Incasso in the Netherlands: Collection Costs, the 14-Day Rule and the Staffel

Incasso is the Dutch word for debt collection, and it is one of the most searched consumer-law topics because the letters can be alarming and the extra costs can look arbitrary. They are not arbitrary. Dutch law controls two things closely: when a creditor may add collection costs to a debt at all, and how much those costs may be.

The rules sit in the civil code (Burgerlijk Wetboek, BW) and in a short implementing decree, the Besluit vergoeding voor buitengerechtelijke incassokosten (Besluit BIK). Together they mean that for a consumer, a collection agency cannot simply pile fees onto an unpaid bill.

This page sets out the fourteen-day reminder that has to come first, the fixed scale that caps the costs, how businesses are treated differently, and which court hears a collection claim. What to do when the underlying debts are no longer payable at all is covered on the debt restructuring page.

Information last verified on 22 July 2026. This page provides general legal information about Netherlands law and does not constitute legal advice in an individual case.

The fourteen-day reminder comes first

For a consumer, nothing can be added to the debt for collection until one specific letter has been sent. This is the fourteen-day reminder, often called the WIK-brief after the underlying legislation.

Before a consumer owes any out-of-court collection costs (buitengerechtelijke incassokosten), the creditor must first send a payment reminder (aanmaning) giving at least 14 days to pay, with the 14 days counted from the day after the reminder is received (artikel 6:96 lid 6 BW). Collection costs charged without that letter are not owed by a consumer.

Two details in that rule do real work. The fourteen days run from the day after the reminder is received, not the day it is posted, so a letter that demands payment within a shorter window, or that counts the days from the send date, does not meet the requirement. And the protection is one-directional: artikel 6:96 lid 5 BW provides that the scheme may not be applied to the disadvantage of a debtor who is a consumer.

The reminder also caps what else can appear on the bill. The statutory collection costs are the whole of what may be charged for out-of-court recovery, so a creditor cannot add separate reminder costs (herinneringskosten), administration costs or office costs on top. A bill that lists incassokosten plus a string of handling fees is charging more than the law permits.

How much a creditor may add: the staffel

The amount of the collection costs is fixed by a sliding scale (staffel) in artikel 2 of the Besluit BIK, calculated as a percentage of the principal (hoofdsom), the original unpaid amount without interest or costs.

Two limits bracket the scale. There is a floor: artikel 2 lid 2 sets a minimum of EUR 40, so a small debt still carries at least that. And there is a ceiling: the scale is capped at EUR 6,775 in total, however large the principal.

That EUR 6,775 maximum is fixed in the Besluit BIK, whose current version has been in force since 1 October 2024. It is not one of the figures re-indexed each January, so it holds until the Besluit itself is changed, and a page or letter that presents it as an annually updated amount is wrong about how it works.

The arithmetic is worth doing once. On a EUR 1,000 principal the cost is 15 percent, EUR 150. On a EUR 200 principal, 15 percent is only EUR 30, so the EUR 40 minimum applies instead. On a EUR 10,000 principal the bands are added together: 15 percent of the first EUR 2,500 is EUR 375, 10 percent of the next EUR 2,500 is EUR 250, and 5 percent of the next EUR 5,000 is EUR 250, for EUR 875 in total.

If the creditor cannot reclaim value-added tax (BTW), artikel 2 lid 3 of the Besluit allows the collection costs to be increased by the applicable BTW percentage. Statutory interest (wettelijke rente) on the overdue amount is a separate matter, charged alongside the collection costs rather than inside the staffel.

Consumers and businesses are treated differently

The fourteen-day letter is a consumer protection, and it does not apply to every debt. The distinction is whether the debtor is a natural person acting outside a profession or business.

Where the debtor is a business, the debt is a commercial one (handelsovereenkomst), and artikel 6:96 lid 4 BW takes a stricter line: the EUR 40 minimum is owed from the day after the agreed payment term, without any reminder first. So a supplier chasing another company does not have to send a fourteen-day aanmaning before collection costs run, whereas a shop chasing a consumer does.

Conflating the two is a common error. The fourteen-day requirement, and the rule that costs charged without it are not owed, are consumer rules; they do not shield a business debtor, and they do not stop the EUR 40 running immediately on a B2B invoice.

Instalment debts and small recurring bills

A separate rule handles debts paid in instalments, such as a subscription or a payment plan in arrears. Artikel 2a of the Besluit BIK sets the fee at EUR 40 for the first instalment attracting the lowest fee in a six-month period, and EUR 20 for later instalments in that same period.

There is also a cumulation cap for small recurring debts. Where the monthly amount or instalment is below EUR 266.67, the collection costs may total at most EUR 140 over six months, a limit that took effect on 1 October 2024. It stops a series of small missed payments from each attracting the EUR 40 minimum and snowballing.

Collection agencies are now regulated

Until recently, anyone could set up as a collection agency. That changed on 1 April 2024, when the Wet kwaliteit incassodienstverlening began to require providers of collection services to meet statutory quality requirements and to be entered in a public register.

The register is kept by Justis, and compliance with the quality and registration requirements is supervised by the Inspectie Justitie en Veiligheid. Existing agencies were given a year from that date to register. A consumer who thinks a bill is wrong, or that an agency is acting improperly, can raise it with the ACM through its ConsuWijzer service, which also publishes model letters for disputing an incorrect fourteen-day letter.

