How to recover an unpaid B2B invoice in Portugal

Recovering an unpaid B2B invoice in Portugal usually starts with a formal demand, moves to the injunção procedure for straightforward claims, and only reaches ordinary court proceedings once the debtor disputes the debt. Which route fits depends on whether the amount is contested and how quickly the debtor's assets are moving.

When does this route apply, and when doesn't it?

This sequence fits a commercial creditor with a Portuguese debtor, a written or clearly evidenced contract, and an invoice that is overdue rather than disputed on its merits. It works best when the debtor is a going concern that can pay but has not, not one that has already stopped trading.

It does not fit every file. If the debtor disputes the quality of goods delivered, the scope of services performed, or the price itself, the claim is contested from the start and the injunção route will not stay simple. If the debtor is already in financial difficulty, the creditor's real competitor is not the debtor's willingness to pay but every other creditor filing the same claim at the same time – what happens if a Portuguese debtor becomes insolvent changes the calculation before a single letter goes out.

A creditor holding a foreign judgment against the same debtor, rather than an unenforced invoice, is in a different position entirely and should not restart the claim from scratch in Portugal.

What is the sequence to recover the invoice?

The stages below assume the debt is genuinely overdue and the amount is not seriously in dispute. Each stage gives the debtor a chance to respond, and each response changes what happens next.

• Formal demand. The creditor sends a formal demand letter setting out the invoice, the amount, and a deadline to pay. This step costs little and often resolves debts caused by a genuine oversight rather than a refusal to pay. Keep proof of delivery and proof that the debtor received the demand.
• Injunção procedure. If the demand is ignored, the creditor files for the Portuguese injunção (injunction) procedure. This is a simplified, largely written process aimed at debts that are not seriously contested. The debtor is notified and given an opportunity to oppose.
• Opposition or silence. If the debtor does not oppose within the period allowed, the claim moves toward an enforceable order without a full trial. If the debtor opposes, the case converts into ordinary declarative proceedings, and the creditor is now in a full civil claim with pleadings, evidence, and a hearing.
• Enforcement. Once there is an order or judgment the debtor still does not pay voluntarily, the creditor moves to enforcement against identified assets. This stage only works if the debtor actually has assets in Portugal to reach.

What drives the cost and the time?

Three things move this file more than anything else: whether the debtor opposes, how much has to be translated and certified for use in a Portuguese court, and where the debtor's assets actually sit. An uncontested injunção that runs its course without opposition is a different exercise, in effort and duration, from a claim converted into ordinary proceedings after opposition.

Before any enforcement step, the creditor needs an enforceable title – an order or judgment the court will act on, not simply a signed invoice or a contract. Document quality earlier in the file (clear delivery evidence, a properly served demand) shapes how quickly that title is obtained.

A separate cost driver applies to a creditor who already holds a judgment from another jurisdiction against this same debtor. That creditor is not filing a fresh Portuguese claim at all – the relevant question becomes enforcement of a foreign judgment already in hand, which follows a shorter path than building the claim from the invoice up.

Where is the decision point to continue or stop?

The decision point sits right after the demand goes unanswered, before the injunção is filed. At that moment the creditor knows whether the debtor has responded at all, whether there are early signs of insolvency, and roughly what assets the debtor holds. Filing without checking any of this treats the injunção as free, and it is not.

This is usually the point at which a creditor stops managing the file alone and brings in cross-border debt recovery services to prepare the filing correctly, track the debtor's response, and move straight to enforcement if the opposition period passes without action. Handling this stage without local legal support and without a clear read on the debtor's solvency tends to cost more in refiled documents and missed deadlines than it saves.

When to stop

Continuing past this point stops making sense in three situations. First, the debtor has no identifiable assets in Portugal and none are expected – an enforceable title against an empty debtor recovers nothing. Second, the amount owed is small enough that the cost of a contested claim, once opposition is filed, exceeds any realistic recovery. Third, the debt is approaching the point where a limitation period may apply and the creditor has not yet checked the actual timing – a limitation period applies in Portugal to commercial claims, and the sensible step before deciding anything else is to run the numbers through a limitation period calculator rather than assume there is still time.

None of these conditions are permanent. A debtor with no assets today may have assets after a corporate transaction closes. The right response is to stop spending on this file now and revisit it on a fixed schedule, not to abandon the claim outright.

Common questions

How long does it take to recover an unpaid B2B invoice in Portugal?

It depends entirely on whether the debtor opposes. An uncontested injunção that runs without opposition moves considerably faster than a claim converted into ordinary proceedings after the debtor files a defence. The formal demand stage before filing adds further time but is worth doing.

Do I need a Portuguese lawyer to start the injunção procedure?

The filing itself can in principle be prepared without one, but the procedure is formal and errors in service or documentation cause delay or rejection. Admitted lawyers and licensed providers in Portugal handle the filing and the debtor's response as a matter of course, which is why most creditors use one from the outset.

What happens if the Portuguese debtor ignores the injunção?

If the debtor does not oppose within the period allowed, the claim moves toward an enforceable title without a full trial, and the creditor can proceed to enforcement against identified assets. Silence from the debtor is not a defence and does not stop the process.

An invoice sitting unpaid in Portugal does not become easier to collect by waiting, and the debtor's assets do not sit still while the creditor decides. The balance of this file tips further with every month the demand stage is delayed, and the limitation clock does not pause for that decision.