Applying for a court payment order online in Germany: process, costs and the collection alternative

When is a court payment order the right route?

The court payment order (Mahnbescheid) is the simplest court route to an enforceable title when your customer does not pay but does not object to the claim either. The payment order court does not check whether your claim exists. It only checks whether the application is formally complete. That is why the procedure is lean and inexpensive.

A court payment order fits when these points apply:

• You are claiming a specific sum of money in euros.
• Your work has been delivered; the claim no longer depends on a counter-performance.
• Your customer has not raised specific objections. If they dispute the claim, they will object, and you end up in ordinary civil proceedings anyway.
• You know an address for service. If service would have to be by public notice, the payment order procedure is excluded.

Two situations particularly favour a court payment order: the limitation period runs out at year end, or your customer has not reacted to reminders and collection letters. The guide Court payment order procedure in Germany explains the theory with all stages. This article is about the practice: how to file the application online.

Which payment order court is competent?

The competent court is the local court (Amtsgericht) at your general place of jurisdiction, i.e. your residence or place of business, not the debtor’s. The federal states have concentrated the procedure at central payment order courts:

If you have no seat in Germany, the Local Court Wedding in Berlin is competent. In the application you also name the court that would be competent for contested proceedings after an objection. That is normally the court at your debtor’s seat.

Three ways to submit the online application

On online-mahnantrag.de you complete the application in your browser. No login is needed; your entries are checked and missing details are flagged. The data is not saved, so plan to complete the application in one go. At the end you choose how the application reaches the court:

You may not send the application by email, nor by fax. Anyone filing many applications can take part in electronic data exchange with their own software; the payment order court issues an identification number for this. There is also the paper form from stationery shops. Lawyers and collection service providers may no longer use it; they must file in machine-readable form.

How to proceed: if you have an identity card with the online function activated, choose the eID application. It goes directly to the court without postal delay, and you receive immediate confirmation.

Step by step: what you enter

Have the invoice, the contract and your interest calculation ready. Then enter:

1. Applicant: your exact name or company with legal form and legal representative, such as the managing director of a GmbH.
2. Respondent: name, legal form, legal representative and address for service of your customer. This is where most errors occur.
3. Claim: you select the type from a catalogue, such as contract for work, sales contract or service contract, and add invoice number and date. Main and ancillary claims are stated separately.
4. Interest: running default interest, for example 9 percentage points above the base rate from the start of default, or interest already calculated.
5. Ancillary claims: for example the 40-euro flat fee against businesses or collection costs.
6. Declaration on counter-performance: that the claim does not depend on a counter-performance or that it has been rendered.
7. Court for contested proceedings: the court to which the case is transferred after an objection.

You do not have to calculate the court costs. The payment order court calculates them itself and includes them in the payment order. If the court finds errors, it sends a notice of defects (Monierung) listing the points objected to. Answer it promptly, otherwise service will be delayed. Work out the interest for a fixed period in advance with the late-payment interest calculator.

What does a court payment order cost?

The court fee is half a fee based on the amount in dispute, at least 38 euros. The amount in dispute is the principal claim; interest and ancillary claims are not counted. You do not have to pay an advance. You receive the cost invoice when the payment order is issued, and it must be paid before the enforcement order. Service costs are normally not added.

The right-hand column is the remaining fee for contested proceedings, which you pay after an objection before the case is transferred to the trial court. The court costs are stated in the payment order and are charged to the debtor on payment or enforcement. The court fee calculator shows the amount for your claim.

Example: A trade-fair stand builder has built a stand for a GmbH; the invoice is for 3,200 euros and has been in default since 1 October. The builder files the application by eID on Monday, 2 November 2026. The court fee is 74 euros. Assuming the payment order is served on Monday, 9 November, the objection period ends on 23 November. From 24 November the builder can apply for the enforcement order, at the latest six months after service, so by early May 2027. If the GmbH pays, it bears the interest, the flat fee and the 74 euros as well as the 3,200 euros. If it objects, continuing initially costs the builder a further 370 euros in court fees.

Objection, enforcement order, appeal: the deadlines

After service your customer has two weeks to pay or object. You receive a notice of service and, with it, the form for the next application. This is how it continues:

• No objection: once the two weeks have passed, you apply for the enforcement order (Vollstreckungsbescheid). State any payments made in the meantime. It is best to have it served by the court.
• Objection: the payment order procedure ends. If you want to pursue the claim, ordinary civil proceedings with a statement of claim follow; the case is only transferred once the further fee has been paid. Before a regional court (Landgericht) you need a lawyer.
• Partial objection: you apply for the enforcement order for the undisputed part, and the rest is contested.
• Appeal against the enforcement order: the enforcement order has the effect of a default judgment. Your customer can lodge an appeal (Einspruch) within two weeks. After that it is final.

Watch the six-month deadline. If you do not apply for the enforcement order in time, the payment order loses its effect and you have to start again. Put the date in your calendar as soon as the notice of service arrives.

Does a court payment order suspend limitation?

Yes. Service of the court payment order suspends the limitation period. A reminder or a collection letter does not. Important at year end: suspension takes effect from receipt of the application by the court if service follows promptly. An application received by the payment order court before the end of 31 December can therefore still secure a claim from 2023.

Do not rely on the last day. A barcode application needs postal time, and a wrong address or an unanswered notice of defects delays service. File claims at risk of limitation in early December, ideally by eID. Which claims are affected is explained in the guide Limitation periods for claims in Germany.

File it yourself or hand it to a collection agency?

The online application is quite manageable for a single, clear claim. The deciding factors are time, the number of cases and whether your customer might pay without a court after all.

At incaseof.law you hand over the claim online and the case team decides on the out-of-court reminder stages. Court proceedings such as a court payment order are only initiated once you approve them; the case team agrees the procedural route and any representation required with you case by case. There are no automatic court filings. You receive 100 percent of the principal claim. In regular out-of-court collection there are no costs from incaseof.law, even if the debtor does not pay, and no success fee on your principal claim. Court fees and, in Austria, MANZ transmission fees only arise once you approve court proceedings. Recovery and duration are not guaranteed. How incaseof.law supports you with court payment orders is set out on the page Court payment order in Germany.

Your next step: if the claim is undisputed and limitation is not an issue, start out of court. How to decide after an ignored reminder is shown in the article Final reminder ignored. If time is pressing, file the online application this week.