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Final demand before debt enforcement, in German (Switzerland)
Switzerland · in German · for creditors
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This document is in German
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Made for use in Switzerland
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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.
- Made for use in Switzerland
- Last updated November 4, 2026
Published byDocMuse
When to use this document
- Someone in Switzerland owes you money and ignores your invoices.
- A customer has not paid despite reminders and you want one last demand before enforcement.
- You lent money to a friend and nothing has been paid back.
- You want to set a clear payment deadline before starting debt enforcement 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
- Must I send a final demand before debt enforcement in Switzerland?
- No: in Switzerland an enforcement can be started without a prior reminder. The reminder still matters: 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 that you reminded them. A period of ten to thirty days is usual.
- How do I then file the request for debt enforcement 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): free of charge on the Federal Office of Justice's request form, whose use is optional (bj.admin.ch, model forms; also at the offices), or online through EasyGov.swiss, where private persons can file too and the competent office is suggested. 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 happens if the Swiss debtor files an objection to the payment order?
- Then the enforcement stops until the objection (Rechtsvorschlag) is removed: with an enforceable judgment by definitive, with a signed acknowledgement of debt by provisional removal from the court (Rechtsöffnung, Art. 80 and 82 DEBA), otherwise by a lawsuit, usually starting with the conciliation authority (Art. 79 DEBA). Continuation must be requested within a year of service; the period pauses while such proceedings run (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.
- May I charge dunning fees or collection costs 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 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).
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.
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Related documents
- Objection to a payment order (Rechtsvorschlag), in German (Switzerland)
For debtors in Switzerland served with a payment order (Zahlungsbefehl), in German: you can object free of charge at once to the person delivering 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 by registered post, handed to the post office by the tenth day.
- 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.
- 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.
- Request that a debt enforcement not be disclosed, in French (Switzerland)
For debtors in Switzerland who objected (opposition) to the whole claim, in French: asks the debt collection office (office des poursuites) under Art. 8a para. 3 let. d DEBA to stop disclosing the enforcement to third parties, at the earliest three months after the payment order was served. The office gives the creditor 20 days to prove proceedings to set the objection aside. The flat fee of CHF 40.00 is owed even if the request fails (Art. 12b of the fees ordinance). The Federal Office of Justice's model form is free. Sent by registered post to the office that issued the payment order, in its official language.