A vordering in Dutch law is a claim: the enforceable right of a creditor (schuldeiser) to demand a performance from a debtor (schuldenaar), such as payment, delivery or an act. It exists only if there is a legal basis, usually a contract, a wrongful act or a statutory rule, and it can only be enforced once it is due and, in most cases, once the debtor is formally in default under Article 6:82 of the Dutch Civil Code (BW).
What is a vordering, and what is it not?
A vordering is one side of an obligation (verbintenis) under Book 6 BW; seen from the debtor’s side, the same obligation is a debt (schuld). A defence that destroys the obligation therefore destroys the claim with it.
A claim is also an asset. Dutch law treats it as a property right: you can assign it, pledge it as security, and your own creditors can attach it. On bankruptcy or death it forms part of the estate, and if your customer becomes insolvent it may lose most of its value overnight.
A claim is not an invoice. The invoice is evidence of the claim and a request for payment; the claim exists because goods were delivered or a service was performed under a contract. Nor does a demand letter create a right: without a legal basis, there is no claim. Our related article on what a claim is looks at the same subject from the creditor’s point of view.
Which three elements must every claim have?
Every claim needs identifiable parties, a defined performance and a legal basis. In a dispute, the weakest of these three usually decides the outcome.
First, the parties. Claims are regularly brought against the wrong company in a group, or against a director personally where the contract was concluded with the company. Check who owes the obligation against the Dutch trade register (Handelsregister) of the Chamber of Commerce (KVK) before you send the first letter.
Second, the performance (prestatie) must be determined or at least determinable. A court can order payment of a specific sum, delivery of a described consignment or completion of work in a specification. A vague claim to be compensated for inconvenience cannot be enforced as it stands.
Third, the legal basis (rechtsgrond). Under Dutch law obligations arise only where the law says they do:
- Contract: the obligations follow from what was agreed and from what reasonableness and fairness (redelijkheid en billijkheid) add to it.
- Wrongful act (onrechtmatige daad): under Article 6:162 BW, a person who commits a wrongful act that can be attributed to him must compensate the resulting damage.
- Statute: for example maintenance obligations, tax debts and statutory duties towards employees.
- Unjust enrichment and undue payment (onverschuldigde betaling): money paid without a legal ground can be reclaimed.
- Voluntary intervention (zaakwaarneming): a person who reasonably looks after someone else’s interests may recover the costs incurred.
The basis determines who has to prove what, which limitation period applies, how damages are measured and often which court hears the case.
Which types of claim are there, and why does the difference matter?
Claims differ by what is demanded and by the security or priority attached to them. Both distinctions decide how much money you actually see.
By content, there are three main categories: payment of a sum of money, performance in kind (nakoming) and damages (schadevergoeding). Demanding performance keeps the contract alive. Terminating the contract (ontbinding) and claiming damages puts you financially where you would have been had the contract been performed. You may also suspend your own performance (opschorting) or set off mutual debts (verrekening), which often works faster than litigation.
By ranking, the table below sets out the categories that matter when the debtor turns out to be insolvent.
| Category | What it is | Typical example | Position on insolvency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Secured claim | A claim backed by a right of pledge or mortgage over specific assets. | A bank loan secured by a mortgage over business premises. | Strongest. The secured creditor may in principle enforce its security as if there were no bankruptcy. |
| Estate debt | A debt incurred by the estate after the bankruptcy order. | The trustee’s fees, and rent and wages for the period after the order. | Paid out of the estate before pre-bankruptcy claims. |
| Preferential claim | A claim to which the law attaches priority. | Certain tax debts owed to the Dutch Tax Administration (Belastingdienst) and claims of the UWV. | Paid before ordinary creditors, after estate debts. |
| Ordinary claim | A claim with no security and no statutory priority. | An unpaid supplier invoice or a consultancy fee. | Paid pro rata from whatever remains, which is often little or nothing. |
| Subordinated claim | A claim that the parties have agreed ranks behind the others. | A shareholder loan subordinated in favour of the bank. | Last in line. |
An ordinary claim is the weakest position in the queue, so improve it when you conclude the contract. A retention of title clause (eigendomsvoorbehoud) keeps ownership of goods with you until they are paid for; a right of pledge over receivables or stock makes you a secured creditor; and a right of retention (retentierecht) lets a contractor or repairer hold on to goods until the bill is settled. The ranking of creditors on the Dutch government business portal sets out the order in which the trustee distributes the estate.
When can you enforce a claim?
You can enforce a claim once it is due and payable and, for most remedies, once the debtor is in default. Having a claim and being able to enforce it are two different things.
