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Final demand before debt enforcement (Switzerland)
Switzerland · in English · for creditors
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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.
- Made for use in Switzerland
- Last updated November 4, 2026
- Document in English
Published byDocMuse
When to use this document
- An English-speaking client in Switzerland has ignored your invoice and two reminders.
- A former flatmate in Switzerland owes you money and you deal with each other in English.
- You want to give the debtor a last deadline before filing for debt enforcement.
- You need written proof of your demand before turning to the debt collection office.
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
- Does Swiss law require a reminder before a creditor starts debt enforcement?
- No: an enforcement can be started without one. 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 (Art. 102 and 104 CO). It gives the debtor a last chance, and registered post proves the reminder. Ten to thirty days is a usual period to give.
- After the final demand, how does a creditor file for Betreibung in Switzerland?
- At the debt collection office where the debtor lives or has its seat (Art. 46 DEBA), in writing or orally (Art. 67 DEBA), in the office's official language: on the Federal Office of Justice's free request form, whose use is optional (bj.admin.ch; also at the offices), or online through EasyGov.swiss, where private persons can file too. You advance the fee for the payment order (Zahlungsbefehl); it depends on the amount (Art. 16 of the fees ordinance) and is charged to the debtor (Art. 68 DEBA).
- What does a creditor in Switzerland do when the debtor objects to the payment order?
- The enforcement stops until the objection (Rechtsvorschlag, opposition, opposizione) is removed: by the court, definitively on an enforceable judgment or provisionally on a signed acknowledgement of debt (Art. 80 and 82 DEBA), otherwise by a lawsuit, usually starting before the conciliation authority (Art. 79 DEBA). Continuation must be requested within a year of service; the period pauses while the case runs (Art. 88 para. 2 DEBA). If you do nothing, the debtor can ask after three months that the enforcement no longer be disclosed to third parties.
- Can a final demand in Switzerland add flat dunning fees or collection costs?
- By law a debtor in default owes 5 % default interest (Art. 104 CO) and the costs of an enforcement (Art. 68 DEBA). Flat dunning or collection fees can be claimed only where they were agreed, for instance in your terms of business, so the letter asks for none. Any further loss you would have to prove (Art. 106 CO). If your contract with the debtor is in German, French or Italian, the version of this letter in that language exists too.
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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Related documents
- 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 French (Switzerland)
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.
- 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.
- 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 (Switzerland)
For private persons in Switzerland who received a letter from a collection agency (Inkassobüro, société de recouvrement, agenzia d’incasso): 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 within ten days. 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 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.