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Letter before claim to a company for an unpaid invoice (England and Wales)
England and Wales · in English · for creditors
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For a business in England and Wales owed money by a company or LLP that has not paid an invoice. Following the Practice Direction on Pre-Action Conduct, it sets out the debt, claims statutory interest at 8% above the Bank of England reference rate and the fixed sum of £40, £70 or £100 under the Late Payment Act (or the interest your contract sets), gives 14 days to pay or dispute, and warns of a County Court claim. It is not for a debtor who is a sole trader or other individual: the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims applies to them, with 30 days.
- Made for use in England and Wales
- Last updated October 28, 2026
- Document in English
Where a UK document reproduces the words of legislation or of a government publication — UK, Scottish or Northern Irish — it contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
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When to use this document
- A company in England or Wales has not paid your invoice and has ignored your reminders.
- The customer keeps promising to pay and you want to set a final deadline before going to court.
- You want to claim statutory interest and compensation on an overdue business invoice.
- Your invoices to another business are months overdue and you want to send a formal letter before claim.
What you fill in
The details the document asks for.
- Name of the person signing for your business
- Your business's name (company, LLP or trading name)
- Your business's address (number and street)
- Town or city
- Your business's postcode
- Date
- The other business's name (company or LLP)
- Its registered office or business address, with postcode
- Unpaid invoice number(s) and date(s)
- Agreement under which you supplied (for example our agreement dated 3 March 2026, or your purchase order)
- What you supplied
- Amount due
- Due date
- Interest claimed
- Late-payment interest to date
- Fixed sum under section 5A, with statutory interest only (£40, £70 or £100 per invoice; total)
- Total amount
- Where to pay (account name, sort code, account number, reference)
- Attachments
- Your company or LLP number, if a company or LLP
- Your registered office address, if a company or LLP
Common questions
- Can I send this letter before claim if my customer is a sole trader?
- No. When a business claims a debt from an individual, including a sole trader, the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims applies: a letter of claim with the documents the protocol requires, and at least 30 days to reply. This letter follows the general Practice Direction, which applies when the debtor is a company or LLP, with 14 days as the usual reasonable period in a simple case.
- How do I work out statutory interest on an unpaid business invoice?
- Take the reference rate for the half-year in which payment fell due (the Bank of England base rate on 31 December for January to June, or on 30 June for July to December) and add 8%: 11.75% a year for a debt that fell due in 2026. Multiply the unpaid amount by it, divide by 365 for the daily amount, and multiply by the days since payment was due. The fixed sum is £40 for a debt under £1,000, £70 up to £9,999.99 and £100 for £10,000 or more; it comes with statutory interest, not with interest your contract sets instead.
- What happens after the 14 days if the company still does not pay?
- You can start a money claim online through GOV.UK, or on paper in the County Court, paying a court fee that depends on the amount claimed. Claims up to £10,000 normally go to the small claims track. The court can take into account whether each side followed the pre-action steps, so keep proof that this letter was sent and received, and any reply.
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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