A claim becomes due and payable (opeisbaar) when the agreed payment term expires; if nothing was agreed, it is in principle due immediately. Between businesses, statutory commercial interest then runs from 30 days after the debtor received the invoice, under Article 6:119a BW, without any notice.
Interest, damages for late performance and extrajudicial collection costs generally require default (verzuim). Default normally requires a written notice of default (ingebrekestelling) setting a reasonable final period for performance (Article 6:82 BW). Under Article 6:83 BW, default arises without notice where a fixed date for performance has passed, where the obligation is to pay damages for a wrongful act, or where the debtor has said it will not perform. A creditor that terminates or claims damages without a proper notice of default risks losing the entire claim.
Against consumers, collection costs may only be charged after a written reminder that gives fourteen days to pay and states the costs (Article 6:96(6) BW). Our guide to debt collection in the Netherlands explains how that letter must be drafted.
How do you prove the claim?
The party that relies on a legal consequence bears the burden of proof: the creditor proves the contract and the delivery, the debtor proves payment, limitation or another defence. Keep the agreement, the general terms (algemene voorwaarden) with evidence that they were provided at the time of contracting, the order confirmation, proof of delivery, the invoice and the correspondence.
Under Article 6:89 BW, a party that received a defective performance may no longer rely on the defect if it did not complain within a reasonable time after it discovered, or should have discovered, it. A debtor that pays nothing for months without protest and then disputes the quality of the work faces that rule.
An example to illustrate: a Dutch supplier invoices €18,000 for machine parts with a 30-day term. After the term expires, statutory commercial interest runs automatically. The supplier sends a written demand with a final period, which also interrupts limitation, and then issues a summons before the subdistrict court, because the amount is below €25,000. If the customer raises defects for the first time, it must explain why it did not complain earlier.
How long does a claim last?
Most contractual claims lapse five years after they became due, unless limitation (verjaring) is interrupted in time. No claim in Dutch law lasts indefinitely.
- A claim for performance of a contractual obligation lapses five years after the day following the day on which it became due (Article 3:307 BW).
- A claim for damages lapses five years after the day following the day on which the injured party became aware of both the damage and the person liable, and in any event twenty years after the event (Article 3:310 BW). Special rules apply, for example, to minors and personal injury.
- In a sale, claims based on a defect lapse two years after the buyer notified the seller of the defect (Article 7:23(2) BW). In a consumer sale, the seller’s claim for the price also lapses after two years (Article 7:28 BW).
- Where no special rule applies, the general period is twenty years (Article 3:306 BW).
Under Article 3:317 BW, a written demand or a written communication in which you unequivocally reserve your right to performance interrupts limitation; so do proceedings and an acknowledgement by the debtor. A new period then starts. An internal reminder or an unanswered phone call does not interrupt anything. Our article on the statute of limitations in Dutch law works through the periods in detail.
Under Article 3:324 BW, the right to enforce a court judgment lapses only twenty years after the day following the judgment, and that period can also be interrupted.
How do you get from a demand to a judgment?
A claim moves through an amicable phase and, if needed, a court phase. Most claims never leave the first.
The amicable phase (minnelijk traject) consists of a reminder, a formal demand, a notice of default and, where useful, a payment arrangement. The Debt Collection Services Quality Act (Wet kwaliteit incassodienstverlening) sets quality requirements for collection agencies, which must be registered with Justis. An agency has no more powers than the creditor: it can write and negotiate, but compel nothing.
The court phase starts with a writ of summons (dagvaarding), served on the debtor by a bailiff (gerechtsdeurwaarder). Money claims up to €25,000 go to the subdistrict court (kantonrechter), which also hears employment, tenancy, consumer credit and consumer sale cases regardless of the amount; you do not need a lawyer there. Larger claims go to the district court (rechtbank), where a lawyer is compulsory. If the debtor does not appear, the court gives judgment in default (verstek).
How do you enforce the judgment?
A judgment is an enforceable title (executoriale titel). The bailiff serves it on the debtor with a demand for payment and can then attach wages, benefits and bank accounts, seize and auction movable property, attach real estate and attach shares.
An individual debtor keeps a protected minimum income (beslagvrije voet), which the bailiff calculates, and goods needed for daily life cannot be seized. Where several creditors enforce at the same time, the proceeds are shared under the statutory rules.
Can you transfer or pledge a claim?
Yes. Because a claim is a property right, you can assign it (cessie) or pledge it as security under Article 3:94 BW.
