, without examining the merits of your claim.
What is the statute of limitations for unpaid invoices in Romania?
Three years from the date the payment became due, under Article 2.517 of the Civil Code. If the debtor makes a partial payment or acknowledges the debt in writing at any point within the three-year period, the limitation clock resets to zero and a new three-year period begins.
Can I recover late-payment interest on top of the principal amount?
Yes. For B2B transactions, the statutory late-payment interest rate is the BNR reference rate plus 8 percentage points — currently 14.50% per annum as of April 2026. You are also entitled to a fixed €40 compensation for recovery costs under Article 9 of Law 72/2013, with no requirement to prove actual loss. Both amounts can be included in the payment order or litigation claim.
What happens if the Romanian company disputes the invoice?
If the debtor raises a genuine, substantive defence, the court will typically reject the payment order application and direct you to ordinary proceedings. This does not extinguish your claim — it simply means the dispute requires a full evidentiary hearing. The claim remains enforceable if you prevail; the process simply takes longer and costs more.
Can I garnish the debtor's bank accounts?
Yes. Bank account garnishment (poprire) is the most commonly used and most effective enforcement mechanism in Romania. Once you have an enforceable title and court authorisation for enforcement, the bailiff issues garnishment orders directly to the debtor's banks. The banks are legally compelled to freeze the corresponding amounts and transfer them to the bailiff's escrow account. A competent bailiff can execute this within days.
Can I file for the debtor's insolvency to force payment?
Yes, provided the debt is at least RON 50,000 (approximately €10,000) and has been overdue for at least 60 days. An insolvency petition is a powerful lever that frequently motivates debtors to pay before proceedings are formally opened, because the commercial consequences of insolvency — management displacement, public disclosure, loss of banking relationships — are devastating.
I am based in the UK. Can I still recover debts through Romanian courts after Brexit?
Yes. There is no restriction on non-EU creditors filing claims in Romanian courts. The difference is that EU-specific instruments — the European Payment Order, the European Small Claims Procedure, the Brussels I bis Regulation — do not apply to UK creditors post-Brexit. You use the domestic Romanian procedures described in this guide, which are available to creditors of any nationality. The payment order, ordinary litigation, and enforcement mechanisms work identically regardless of whether the creditor is based in Paris, New York, or London.
Can I recover my legal costs from the debtor?
Yes. Romanian courts routinely order the losing party to reimburse the prevailing party's court fees, attorney fees, expert fees, and other documented litigation expenses. These amounts become part of the enforceable title and are collected from the debtor alongside the principal and interest.
What if the debtor has no assets?
If the debtor is a shell company with no bank balance, no property, and no receivables, enforcement will not yield results regardless of the legal procedure used. This is why we recommend running a preliminary screening — using our Business Partner Screening Tool or a formal due-diligence report — before committing to litigation. If the debtor has no assets, the most cost-effective option may be an insolvency petition (if the threshold is met), which can trigger personal liability claims against the debtor's administrators under Romania's Insolvency Code when there is evidence that the administrators' conduct contributed to the company's inability to pay.
