Disputing a time-barred consumer debt (France)
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This document is in French
The PDF you download is in French — that is the language it has to be filed in, so it is not translated. Everything on this page is here to tell you what it says.
For a consumer in France from whom a business or a collection agency claims an old bill: energy, a subscription, building work, a purchase. A business's claim against a consumer is time-barred after two years (article L. 218-2 of the French Consumer Code). The letter, in French under French law, pleads the limitation period, states that it does not acknowledge the debt and asks for collection to stop and the file to be closed. Pay nothing before sending it. Send it by registered letter with proof of receipt.
- Made for use in France
- Last updated October 13, 2026
When to use this document
- A debt collector in France is chasing you for an old energy or phone bill you had forgotten.
- A company suddenly demands payment for building work or a purchase from years ago.
- Letters and calls about an old subscription keep coming and you do not want to admit owing anything.
- You want to reply in writing that the old debt is time-barred and ask them to close the file.
What you fill in
The details the document asks for.
- Debtor
- Debtor's address
- Creditor or collection agency
- Postal address of the creditor or agency
- City
- Date
- Case number
- Amount claimed
- Where the debt comes from (e.g. loan of …, invoice no. …)
- Due date
Preview
This document is produced for you. Your answers are typed into it and the finished PDF is yours to keep.
Common questions
- Which debts in France become time-barred after two years, and which do not?
- The two-year rule covers what a business claims from a consumer for goods or a service: energy, water, a subscription, building work, a purchase (article L. 218-2 of the French Consumer Code). Other periods apply elsewhere: three years for residential rent (article 7-1 of the law of 6 July 1989), two years' foreclosure from the first unremedied missed payment for consumer credit (article R. 312-35 of the French Consumer Code), one year for electronic communications (article L. 34-2 of the French Post and Electronic Communications Code), five years between private persons (article 2224 of the French Civil Code).
- What should you avoid when chased in France for a time-barred debt?
- Pay nothing, not even a small part, and sign no payment plan or acknowledgement: waiving a limitation period that has run can be tacit (articles 2250 and 2251 of the French Civil Code), and an acknowledgement made before it expired would have interrupted it. The judge does not raise limitation of their own motion (article 2247): it is for you to plead it, in this letter and then in court if you are sued. Keep the bills and letters that date the debt.
- What if the collection agency in France keeps going despite the letter?
- Without an enforceable title it can seize nothing, and its fees remain with the creditor (article L. 111-8 of the French Code of Civil Enforcement Procedures). If you are served with an order to pay by a commissaire de justice, file an objection within the time stated on the document and plead limitation before the court. Abusive collection practices can be reported to the DGCCRF on SignalConso, a free public service.
How you can sign this document
- Print it and sign by hand. The signature lines in the document are left blank on purpose — sign on them in ink.
- Sign it yourself with a qualified electronic signature. If you already hold a QES — Evrotrust, B-Trust, StampIT, ZealiD or any qualified provider on the EU Trusted List, on a card, a USB token, in a mobile app or in the cloud — our signing guide explains step by step how to sign this exact file without invalidating it. Step-by-step help, and a way to check it worked
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