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Collecting a business debt in Spain follows a structured legal pathway that most overseas creditors find surprisingly logical once they understand it. Three phases, clear timelines, and — if your documentation is solid — a process designed to favour creditors who act promptly.
Every business debt collection in Spain begins outside the courtroom. A formal demand is sent via burofax, creating legally admissible proof that you've notified the debtor. This isn't a suggestion — it's a procedural requirement that strengthens any subsequent legal claim.
The extrajudicial phase includes direct negotiation, payment plan proposals, and escalating formal demands. Licensed collection agencies handle this phase entirely, and it resolves approximately 70% of B2B cases without court involvement. The key metric: if the debtor hasn't responded meaningfully within 60 days, the probability of amicable resolution drops sharply.
When amicable collection fails, Spanish law offers several court procedures depending on your claim size. The monitorio (payment order) covers claims up to €250,000 — the debtor gets 20 days to pay or contest, with no hearing unless they formally oppose. The juicio verbal handles disputed claims up to €6,000 through simplified trial procedure. The juicio ordinario covers everything above €6,000 that's contested.
For overseas creditors, the monitorio is the workhorse. It requires documentary evidence of the debt — invoices, contracts, delivery confirmations — and can be filed through Spanish legal counsel without your physical presence. If the debtor fails to respond within 20 days, the court issues an enforceable payment order automatically.
A court judgment in Spain means nothing without enforcement. The ejecución phase activates tools that turn paper judgments into actual payments: bank account seizures, property liens, business asset embargoes, and salary garnishments. Spanish courts can also order asset investigations to locate hidden funds.
One critical detail: Spanish law gives creditors the right to claim late payment interest under Ley 3/2004 (which transposes EU Directive 2011/7/EU). This adds the European Central Bank reference rate plus eight percentage points to your claim — a material addition on debts that have been outstanding for months.
Commercial debts in Spain carry a five-year statute of limitations under Article 1964 of the Civil Code. The clock starts from the invoice due date and can be interrupted by formal demand (burofax) or the debtor's acknowledgment of the debt. Once it expires, your claim is legally unenforceable. This is not a flexible deadline.
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