Instalment payment agreement between individuals (Germany)
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This document is in German
The PDF you download is in German — 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.
An agreement under German law in which a private creditor lets a debtor pay off an outstanding sum in monthly instalments — a private loan, a deposit or damage, for instance. It confirms the debt and sets the number, amount and due dates of the instalments, no interest while payments are on time, the whole balance falling due after two missed instalments, and default interest under § 288 of the German Civil Code (BGB). For private creditors only: where a business grants a consumer instalments, consumer-credit law may apply (§ 506 BGB). In German, to be signed by both.
What you fill in
The details the document asks for.
- Creditor
- Creditor's address
- Debtor
- Debtor's date of birth
- Debtor's address
- Amount due
- Basis of the obligation
- As of date
- Number of instalments
- Amount of each monthly instalment
- Due date of the first instalment
- IBAN
- City
- Date
Preview
This document is produced for you. Your answers are typed into it and the finished PDF is yours to keep.
Common questions
- Why is this German instalment agreement for private creditors only?
- Because stricter rules can apply to businesses: where a business grants a consumer a deferral of payment for a charge, that is consumer credit — with written form, mandatory information and a right of withdrawal (§ 506 BGB). From 20 November 2026 § 506 also covers free deferrals; whether a free deferral of an existing debt is exempt is not yet settled. A shop, a trade business or a debt-collection agency should therefore not use this template.
- What happens in Germany if the debtor misses instalments?
- Each instalment falls due on a set calendar day, so a debtor who does not pay is in default without any reminder (§ 286(2) no. 1 BGB) and owes default interest at five percentage points above the base rate (§ 288(1) BGB). Once two consecutive instalments are in arrears, the agreement makes the whole balance due at once. The creditor can then apply for a court payment order (Mahnbescheid); a final demand beforehand gives the debtor one last chance.
- Does a German instalment agreement need a form, and how does it affect limitation?
- Between private individuals it needs no form; in writing and signed by both, though, it is easy to prove. In it the debtor confirms the debt. That acknowledgement starts the limitation period again, and so does each instalment paid (§ 212(1) no. 1 BGB) — a good reason for the creditor to put the agreement in writing. A merely confirmatory acknowledgement like this one is not caught by the strict form of § 781 BGB.
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.
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