Limitation periods for claims in Germany

How long can you continue to enforce a demand?

In Germany, most business claims become time-barred after three years. This regular limitation period applies to outstanding invoices from deliveries and services, to fees and to typical everyday business claims.

Three years sound like a lot of time. The hook, however, is not in the duration, but in the starting point of the deadline, and this is where many people make a serious mistake of thinking. Anyone who thinks the clock will run from the invoice date will give away almost a whole year in doubt.

The regular period of three years is laid down in the Civil Code. It shall take effect whenever no special case provides for a different period of time, covering the majority of all outstanding business claims. Once it has run out, the claim does not disappear, but the debtor has a permanent right to refuse payment.

For you, as a creditor, this means that the three years are not a reason to rest, but a countdown. The closer the deadline comes, the less room for manoeuvre will become to enforce the claim even with the prospect of success.

Why does the deadline not start until the end of the year?

The limitation period does not begin with the invoice date, but with the end of the calendar year in which the claim arose and you are aware of it. In the case of own invoices, this is practically always the case, therefore the starting point is 31 December of the year of origin.

A service provided in January and one provided in December of the same year therefore share the same starting point for the limitation period: 31 December of that year. Under this year-end rule, claims arising in the same year become time-barred together at the end of 31 December.

An example illustrates the effect. A claim that arose in 2022 becomes time-barred at the end of 31 December 2025. From 1 January 2026, the debtor may permanently refuse payment, even though the claim itself still exists. For the coming year-end this means: claims from 2023 become time-barred at the end of 31 December 2026. What to do before then is set out in the guide Limitation on 31 December 2026.

It is precisely this mechanism that explains why, at the turn of the year, surprisingly many claims are time-barred at the same time. If you look at your receivables at the end of December, you often discover a whole batch of items on which the debtor will be able to invoke limitation in a few days.

When does which claim become time-barred? The overview

The following table shows the regular three-year deadline with the respective reference date. It makes a diffuse risk a concrete date on which you can work.

Regular limitation period of three years, Civil Code, Germany. Start of the period at the end of 31 December of the year of origin. Standard case without suspension or restart; negotiations, a served court payment order, an acknowledgement or a partial payment move the date. No legal advice in individual cases.

This simple logic should be in mind for every managing director and every managing director. If you sort your receivables once according to the year of origin, you immediately see which posts are due next for the statute of limitations and can act specifically before the deadline.

Does a reminder stop the statute of limitations?

No. A reminder does not stop the statute of limitations, regardless of whether it is formulated kindly or definitely. Here lies the most common and expensive error in dealing with outstanding invoices.

Many companies send reminders for payment reminder and believe that the clock will stop. This is not the case. Those who only keep sending reminders shortly before the deadline risk the debtor invoking limitation despite all their efforts. A reminder documents the delay and triggers late-payment interest, but on the limitation period it has no effect.

To really influence the statute of limitations, it takes other steps. Which ones are, the next section shows.

How do you stop or prolong the statute of limitations?

Two mechanisms affect the limitation period: suspension and restarting. Suspension pauses the clock; restarting resets it. Understanding the distinction can determine whether you gain a fresh three-year period.

With a suspension, the time already elapsed is kept and the suspended period is added at the end. With a fresh start, the full three-year period runs again afterwards. If a regular customer with cash-flow problems acknowledges the claim in writing or pays a first instalment, you gain three additional years of security.

Suspension and restarting of the limitation period under the German Civil Code. Statutes accessed through the official federal legal portal, July 2026.

Substantive negotiations with the debtor, payment-order proceedings or a court claim can suspend the limitation period. For a court payment order, service is what counts; it takes effect retroactively from the application if service follows promptly. A documented acknowledgement, partial or interim payment, or an instalment agreement with an initial payment can restart it. Evidence matters: you need to be able to prove the relevant steps in court. How to apply for a German court payment order online is explained in the guide Applying for a court payment order online; the court-fee calculator works out the court fee.

What should managers do now in concrete terms?

Check your receivables early in the year and act in good time before the deadline. A clear timetable emerges from the limitation logic, which makes a diffuse risk a predictable task.

The most expensive mistake in dealing with outstanding invoices is waiting. The value of a claim decreases with its age, because accessibility, solvency and evidence become worse, and after three years it is statute of limitations. Waiting therefore costs not only interest, but in the end the claim itself.

Four steps keep your claims out of the statute of limitations:

• Check early in the year. Mark all items that become time-barred in the current year instead of waiting until just before New Year's Eve. At the turn of the year, many claims become time-barred simultaneously, and the time pressure becomes unnecessarily large.
• Hand over cases promptly when the debtor is unwilling to pay. Handing them over to professional receivables management does not by itself suspend limitation. In court payment order proceedings, service of the payment order suspends limitation, with retroactive effect to the application if service follows promptly. Apply with a buffer before 31 December.
• Use this option for cooperative customers with cash-flow difficulties. An acknowledgement or an instalment agreement restarts the deadline and gives you three additional years. The instalment agreement template shows what such an agreement should contain.
• Don't leave it. If a customer does not respond at all, the guide Customer does not pay helps with the appropriate escalation.

The Debt collection costs page explains what debt collection proceedings cost and why the defaulting debtor generally bears the default costs. You can submit an outstanding claim online, under our terms and without a minimum volume.

Which special cases have different limitation periods?

The regular period of three years covers the majority of business claims. In addition, there are individual special cases with different deadlines, for example for claims for defects or for claims already legally established.

These deadlines do not run until 31 December, but from the triggering event. Claims that have been legally determined or backed by an enforceable title, e.g. from a judgment or an enforcement order (Vollstreckungsbescheid), only become time-barred after thirty years. Claims for defects arising from purchase and works contracts, on the other hand, are subject to own, often shorter deadlines. In case of doubt, a specific examination of the individual case is worthwhile for such special cases.

incaseof.law is a collection agency, state-licensed in Austria and registered in Germany. You retain 100 percent of the principal. For the handover process step by step, see How debt collection works.

This guide explains the legal situation in Germany in general and does not replace advice in individual cases. State of the cited standards: July 2026.