Request to a creditor for time to pay (France)
Published byDocMuse
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 someone in France who cannot pay a debt in one go — an invoice, a credit, rent, a sum claimed by a collection agency — and proposes a payment plan to the creditor. The letter, in French under French law, recalls the sum and where it comes from, explains the difficulty, proposes a number of monthly instalments and their amount, asks for collection to be suspended during the plan and recalls that a judge can grant up to two years (article 1343-5 of the French Civil Code). Send it by registered letter with proof of receipt.
- Made for use in France
- Last updated October 13, 2026
When to use this document
- You cannot pay a debt in one go in France and want to offer monthly instalments.
- A debt collection agency is chasing you for money and you want to propose a payment plan.
- A drop in income means you cannot settle an invoice, a credit or rent arrears all at once.
- You want to ask your creditor in writing for time to pay and a pause in collection.
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 due
- Where the debt comes from (e.g. loan of …, invoice no. …)
- Reason
- Number of instalments
- Amount of each monthly instalment
- Due date of the first instalment
Preview
This document is produced for you. Your answers are typed into it and the finished PDF is yours to keep.
Common questions
- Must a creditor in France accept a payment plan?
- No: an amicable request leaves the creditor free. If it refuses, a judge may, given your situation and the creditor's needs, postpone or spread payment over up to two years and reduce interest (article 1343-5 of the French Civil Code); this does not apply to maintenance payments. If your debts lastingly exceed your means, the over-indebtedness procedure at the Banque de France is free and can be filed online.
- Does asking for time to pay in France amount to acknowledging the debt?
- Yes. By proposing a plan you acknowledge owing the sum: the limitation period is interrupted and a new one of the same length starts (articles 2231 and 2240 of the French Civil Code). If you dispute the debt, or it seems time-barred — two years for a business's claim against a consumer (article L. 218-2 of the French Consumer Code) — do not send this letter: the answer to a time-barred debt is the right document.
- Can a collection agency in France charge its fees to the debtor?
- Not for a private person's debt, as long as there is no enforceable title — a judgment or an order to pay: the costs of amicable collection remain with the creditor (article L. 111-8 of the French Code of Civil Enforcement Procedures); only the enforcement judge may leave part of them to a debtor acting in bad faith. Between businesses, by contrast, a late payer owes a fixed €40 recovery indemnity (article L. 441-10 of the French Commercial Code). Only a commissaire de justice holding an enforceable title can seize assets. Keep a copy of your request and have the agreement confirmed in writing before the first payment.
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
DocMuse sells documents, not legal advice. Acceptance always depends on the recipient's rules and your local law.
Related documents
- Acknowledgement of debt — reconnaissance de dette (France)
For someone in France who owes money to a private person or a business and wants to acknowledge it in writing: a loan received, an advance, an unpaid invoice. The document, in French under French law, states where the debt comes from and how it will be repaid, and leaves a space where the debtor writes the sum in words and figures by hand, as article 1376 of the French Civil Code requires. The debtor alone signs it and hands it to the creditor, who keeps the original.
- Disputing a payment: card, transfer or direct debit (France)
For a bank customer in France who finds on a statement a card payment, transfer or direct debit they did not authorise or that was carried out wrongly, or an authorised direct debit they want refunded. The letter goes to your own bank, not the merchant: an unauthorised payment is refunded at once (Article L. 133-18 of the French Monetary and Financial Code), within 13 months of the debit; eight weeks for an authorised direct debit. In French, to send without delay, after blocking the card where needed, by registered post with proof of receipt or the bank's secure messaging.
- Revoking a SEPA direct-debit mandate and blocking debits (France)
For stopping a creditor's direct debits from your account in France: a subscription, a supplier, a lender. The document, in French under French law, holds two letters to send the same day: the revocation of the SEPA mandate, to the creditor, and the opposition, to your bank, which then refuses every debit from that creditor (article L. 133-7 of the French Monetary and Financial Code). A debit presented afterwards is no longer authorised and is refunded. Revoking the mandate does not end the contract.
- Disputing a time-barred consumer debt (France)
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.
- Settlement agreement between private parties (France)
For two private persons, or a private person and a business, who want to end a dispute in France without going to court: damage, poor work, a disputed sum, a quarrel between neighbours. The agreement, in French under French law, describes the dispute, each party's reciprocal concessions and the waiver of any action on the same matter (articles 2044 and 2052 of the French Civil Code). A standard form: it does not suit a dispute between employer and employee, or a divorce. Two originals, signed by both parties.
- Written complaint to your bank (France)
For a customer of a French bank who disputes charges, a transaction, a refusal or a service: the letter to the complaints department, in French under French law, describes the problem, says what you ask for and recalls the response times — acknowledgement within ten working days and an answer within two months, or fifteen working days for a payment service (article L. 133-45 of the French Monetary and Financial Code). It is the step required before the free bank mediator. Send it by registered post or through the bank's messaging.