Under Dutch law, most claims become time-barred (verjaard) after five or twenty years. A claim for payment under a contract, for periodic payments or for damages usually expires five years after it became due or after you knew enough to act. The main exception: a claim established in a court judgment can be enforced for twenty years. Prescription (verjaring) is not automatic. The debtor must invoke it, and you can stop the clock in time with a written reminder or by starting proceedings.
Below we explain what limitation means, when the period starts, how long it lasts and how you can interrupt or extend it. The rules are in Book 3, Title 11 of the Dutch Civil Code (Burgerlijk Wetboek, BW), articles 3:306 to 3:325 BW.
What does it mean when a claim is time-barred?
A time-barred claim still exists, but you can no longer enforce it through the court. Once the limitation period has expired and the debtor invokes it, the claim turns into a natural obligation (natuurlijke verbintenis), as article 6:3 BW provides.
A natural obligation cannot be enforced, but it can still be settled. That is possible in two ways:
- By voluntary payment. If the debtor pays a time-barred debt, even by mistake, he cannot simply reclaim the money: he has paid a debt that still existed.
- By set-off (verrekening). Under article 6:131 BW, the right to set off a claim does not end because the claim becomes time-barred, provided the right to set off already existed before the limitation period expired. A counterclaim that only arose after that date cannot be used.
The court will not apply limitation of its own accord (article 3:322 paragraph 1 BW). The debtor has to raise the defence himself. If he does not, the court can still award the claim, even if the period expired long ago.
The debtor can also waive limitation that has already been completed (article 3:322 paragraphs 2 and 3 BW). Waiver in advance, before the period has expired, is not possible. Whether a payment arrangement or a request for postponement after expiry amounts to a waiver depends on the circumstances. Do not assume that such a step automatically revives an expired claim.
When does the limitation period start?
As a rule, the period starts on the day after the claim becomes due and payable (opeisbaar). That is the moment you, as creditor, can demand performance. For some claims the start depends on what you know, as we explain below.
An illustrative example: a loan agreement provides that a loan of €10,000 will be repaid in four monthly instalments of €2,500. The first €2,500 becomes due after one month. As long as the instalments and interest are paid on time, the rest of the principal is not yet due, so no limitation period runs for it. Each instalment becomes due on its own payment date, and from that date a separate limitation period runs for that instalment.
Under article 3:307 paragraph 2 BW, a different rule applies to an obligation without a fixed due date, such as a loan repayable on demand. The five-year period then only starts on the day after the date for which you have announced that you will claim repayment. In any event, the claim is time-barred twenty years after the day on which you could first have claimed it, after notice of termination if needed.
How long is the limitation period?
The general period is twenty years; many common claims have a shorter period of five years. Consumer purchases have their own, shorter rules.
Which claims have a twenty-year limitation period?
Under article 3:306 BW, the general limitation period is twenty years, unless the law provides otherwise. In practice, the shorter periods below cover most commercial and private claims. The twenty-year period also applies to enforcing a court judgment or arbitral award (article 3:324 BW), even if the underlying claim had a shorter limitation period.
Which claims have a five-year limitation period?
The following claims become time-barred after five years, unless they have been established in a judgment:
- A claim for performance of a contractual obligation to give or do something, such as repayment of a loan or payment of an invoice (article 3:307 BW). The period runs from the day after the claim became due.
- A claim for periodic payments, such as interest, rent, dividends and everything else that is payable annually or more often (article 3:308 BW). Think of wages or maintenance payments (alimentatie). A separate limitation period runs for each payment.
- A claim for repayment of an undue payment (onverschuldigde betaling), for example if you transferred money to a stranger by mistake (article 3:309 BW). The period runs from the day after you became aware of both your claim and the identity of the recipient, with a long-stop of twenty years after the claim arose.
- A claim for damages or for payment of an agreed penalty (article 3:310 paragraph 1 BW). The period runs from the day after the injured party became aware of both the damage (or the penalty being due) and the person liable. In any event, the claim is time-barred twenty years after the event that caused the damage.
What are the rules for a consumer purchase?
A consumer purchase (consumentenkoop) is the sale of a movable item by a professional seller to a consumer, meaning a buyer who does not act in the course of a profession or business. Services such as a course or garden maintenance do not count, unless an item is also supplied.
Under article 7:23 BW, a buyer whose purchased item does not meet the contract must notify the seller within a reasonable time after discovering the defect. For a consumer purchase, notification within two months of discovery is always on time. The buyer’s claims and defences based on the defect then become time-barred two years after that notification.
There is also a short period the other way round. Under article 7:28 BW, the seller’s claim for payment of the purchase price in a consumer purchase becomes time-barred after two years.
Note: this two-year period may also apply to a loan taken out by a consumer to finance that purchase, such as a credit agreement to buy a car for private use. In 2012 the Supreme Court (Hoge Raad) ruled that the protection of the consumer buyer can extend to the repayment claim under the credit agreement, if the purchase and the credit are sufficiently connected (HR 10 August 2012, LJN BW4992). An important factor is whether the seller was involved in the financing.
Does the period run out by itself?
No. A claim does not disappear automatically when the period ends. The claim continues to exist and can be collected until the debtor explicitly invokes limitation.
