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You sold goods to a Spanish company, delivered on time, and now the payment is three months late. Your accounts receivable team has sent five reminders. The response ranges from vague promises to radio silence. This is the point where most overseas creditors either write off the debt or discover that cross-border collection in Spain is considerably more accessible than they assumed.
Spanish law does not distinguish between domestic and foreign creditors in terms of legal rights. A US corporation has the same standing to file a monitorio payment order as a Spanish company. The procedural requirements are identical: documented debt, formal demand, and court filing through local legal representation.
What foreign creditors cannot do is represent themselves in Spanish court. Every judicial proceeding requires a procurador (court agent) and, for contested claims, an abogado (lawyer). This is a structural requirement of Spanish civil procedure, not a barrier to foreign creditors specifically.
Cross-border collection begins with engaging a licensed Spanish collection agency or law firm as your local representative. They assess the claim, verify the debtor's registered address and financial status, and initiate the amicable phase with a formal burofax demand.
If the debtor doesn't engage within 30 to 60 days, the case escalates to the monitorio procedure. Your documentation — contracts, invoices, delivery confirmations, prior correspondence — is submitted with certified Spanish translation. The debtor has 20 days to pay or contest. No hearing is required unless the debtor files formal opposition.
For EU-based creditors, the European Payment Order provides an alternative that may be filed from your home jurisdiction and enforced directly in Spain under EU Regulation 1896/2006.
Amicable cross-border recovery typically costs 8% to 15% of the recovered amount and resolves in 30 to 90 days. Legal proceedings add court fees, translation costs, and higher commission rates (15% to 25%), with timelines extending to 6 to 18 months depending on whether the debtor contests.
The economic calculation is straightforward: for debts above €5,000 from a solvent debtor, professional cross-border collection almost always produces a better outcome than writing off the receivable. The break-even point is lower than most creditors expect.
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