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
Своими силами досудебный коллекшн нельзя: §10 RDG, реестр BfJ. Erfolgshonorar по §4a RVG почти закрыт
What we do here
Debtor in Germany?
The Debt Check is free and tells you whether the claim is worth pursuing.
Start a Debt Check