Source date: 2026-04-26
Creation of a simplified procedure for recovering uncontested commercial debts Published on April 27, 2026 - Entreprendre Service Public / Direction de l'information légale et administrative (Prime Minister)
The law of April 23, 2026 establishes a simplified recovery procedure for uncontested commercial debts between merchants. Explanations.
Currently, payment delays are one of the main causes of failure for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Indeed, the Banque de France states that payment delays increase the probability of a company's failure by 25%. This probability rises to 40% when the delay exceeds one month.
In light of this, the law of April 23, 2026 introduces a procedure allowing for faster recovery of commercial debts not contested by the debtor.
What are the objectives of this new procedure?
Until now, the recovery of professional debts relied solely on an amicable solution or judicial recovery (payment order, summary proceedings for provisional payment, summons for payment).
To complement these options and protect companies' cash flow, the simplified procedure for recovering uncontested commercial debts accelerates debt recovery and does not require judicial intervention.
It pursues several objectives:
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securing economic exchanges between merchants;
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acting quickly in the face of payment delays;
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complementing the simplified recovery procedure (limited to debts under €5,000);
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enabling the recovery of uncontested commercial debts between professionals, with no monetary threshold.
How does the procedure for recovering uncontested commercial debts work?
This new procedure concerns the recovery of a debt resulting from invoicing between merchants.
This debt must be "certain, liquid : titleContent and due : titleContent".
The procedure is implemented by the judicial officer at the request of the creditor.
It follows these steps:
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The judicial officer serves the debtor with a formal demand to pay the debt. This must include: a description of the obligation giving rise to the debt;
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a description of the amounts claimed;
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the order to pay within one month from the sending of the demand, and instructions on how payment can be made.
The recovery procedure ends if the debtor contests the debt before a judge. - If the amount owed is neither paid nor contested, the judicial officer draws up a report of non-contestation (at least 8 days after the end of the one-month period). This document is made enforceable by the clerk of the commercial court. Thus, the debt can be recovered directly by the judicial officer.
- At the creditor's initiative, the enforceable report is transmitted to the debtor within 6 months. The debtor may refer the matter to a judge to contest it.
The costs associated with implementing this procedure are borne by the debtor.
The application details of this procedure will be specified by decree.
Legal texts and references
See also
A debt whose amount is determined or determinable (monetary valuation).
A debt whose immediate payment can be demanded by the creditor from the debtor. All payment terms previously granted to the debtor have expired.
Source: Service-Public professionnels