European Payment Order: One Form, 27 Countries (Almost)

European Payment Order: One Form, 27 Countries (Almost)

The European Payment Order is marketed as the one-form, Europe-wide procedure. Technically it covers 27 EU Member States on the map. Operationally it covers 26. One country opted out and never came back, and her name is Denmark. Everything else about the instrument works exactly as advertised: a single standardised application, a 30-day opposition window, and a title that circulates across the participating area without exequatur. One regulation. Seven forms. Twenty-six countries who said yes and one country who politely declined.

You already suspect that chasing an unpaid invoice across an EU border is a different animal from chasing one down the street. You are right. The promise of this article is simple: by the end you will know exactly what the European Payment Order does, which countries it works in, what it costs, what happens when the debtor pushes back, and when the procedure is the wrong tool for the job. We will cover the legal scope, the seven forms, the opposition mechanics, the e-CODEX rollout, and the part nobody else on the internet seems willing to state plainly.

What is a European Payment Order and how does it work?

The European Payment Order does exactly what it says: turns an uncontested cross-border invoice into an enforceable title through a single standardised form. The bureaucrats of Brussels, for once, delivered. The legal basis is Regulation (EC) No 1896/2006 of 12 December 2006, which entered into force on 12 December 2008. It applies to civil and commercial matters with a cross-border element, meaning at least one party must be domiciled or habitually resident in a Member State other than the Member State of the court seised (Article 3). The claim must be pecuniary, liquidated, and due at the time the application is lodged. There is no monetary ceiling.

The claimant files Form A with the competent court of a participating Member State. The court examines the application, and if it is complete and the claim is not manifestly unfounded, it issues the European Order for Payment (Form E) as soon as possible, normally within 30 days. The defendant is then served and has 30 days to lodge a statement of opposition (Form F). If no opposition arrives, the court declares the order enforceable using Form G. That declaration of enforceability then circulates across all 26 participating states as if it were a domestic judgment. No exequatur. No separate recognition procedure. No second bite at the apple.

Which EU countries accept the European Payment Order?

This is where every other guide on the internet gets lazy. The honest answer is 26, not 27. Recital 32 and Article 2(3) of the Regulation state plainly: "In this Regulation, the term 'Member State' shall mean Member States with the exception of Denmark." Denmark opted out in 2006 and has not reconsidered. That is not a snub; it is Denmark being Denmark. Ireland, which also has an opt-in regime under Protocol 21, did notify and is in.

So the participating map looks like this: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden. That is 26 participating Member States. For Denmark, you fall back on the domestic Danish procedure or on the Brussels Ia Regulation for recognition of a judgment obtained elsewhere.

How much does it cost to file a European Payment Order?

Court fees are not harmonised. Each Member State sets its own tariff, which is both a feature and a bug. In Germany the fee is set by KV 1100 GKG and, since 1 June 2025 under the KostRÄG 2025 reform, the minimum court fee is EUR 38. In other Member States the fee structure is percentage based, capped, or flat, depending on local civil procedure law. The European e-Justice portal publishes a country-by-country breakdown for every participating state.

Beyond the court fee you should plan for translation of supporting documents, service of process in the debtor's Member State, and counsel's time preparing Form A. Form A is standardised but it is not trivial: you must identify the parties, the claim, the interest component, the contractual basis, and the evidence. A badly completed Form A results in Form B, an invitation to complete, which costs you two to four weeks.

What happens if the debtor opposes a European Payment Order?

The debtor has 30 days from service of the order to file a statement of opposition on Form F. That window is set by Article 16(2) and is worth noticing for one specific reason: the German domestic Mahnverfahren gives the debtor only two weeks to object. The European procedure is deliberately more generous because the defendant may be in a different jurisdiction, working in a different language, and needs realistic time to get legal advice. Exporters who are used to the domestic two-week clock sometimes misread this and panic on day 20. Do not panic on day 20. The clock runs to 30.

If opposition is filed, the proceedings transfer to ordinary civil proceedings under the law of the Member State of origin, unless the claimant has expressly requested termination in the event of opposition. This is Article 17. In plain English: an opposed European Payment Order becomes a normal lawsuit in the court where you filed. You do not lose the matter; you simply lose the fast track.

The "27 minus Denmark" Section: Why the Number Matters

The reason we hammer on 26 versus 27 is not pedantry. It is cash flow. If you are an exporter selling into Copenhagen or Aarhus and your debtor stops paying, you cannot file a European Payment Order against a Danish debtor in a Danish court. Recital 32 closes that door. You can, however, obtain a European Payment Order in another participating Member State if you have a jurisdictional hook there, and then attempt to enforce it in Denmark under the older Brussels Ia recognition mechanism, which does involve additional steps. This is one of those procedural facts that nobody mentions until the moment it costs you six weeks.

The second asymmetry is e-CODEX. Regulation (EU) 2022/850 puts e-CODEX on a permanent legal footing, and the European Payment Order has been an e-CODEX pilot since roughly 2013. The live pilot Member States include Austria, Germany, Estonia, France, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and the Czech Republic. Eleven countries where you can file digitally today. In the remaining 15 you are still looking at paper, post, and patience.

The Seven Forms and What Each One Does

Seven forms is the entire procedural vocabulary. If a lawyer or agent cannot tell you which form they are on in your file, that is a sign.

How InterStation Handles a European Payment Order

1. We confirm the claim qualifies: cross-border element under Article 3, civil or commercial subject matter, liquidated and due, debtor not in Denmark.
2. We prepare Form A in the language of the court of origin, attach the underlying invoice and contract evidence, and calculate interest to the filing date.
3. We file directly with the competent court, via e-CODEX where the Member State is in the pilot, or by paper in the remaining jurisdictions.
4. We monitor service, the 30-day opposition window, and any Form B or Form C requests from the court, and respond inside the deadline.
5. Once Form G issues, we proceed to enforcement in the debtor's Member State without a separate exequatur, coordinating with local enforcement agents for asset location and attachment.

Related Resources

• Cross-Border Debt Collection in the European Union
• European Small Claims Procedure: When to Use It
• Enforcement Without Exequatur: How Brussels Ia Works

Get a Free Review

If you are sitting on a cross-border invoice and you want a straight answer on whether the European Payment Order is the right tool for your file, talk to us.

Contact Us, Free Review