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Final demand before debt enforcement, in French (Switzerland)
Switzerland · in French · for creditors
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Made for use in Switzerland
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For creditors in Switzerland, private persons and businesses, in French: asks the debtor one last time to pay a due claim by a date, states the reason, the amount, the account and 5 % default interest (Art. 104 CO), and otherwise announces the request for enforcement (réquisition de poursuite). You then file that request on the debt collection office's form or online through EasyGov.swiss; this letter does not replace it. Send it by registered post and keep a copy.
- Made for use in Switzerland
- Last updated November 4, 2026
Published byDocMuse
When to use this document
- A customer or someone you lent money to has not paid a due invoice despite several reminders.
- You want to give the debtor one last chance before starting debt collection in Switzerland.
- The debtor has stopped answering and you want to set a firm final date before going further.
- You need a firm final reminder in French for an unpaid debt in Switzerland.
What you fill in
The details the document asks for.
- Creditor
- Creditor's address
- Debtor
- Debtor's address
- City
- Date
- Document proving the debt (e.g. loan agreement of …)
- Due date
- Amount due
- Deadline
- IBAN
- In default since (day after the due date, or receipt of the first reminder)
Common questions
- Is a last reminder legally required before starting debt enforcement in Switzerland?
- No: a Swiss enforcement may be started without any prior reminder. The reminder still has effects: where no due date was agreed, the debtor is in default only once reminded, and owes 5 % default interest from then on (Art. 102 and 104 CO). It gives the debtor a last chance, and registered post proves that you reminded them. A period of ten to thirty days is usual.
- Where and how do I file the réquisition de poursuite afterwards?
- At the debt collection office where the debtor lives or has its seat (Art. 46 DEBA), in writing or orally (Art. 67 DEBA): on the Federal Office of Justice's free form, which creditors need not use (bj.admin.ch, model forms; also at the offices), or online through EasyGov.swiss, which private persons can use too and which suggests the competent office. You advance the fee for the payment order; it depends on the amount (Art. 16 of the fees ordinance) and is charged to the debtor (Art. 68 DEBA).
- What can a creditor do once the debtor opposes the commandement de payer?
- The enforcement stops until the objection is set aside: with an enforceable judgment by definitive, with a signed acknowledgement of debt by provisional release from the court (mainlevée, Art. 80 and 82 DEBA), otherwise by a lawsuit, usually starting with the conciliation authority (Art. 79 DEBA). Continuation can be requested until a year after service; the period does not run during such proceedings (Art. 88 para. 2 DEBA). Without proceedings, the debtor can ask from three months after service that the enforcement no longer be disclosed to third parties.
- Can I add reminder or collection charges to a debt in Switzerland?
- By law a debtor in default owes 5 % default interest (Art. 104 CO) and the costs of an enforcement (Art. 68 DEBA). Flat reminder or collection charges may be claimed only where they were agreed, for example in your terms of business, so the letter asks for none. Any further loss would have to be proved (Art. 106 CO).
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Related documents
- Objection to a payment order (opposition), in French (Switzerland)
For debtors in Switzerland served with a payment order (commandement de payer), in French: you can object free of charge at once to the person handing over the payment order, who notes it on the order, or within ten days at the debt collection office, orally at the counter or in writing; no reasons are needed (Art. 74 and 75 DEBA). This letter is the written route with proof, in the office's official language: it objects to the whole claim or an exact part of it and asks for the free certificate. Send it registered, handed to the post office by the tenth day.
- Final demand before debt enforcement, in German (Switzerland)
For creditors in Switzerland, private persons and businesses, in German: asks the debtor one last time to pay a due claim by a date, states the reason, the amount, the account and 5 % default interest (Art. 104 CO), and announces the request for debt enforcement (Betreibungsbegehren) otherwise. You then file that request on the debt collection office's form or online through EasyGov.swiss; this letter does not replace it. Send it by registered post and keep a copy.
- Final demand before debt enforcement, in Italian (Switzerland)
For creditors in Switzerland, private persons and businesses, in Italian: asks the debtor one last time to pay a due claim by a date, states the reason, the amount, the account and 5 % default interest (Art. 104 CO), and otherwise announces the request for enforcement (domanda d’esecuzione). You then file that request with the debt collection office, on its form, through www.sportellodelleesecuzioni.ch or EasyGov.swiss; this letter does not replace it. Send it by registered post and keep a copy.
- Final demand before debt enforcement (Switzerland)
For creditors in Switzerland, private persons and businesses, who deal with the debtor in English: asks the debtor one last time to pay a due claim by a date, states the reason, the amount, the account and 5 % default interest (Art. 104 CO), and otherwise announces debt enforcement (Betreibung, poursuite, esecuzione). You then file the request on the debt collection office's form or through EasyGov.swiss, in the office's language; this letter does not replace it. Send it by registered post and keep a copy. Swiss authorities and courts work in their official language — German, French or Italian — so this English version is for dealings between private parties.
- Reply to a collection agency: contest the debt and the charges, in German (Switzerland)
For private persons in Switzerland who received a letter from a collection agency (Inkassobüro), in German: contests the claim in whole or part, reports it paid or pleads limitation, refuses collection fees and a flat “damage for delay” that were never agreed, and asks for a breakdown with documents. If a payment order from the debt collection office follows, object (Rechtsvorschlag) within ten days. Send it by registered post and keep a copy.
- Reply to a collection agency: contest the debt and the charges, in French (Switzerland)
For private persons in Switzerland who received a letter from a collection agency (société de recouvrement), in French: contests the claim in whole or in part, reports it paid or pleads limitation, refuses collection fees and a flat “damage for delay” that were never agreed, and asks for a breakdown with supporting documents. If a payment order from the debt collection office follows, object (opposition) within ten days. Send it by registered post and keep a copy.