- Disclosed assignment: the claim is transferred by a deed and the debtor is notified; from then on, the debtor can only pay the new creditor.
- Undisclosed assignment: the transfer is made by a notarial deed or a registered private deed, without notice to the debtor. Receivables financing and bank pledges over receivables are often structured this way.
A contract may restrict assignment. In Coface/Intergamma (Supreme Court, 21 March 2014, ECLI:NL:HR:2014:682) the Supreme Court (Hoge Raad) held that such a clause in principle has only contractual effect, unless its wording, read objectively, shows that the claim itself was meant to be non-transferable. Under the Act abolishing pledge restrictions (Wet opheffing verpandingsverboden), in force since 1 July 2025, clauses that exclude the transfer or pledge of money claims arising from a business or profession are in principle ineffective; for clauses agreed earlier, this applies from 1 October 2025.
The debtor keeps its defences. An assignee acquires the claim as it stands, including any right of set-off, any dispute about quality and any agreed deferral of payment.
Which law and which court apply to a cross-border claim?
Within the EU, the Rome I and Rome II Regulations decide the applicable law, and the Brussels I bis Regulation decides which court may hear the claim.
Under Rome I the parties may choose the law; without a choice, a sale of goods is governed by the law of the seller’s habitual residence and a service contract by that of the service provider. Under Rome II a wrongful act is generally governed by the law of the country where the damage occurs. Our article on applicable law in international contracts discusses both.
Under Brussels I bis you can sue a defendant in its own member state, or for a contractual claim in the place where the goods were delivered or the services provided; a jurisdiction clause normally overrides both. A Dutch judgment is enforced throughout the EU without a separate declaration of enforceability (exequatur). For undisputed claims there is the European order for payment procedure, and for smaller claims the European small claims procedure.
What should you check as a creditor?
Most claims that fail were sound when they arose and were lost afterwards. Check these points before you act.
- Is the debtor the right entity, and does it still exist according to the trade register?
- Was the debtor put in default properly under Article 6:82 BW before you terminate or claim damages?
- Were your general terms provided at or before contracting, so that they cannot be annulled under Article 6:233(b) BW?
- When does the five-year limitation period end, and have you interrupted it in writing?
- For a consumer debtor: did you send the fourteen-day letter before charging collection costs?
What should you check as a debtor?
Debtors mainly damage their position by staying silent. Check these points as soon as an invoice or demand arrives.
- Is there a legal basis for the claim, and is it directed at the right party?
- Did you complain about defects in writing within a reasonable time (Article 6:89 BW)?
- Has the claim become time-barred under Article 3:307 or 3:310 BW?
- Do you have a counterclaim that you can set off?
- When does the period for responding to the summons end, so that no judgment in default is given?
What can we do for you with a claim under Dutch law?
Our corporate lawyers act for creditors and debtors:
- We check whether a claim exists, against whom, and whether it is time-barred.
- We draft the notice of default, the fourteen-day letter or the written interruption of limitation.
- We review your general terms and draft retention of title and pledge clauses.
- We draft the summons and conduct proceedings before the subdistrict court or district court.
- We instruct the bailiff and coordinate enforcement of the judgment, also within the EU.
- We draft a substantiated written dispute of a claim made against you.
Summary
- A vordering is an enforceable right to a performance. It needs identifiable parties, a defined performance and a legal basis such as a contract, a wrongful act or a statutory rule.
- A claim can be enforced once it is due and, for most remedies, once the debtor is in default; a proper notice of default is often decisive.
- Contractual claims usually lapse after five years. A written demand or unequivocal reservation of rights interrupts limitation; a judgment can be enforced for twenty years.
- A claim is an asset that can be assigned or pledged. Since 1 July 2025, most clauses restricting the transfer or pledge of business money claims are ineffective.
- An ordinary creditor is weak in an insolvency; improve your position when you conclude the contract.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a vordering last?
A claim for performance of a contract, such as payment of an invoice, lapses five years after the day following the day it became due (Article 3:307 BW). A claim for damages lapses five years after you became aware of the damage and the person liable, and in any event after twenty years. A written demand or unequivocal reservation of rights interrupts limitation and starts a new period.
Can I sell my vordering?
Yes. Transferring a claim is called assignment (cessie). It can be disclosed, with notice to the debtor, or undisclosed, by a notarial or registered private deed. In both cases the debtor keeps its defences against the claim.
Is an invoice the same as a claim?
No. The claim is the legal right to be paid; the invoice is the document that records it and requests payment. A claim for damages caused by a wrongful act, for example, exists without any invoice.
