Formal demand for payment of a business invoice (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 requiring a business client in France to pay one or more overdue invoices after a reminder had no effect: invoices concerned, principal amount, time to pay, reminder of the late-payment penalties running since the due date and of the flat €40 indemnity per invoice (articles L. 441-10 and D. 441-5 of the French Commercial Code), notice of recovery proceedings. Sent by registered post with proof of receipt, or by qualified electronic registered letter to the business client. In French.
- Made for use in France
- Last updated October 13, 2026
When to use this document
- A business client in France has not paid your invoices despite a reminder.
- Your company’s invoice is long overdue and the client no longer answers.
- You want to remind a business client of the late-payment penalties and the flat recovery fee.
- You want to send a formal demand for payment of a business invoice before starting recovery proceedings.
What you fill in
The details the document asks for.
- Creditor
- Creditor's address
- Creditor's SIREN
- Debtor
- Debtor's postal address (street and number, postcode and town)
- City
- Date
- Unpaid invoices (number, date, amount including VAT and due date of each)
- Principal amount
- Overdue since
- Total due
- Time given to pay, in days
- Late-payment penalty rate (failing an agreed rate, the ECB rate plus 10 points)
Preview
This document is produced for you. Your answers are typed into it and the finished PDF is yours to keep.
Common questions
- What is a formal demand for if the penalties already run without a reminder?
- Between businesses, penalties and the €40 indemnity are due from the day after the due date, without a reminder. The formal demand sets a last time limit, proves the debtor was called upon to pay (article 1344 of the French Civil Code) and shows, if you must take further steps, that you asked for payment before turning to a judge or a commissaire de justice. Send it by registered post with proof of receipt, or by qualified electronic registered letter.
- What can be done if the client still does not pay after the demand?
- For a claim of no more than €5,000, a commissaire de justice can run the simplified procedure for small claims, if the debtor agrees (article L. 125-1 of the French Code of Civil Enforcement Procedures). Whatever the amount, you can also apply to the court for an order for payment (injonction de payer, articles 1405 ff. of the French Code of Civil Procedure): the judge first decides without a hearing, and no prior attempt at an amicable settlement is required (Cour de cassation, opinion of 25 September 2025). DocMuse files no application for you.
- Which penalty rate should the formal demand state?
- The one in your terms of sale, the contract or the invoice, which cannot be below three times the legal interest rate. If none is set, it is the rate the European Central Bank applies to its most recent refinancing operation, plus ten points (article L. 441-10 of the French Commercial Code). Penalties are calculated on the amount due including VAT, for each day of delay from the day after the due date.
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
- Business-to-business service agreement (France)
A service agreement between two businesses in France, for an assignment of fixed or open-ended length: services, best-efforts or result obligation, price before VAT and invoicing rhythm, payment term within the sixty-day limit, late-payment penalties and the €40 indemnity of article L. 441-10 of the French Commercial Code, confidentiality, right to use the deliverables without assignment of copyright, termination on notice or for breach, French law. Signed in two originals. In French.
- Invoice for a micro-entrepreneur, sole trader or company (France)
An invoice template compliant with French law as at 13 October 2026: number, date, issuer (with “EI” for a sole trader) and their SIREN, client and, for a business client, its SIREN, delivery address if different, nature of the transaction, details, totals before and including VAT, franchise or reverse-charge mention, due date, early-payment discount, penalties and the €40 indemnity for a business client. Large companies already issue through an approved platform; for SMEs and micro-enterprises, e-invoicing between French businesses becomes compulsory on 1 September 2027. In French.
- Standard articles of a single-member limited company (EURL) (France)
If the sole member is also the manager, they can use the official model articles of the EURL free of charge, set by décret n° 2008-1419 of 19 December 2008. This template is for one member, a natural person, manager or not, contributing cash. The company is then set up on the one-stop business formalities portal (formalites.entreprises.gouv.fr), with the legal notice and the beneficial-owners declaration. The articles cover the purpose, name, registered office, duration, capital, shares, manager, the sole member's decisions and accounts. They do not cover contributions in kind, several members, approval clauses or the tax option. In French.
- Minutes closing a voluntary liquidation (France)
For closing the voluntary winding-up of a French SAS, SASU, SARL or EURL once the assets are realised and the debts paid: approval of the final liquidation accounts, discharge of the liquidator and of their mandate, sharing of the balance among the members, custody of the records, finding that the liquidation is closed. The decision is taken by the sole member, the meeting or a deed signed by all. The liquidator then files the accounts and applies for deregistration online on the one-stop business formalities portal, after the legal notice. In French.
- Standard articles of a single-member simplified joint-stock company (SASU) (France)
Standard articles of association of a French SASU for one shareholder, a natural person, contributing cash. The company is then set up on the one-stop business formalities portal (formalites.entreprises.gouv.fr), with the legal notice and the beneficial-owners declaration. The articles cover the purpose, name, registered office, duration, capital and its paying-up, shares, president, the sole shareholder's decisions, accounts and dissolution. They do not cover contributions in kind, several shareholders, approval or lock-up clauses, or the tax option. In French.
- Freelance service agreement with an independent worker (France)
For giving an assignment to a registered independent in France (micro-entrepreneur, sole trader or one-person company) without the relationship looking like salaried employment: assignment and deliverables, freedom over organisation, hours, place and other clients, no relationship of subordination, price and invoicing, payment term and late-payment penalties, registration documents and the URSSAF vigilance certificate, right to use the deliverables, termination. Signed in two originals. In French.