Demand Letter Pack

Spain · Unpaid invoice

A formal demand for payment (requerimiento de pago) for an unpaid invoice in Spain

A Spanish requerimiento de pago names the invoices, the amount and a final date to pay. Under the law on the efficiency of the justice service, it must also invite the debtor to negotiate. Without that attempt, a civil claim is, as a rule, not admitted. You answer the questions and get the letter in Spanish or English, with the dates worked out.

Start your letterFrom €49, paid once. No account needed.

The questions, and the documents that come with the letters (checklist, timeline, next steps and memo), are in English. The letters can be written in Spanish or English.

Other languages: Español

The rules your letter follows

Taken from the official sources listed below. Interest rates change from time to time; these are the current ones.

Time to pay in the letter
10 days
You can choose up to 30 days. This is the time to pay, not the date from which you may go to court.
Late-payment interest, between businesses
10.4%
Until 31 December 2026. Runs from the day after the payment date, without a demand. A rate agreed in the contract takes priority.
Legal interest, other debtors
3.25%
Until 31 December 2026. The interés legal del dinero, from the day the debtor receives the demand, unless another rate was agreed.
Collection costs, between businesses
€40 per invoice
Fixed compensation for each invoice paid late. Higher collection costs can be added if you can prove them.
Wait after the request to negotiate
30 days
Calendar days from the day the debtor receives the letter. If there is no reply, a court claim may be filed after that.
Limitation period
3 years
For many services, and for goods a trader sold to someone who is not a trader in the same line. Other invoices can have a longer period, and Catalonia has its own rules.
Court
Tribunal de Instancia
Juicio verbal for claims up to €15,000. Above €2,000, a lawyer and a procurador must file the claim. The monitorio (payment order procedure) has no upper limit.
How to send it
Burofax
With acknowledgement of receipt and certified content. Send it by email too.

What the letter does

A requerimiento de pago names each unpaid invoice, the amount and a final date to pay. When the invoice is not between businesses, it is, as a rule, the demand that puts the debtor in default (mora). Legal interest then runs from the demand, unless you agreed another rate.

Between businesses, the late-payment law puts the debtor in default as soon as the payment date passes, without any reminder. Late-payment interest runs from the day after that date, and a fixed €40 per invoice is due as compensation for collection costs. Neither applies when the debtor is a consumer.

Negotiation comes first

Since the law on the efficiency of the justice service came into force, a civil claim is admitted only with proof of an earlier attempt to negotiate (a MASC, medio adecuado de solución de controversias). This includes the monitorio. A bare payment demand may not be enough. The letter has to invite the debtor to negotiate this specific dispute, and you have to be able to prove that it arrived.

Every letter for Spain includes that invitation, says how and to whom to reply, and states that it is the request to negotiate. If the debtor does not reply, you may file a claim once 30 days have passed from the day they received it. A burofax with certified content proves the date of receipt and the full text.

If they still do not pay

Claims up to €15,000 are heard in a juicio verbal at the Tribunal de Instancia (formerly the Juzgado de Primera Instancia). Above €2,000, a court claim must be filed through a lawyer and a procurador. The monitorio has no upper limit, and you can file its first petition without either. Above €2,000, you need both if the debtor objects, and to enforce the debt. The escalation memo in the Complete pack explains each of these routes, but does not choose one for you.

For many services the limitation period is 3 years. Other invoices can have a longer period, and Catalonia has its own rules. A written demand such as the letter interrupts the period.

Where the rules come from

What is in the envelope

Word and PDF files you can edit before you send anything.

  1. 01

    Demand letter

    The formal letter, in the language you choose, with your amount and payment details. The deadline, and any interest and costs, follow the local rules.

  2. 02

    Evidence checklist

    What to keep and what to enclose, checked against the files you uploaded.

  3. 03

    Timeline

    Your dispute date by date, including the dates still to come.

  4. 04

    Next steps

    How to send the letter so you can prove it arrived, and what to do with each kind of reply.

  5. 05

    Final formal demandComplete

    A shorter second letter with a last deadline, for when the first one passes.

  6. 06

    Escalation memoComplete

    Court, collection agencies and lawyers: what each route involves. It describes the options; it does not choose one for you.

How it works

  1. Today

    You answer the questions. It takes about ten minutes, and your answers are saved as you go.

  2. Today

    You check the summary and pay. A few minutes later your documents are ready, in Word and PDF.

  3. When you are ready

    You sign the letter and send it yourself, so it comes from you.

Questions

Can I have the letter written in English?

Yes. Spanish is the default, and you can choose English instead.

Is a payment demand enough before going to court?

Not always. A claim now needs proof of an earlier attempt to negotiate, and a bare demand may not count. Your letter does both: it demands payment and invites the debtor to negotiate this dispute. The European payment order and the European Small Claims Procedure are exempt from this rule.

Can I charge the €40 to a private client?

No. The fixed compensation and late-payment interest apply only between businesses. When the debtor is a consumer, the letter claims legal interest from the day they receive it.

Why burofax and not email?

A burofax with acknowledgement of receipt and certified content proves what you demanded, when it arrived and its full text. The request to negotiate needs that proof. Email alone does not give it, unless it is the channel you and the debtor normally use.

What does it cost?

€49 for the Standard pack and €79 for Complete, including VAT. You pay once.

P.S.

Your documents are written by an AI system and checked automatically against your answers and the local rules. No lawyer reviews them. They are document drafts and general information, not legal advice. Your answers are deleted 30 days after delivery, or sooner if you ask.

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