At present, late payments are one of the main causes of failure of VSEs and SMEs. Indeed, the Banque de France states that late payments increase the probability of a company failing by 25%. This probability is 40% when the delay exceeds one month.

Faced with this observation, the law of 23 april 2026 set up a procedure, applicable from now on, allowing faster recovery trade receivables not contested by the debtor.

What are the objectives of this new procedure?

Until now, the recovery of professional debts was based only on a solution amicable or on judicial recovery (order for payment, interim provision, payment assignment).

In order to complement these options and to safeguard the companies' cash flow, the simplified procedure for the recovery of uncontested commercial claims speeds up the recovery of claims and does not require the intervention of the court.

It has several objectives:

• securing economic exchanges between traders;
• act quickly in the face of late payments;
• complete the simplified recovery procedure (limited to debts of less than €5,000);
• allow the recovery of undisputed commercial claims between traders, without an amount threshold.

What is the procedure for the recovery of uncontested commercial claims?

This new procedure concerns the recovery of a debt which has been invoiced between traders.

This claim must be ‘certain, liquid and due ».

The procedure is implementation by the commissioner of justice at the request of the creditor.

It follows the following steps:

1. The Commissioner of Justice shall transmit to the debtor a command to pay the claim. This shall include:
   
   • a description of the obligation from which the claim arises;
   • a description of the amounts claimed;
   • command to pay within one month of the dispatch of the command and the how the payment can be made.
   
   The recovery procedure ends if the debtor challenges the claim before the court.
2. If the amount due is not paid or disputed, the Commissioner for Justice shall draw up a minutes of non-challenge (at least 8 days after the end of the one-month period). This document is enforceable by the registrar of the commercial court. Thus, the the claim may be recovered directly by the commissioner of justice.
3. At the initiative of the creditor, the enforceable minutes shall be sent to the debtor within 6 months. The debtor may appeal to the court.