Before the period ends, the debtor can also interrupt it himself by acknowledging the claim. Under article 3:318 BW, acknowledgement (erkenning) of the right interrupts the limitation period against the person who acknowledges it. Paying part of the debt, asking for postponement or agreeing on a payment schedule can count as acknowledgement.
If the debtor validly invokes limitation, the claim can no longer lead to a court order. If you already have a judgment, you can no longer have it enforced by a bailiff (gerechtsdeurwaarder) once the twenty-year enforcement period has expired.
How do you interrupt the limitation period?
You interrupt the period by sending the debtor a written reminder, or a written notice in which you unequivocally reserve your right to performance, before the period ends. Starting legal proceedings also interrupts it.
For a claim for performance of an obligation, article 3:317 paragraph 1 BW allows a written reminder (aanmaning) or a written notice (schriftelijke mededeling) in which you unequivocally reserve your right to performance. A clear payment reminder by registered post, or a summons, will usually do. The requirements are strict: the notice must be in writing, and it must be clear to the debtor that you are keeping your right to payment.
For other claims, such as a claim for damages, a written reminder alone is not enough. Under article 3:317 paragraph 2 BW, the reminder only interrupts the period if it is followed within six months by legal action or another act of legal enforcement, as described in article 3:316 BW. Bringing a claim before the court also interrupts the period, but only if the claim is eventually awarded; if it is not, you have six months after the end of the proceedings to bring a new claim (article 3:316 paragraph 2 BW).
If the debtor’s address is unknown, delivering a valid notice is harder. Ask a lawyer or bailiff how to reach the debtor in that case. Because the rules are technical, it is wise to have a lawyer specialised in contract law review your notice before you send it.
As creditor, you must be able to prove that you interrupted the period if the debtor invokes limitation. Keep a copy of every reminder and proof that it was sent and received. Without that proof, you risk the claim being time-barred.
How long is the new period after interruption?
After an interruption, a new limitation period starts on the following day. Under article 3:319 paragraph 2 BW, the new period is equal to the original period, but never longer than five years. Limitation will never occur earlier than it would have without the interruption.
This means that if you interrupt a twenty-year period, for example the period for enforcing a judgment, the new period is only five years. Interrupting again within those five years keeps the claim alive.
Can the limitation period be extended?
Yes. Under article 3:320 BW, if a period would end while a ground for extension exists, or within six months after it ends, the period continues until six months after that ground has ended.
Article 3:321 BW lists the grounds for extension. They include claims between spouses or registered partners who are not separated, between a company and its directors, and against a debtor who deliberately conceals the existence of the debt or the fact that it is due.
The debtor’s bankruptcy also extends the period. The Bankruptcy Act (Faillissementswet) provides that if a limitation period would end during the bankruptcy, or within six months after it ends, the period continues until six months after the end of the bankruptcy. The reason is that creditors cannot take individual enforcement action against the debtor during the bankruptcy. Pay close attention to letters from the trustee (curator): a creditor who has filed a claim in the bankruptcy will be informed when the bankruptcy ends.
What applies to a claim established in a court judgment?
Under article 3:324 paragraph 1 BW, the right to enforce a judgment or arbitral award becomes time-barred twenty years after the day following the judgment. This applies regardless of the limitation period of the original claim.
For amounts that, under the judgment, are payable annually or more often, the period is five years (article 3:324 paragraph 3 BW). Article 3:324 paragraph 4 BW adds that interest, penalties, penalty payments and other ancillary orders become time-barred no later than the main order, unless the period was interrupted or extended.
An illustrative example: someone is ordered to pay €1,000 plus statutory interest. You can enforce the order to pay the principal sum for twenty years. Accrued interest, however, is usually treated as a periodic payment subject to the five-year period. If you only enforce the judgment after ten years and have not interrupted the period, the interest for the first five years may then be time-barred.
Note: as explained above, if you interrupt the twenty-year enforcement period just before it ends, a new period of only five years starts to run. Keep track of these dates if you hold an old judgment.
In summary
- Most contractual claims, periodic payments and damages claims become time-barred after five years; the general period is twenty years (articles 3:306 to 3:310 BW).
- A judgment can be enforced for twenty years; amounts payable annually or more often under the judgment for five years (article 3:324 BW).
- Limitation is not automatic: the debtor must invoke it, and a time-barred debt can still be paid voluntarily or set off in certain cases.
- You interrupt the period with a written reminder or a clear written reservation of your rights, or by starting proceedings; after interruption a new period of at most five years starts.
- Bankruptcy and certain relationships, such as between spouses, extend the period until six months after the ground has ended.
Frequently asked questions
Does a time-barred debt disappear?
No. It becomes a natural obligation. You can no longer enforce it through the court if the debtor invokes limitation, but the debtor can still pay it voluntarily.
Is an email enough to interrupt the limitation period?
The law requires a written reminder or notice. Whether an email meets that requirement depends on the circumstances, so a registered letter, or a letter and email together, is the safer option. You must also be able to prove that the debtor received it.
Can a debtor still invoke limitation after making a payment arrangement?
If the arrangement was made before the period expired, it counts as acknowledgement and a new period starts. If it was made after expiry, it does not automatically revive the claim; whether it amounts to a waiver of limitation depends on the circumstances.
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