An incassobureau is not a bailiff

A common fear is that a collection agency can turn up and seize belongings. It cannot. A collection agency (incassobureau) is a private company hired by the creditor, and it has no more legal power than the creditor itself: it can send letters, telephone and propose payment arrangements, but it cannot enter a home, take goods or attach wages.

Those enforcement steps belong only to a bailiff (gerechtsdeurwaarder), and only once the creditor has obtained a court judgment (vonnis) against the debtor. Until there is a judgment, a demand is just a demand, however official the letterhead looks. The practical dividing line is the court order: an incassobureau operating without one is negotiating, not enforcing.

That also means a disputed debt does not have to be paid simply because a collection agency insists on it. Where a consumer genuinely contests the debt, or the fourteen-day letter, the dispute is resolved in court rather than by the agency, and ConsuWijzer publishes model letters for setting out that position.

Which court hears a collection claim

If a debt is not paid and the creditor goes to court, the forum is usually the subdistrict court (kantonrechter). Artikel 93 sub a Rv gives it ordinary money claims up to EUR 25,000.

The amount is not the whole story, and this is where a collection claim can behave differently from a bare money claim. Where the debt arises from a consumer purchase (consumentenkoop) or from consumer credit (consumentenkrediet), artikel 93 sub c Rv sends it to the kantonrechter whatever the amount at stake. A pure money debt is not automatically a consumer sale, so which limb applies depends on where the debt came from; the consumer rights section page sets out that forum rule in full.

Procedure before the kantonrechter is accessible: a party may conduct their own case in person, so an advocaat is not required. Once a creditor has a judgment, enforcement is carried out by a bailiff (gerechtsdeurwaarder) and can include an attachment of wages or benefits, within the protected-income limits on the wage garnishment page.

When the debt itself cannot be paid

Regulated collection costs are one problem; a debt load that can no longer be carried is another. Where the issue is not a single disputed bill but debts across the board, the answer is not to settle each demand in turn.

The Dutch route then is debt assistance through the municipality (gemeentelijke schuldhulpverlening) and, if that out-of-court attempt fails, the statutory schuldsanering (WSNP) under artikel 349a Fw. Both are covered on the debt restructuring page, and the wider structure of Dutch consumer law on the consumer rights section page and the Netherlands law overview.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are incassokosten and how much can a collection agency charge?

Incassokosten are the out-of-court collection costs a creditor may add for recovering an unpaid debt. They are not free to set: the Besluit BIK fixes them as a percentage of the principal (hoofdsom), starting at 15 percent of the first EUR 2,500, with a minimum of EUR 40 and an overall maximum of EUR 6,775. A collection agency cannot charge more than the scale allows, whatever its letters say.

Do I have to pay collection costs if I never received a 14-day letter?

For a consumer, no. Under artikel 6:96 lid 6 BW the collection costs become due only after a payment reminder giving at least fourteen days to pay, counted from the day after the reminder is received. If a consumer is charged collection costs without ever getting that fourteen-day aanmaning, those costs are not owed, although the underlying debt itself still stands.

What is the maximum in collection costs?

The scale runs from a minimum of EUR 40 up to a maximum of EUR 6,775 for very large debts. That ceiling is set in the Besluit BIK, whose current version has been in force since 1 October 2024, and it is not re-indexed each January, so the same figure holds until the Besluit itself is amended.

Can a collection agency add reminder or administration fees on top?

No. The statutory collection costs are the whole of what may be charged for out-of-court recovery, so separate reminder costs (herinneringskosten), administration costs or office costs cannot be added on top of them. A bill that lists collection costs plus extra handling fees is charging more than the law allows.

Is the fourteen-day rule the same for a business debt?

No, it is a consumer protection. For a debt between businesses (a handelsovereenkomst), artikel 6:96 lid 4 BW makes the EUR 40 minimum owed from the day after the agreed payment term, without any reminder first. The fourteen-day aanmaning requirement applies where the debtor is a natural person not acting in a profession or business.

What are the collection costs on a EUR 1,000 or a EUR 10,000 debt?

On a EUR 1,000 principal the cost is 15 percent, or EUR 150. On a EUR 10,000 principal the scale is added band by band: 15 percent of the first EUR 2,500 (EUR 375), plus 10 percent of the next EUR 2,500 (EUR 250), plus 5 percent of the next EUR 5,000 (EUR 250), for EUR 875. On a small EUR 200 debt, 15 percent is only EUR 30, so the EUR 40 minimum applies instead.

Are collection agencies regulated in the Netherlands?

Yes. Since 1 April 2024 the Wet kwaliteit incassodienstverlening requires collection service providers to meet quality requirements and to be entered in a public register kept by Justis, with compliance supervised by the Inspectie Justitie en Veiligheid. A consumer who disagrees with a bill can also raise it with the ACM through ConsuWijzer.

Which court hears a debt-collection claim, and can I represent myself?

An ordinary money claim up to EUR 25,000 goes to the subdistrict court (kantonrechter) under artikel 93 sub a Rv, and a claim arising from a consumer purchase or consumer credit goes there whatever the amount under sub c. A party may conduct their own case in person before the kantonrechter, so an advocaat is not required there.