Last verified: 2026-08-29 · Source: primary legislation and official status tables

Recovering a debt from a debtor in Germany

What applies, what it realistically takes, and where the limits are.

Confirmed parameters

Only values checked against a primary source appear here. Where a parameter has not been confirmed, it is left out rather than estimated.

Parameter: Limitation period for commercial monetary claims
Value: 3 years
Source: BGB Sec. 195; commencement Sec. 199(1) — end of the year in which the claim arose and the creditor knew or should have known; absolute limit 10 years
Last verified: 2026-08-29

Parameter: Registration as Inkassodienstleister is required for commercial third-party debt collection
Value: required
Source: RDG Sec. 10(1); register maintained federally by the Bundesamt für Justiz from 1 January 2025
Last verified: 2026-08-29

Parameter: Contingency fee permitted for claims not exceeding a stated amount, and for out-of-court collection and the order-for-payment procedure
Value: EUR 2,000
Source: RVG Sec. 4a(1) sentence 1 no. 1, in force from 1 October 2021
Last verified: 2026-08-29

Parameter: Professional indemnity insurance required to register as an Inkassodienstleister
Value: minimum EUR 250,000 per claim
Source: RDG Sec. 12(1) no. 3; RDV Sec. 5; consolidated by Act of 10 March 2023, in force 1 January 2025
Last verified: 2026-08-30

Parameter: Minimum debt for a creditor to file an insolvency petition
Value: none; the creditor must show a legal interest and substantiate the claim and the ground
Source: InsO Sec. 14(1)
Last verified: 2026-08-30

Enforcement route

The applicable route for this jurisdiction is recorded as EU. The New York Convention applies to arbitral awards.

Practical constraints

In-house pre-court collection is not permitted: §10 RDG, the BfJ register. Erfolgshonorar under §4a RVG is almost entirely closed

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