Schuldsanering (WSNP) in the Netherlands: Duration, Admission and the Schone Lei

Debt restructuring (schuldsanering) is the statutory route out of unmanageable personal debt in the Netherlands. Its full name is the wettelijke schuldsanering natuurlijke personen (WSNP), the debt-restructuring scheme for individuals set out in the Faillissementswet (Fw).

It exists for one situation: a person who can no longer pay their debts and cannot reach a workable arrangement with their creditors on their own. The scheme is not a negotiation. It is a court-supervised period during which the debtor lives on a protected minimum and pays what they can, at the end of which the remaining debts covered by the scheme become unenforceable.

This page sets out how long a schuldsanering lasts, how a person is admitted to it, what it requires during the term, and what the clean slate (schone lei) at the end actually does. A pure debt-collection or wage-attachment problem is a different topic, covered on the debt collection and wage garnishment pages.

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.

Two tracks, run in sequence

The Netherlands runs two debt-relief tracks, and they are meant to be used in order. The first is the out-of-court track (minnelijk traject), run through the municipality's debt assistance service (gemeentelijke schuldhulpverlening). A debt counsellor tries to agree a single repayment plan (schuldregeling) with all the creditors, typically over a fixed period, so that the debtor pays what they can and the rest is written off by agreement.

Only where that voluntary attempt fails does the statutory track (wettelijk traject), the WSNP, come into play. This is the Dutch structure, and it is not the Belgian collectieve schuldenregeling, which is a separate regime under a different code. In the Netherlands the statutory route sits in the Faillissementswet and is opened by a court.

Artikel 349a lid 1 Fw itself points back to the voluntary attempt, referring to the buitengerechtelijke schuldregeling als bedoeld in artikel 285, eerste lid, onder f. The application to the court must include a statement (verklaring) that the minnelijk traject did not succeed or is not feasible. In principle, then, a person cannot walk straight into the WSNP without the municipal attempt first.

How long a schuldsanering lasts

The headline figure changed on 1 July 2023, the date the amendment act, the Wet van 10 februari 2023 (Staatsblad 2023, 87), entered into force under the royal decree published as Staatsblad 2023, 175. Before that date the WSNP normally ran for three years; the reform that took effect that day shortened the default to anderhalf jaar, eighteen months. Artikel 349a lid 1 Fw now states plainly that the term of the schuldsaneringsregeling is anderhalf jaar.

Two starting points are possible for those eighteen months, and the earlier one governs. The term runs from the day of the admission ruling (de dag van de uitspraak), or, if it is earlier, from the day the first repayment was made under the out-of-court arrangement. A debtor who has already been repaying at the maximum rate in the minnelijk traject can therefore have that time count toward the eighteen months.

The eighteen months is a default, not a fixed length. Under the same paragraph the court may set the term at up to drieënhalf jaar (three and a half years) at the very start, where the nature of the debts gives cause or the debtor cannot meet every obligation, on condition that a nominal amount is fixed for the whole term. So a longer term is a decision the court makes at the outset, on the file in front of it.

After the scheme has begun, the length can still move. Artikel 349a lid 2 Fw lets the rechter-commissaris (the supervising judge) change the term, including extending it where the debtor cannot meet the obligations or has fallen short in a way that can be held against them. That power is not open-ended: the same paragraph fixes an absolute ceiling of vijf jaar (five years), and the debtor must be given the chance to be heard before an extension is decided.

A worked timeline makes the default concrete. A regeling opened by a ruling on 1 March 2026, with no earlier repayment in the minnelijk traject and no longer term set at the start, ends by default around 1 September 2027. If the court had fixed three and a half years at the outset, the end date would instead fall in late 2029, and a later extension could push it to a hard limit of five years, in early 2031.

Getting admitted: the rechtbank decides

The WSNP is opened by the district court (rechtbank), on a written request (verzoekschrift) that in practice is prepared and filed through the municipality's debt assistance. The court does not simply register the application; it applies a statutory admission test.

Artikel 288 lid 1 Fw sets three cumulative conditions, and all must be sufficiently plausible. First, that the debtor will not be able to carry on paying their debts. Second, that the debtor acted in good faith (te goeder trouw) as regards how the debts arose or went unpaid in the three years before the day the request was filed. Third, that the debtor will properly meet the obligations flowing from the scheme and will make an effort to bring in as much as possible for the estate.

That three-year good-faith window is itself a product of the 1 July 2023 reform, which shortened it from five years. It is the condition most applications turn on, because it lets the court weigh how recent debts came about, for instance debts run up carelessly or left unpaid without good reason.

There are separate rejection grounds in artikel 288 lid 2 Fw. One is where an earlier out-of-court attempt was not carried out by a body authorised for it. Another, in onderdeel c, is where the debtor has debts flowing from an irrevocable criminal conviction that became final within five years before the request, unless the court sees reason to allow a longer term.

Under lid 3 the court can still admit a debtor who has brought the underlying circumstances back under control. The 1 July 2023 reform also removed the old rule that excluded anyone who had used the WSNP within the previous ten years.

What the scheme requires during its term

Admission opens a supervised period rather than an immediate discharge. The court appoints an administrator (bewindvoerder) who oversees the estate and reports to the rechter-commissaris, and the debtor takes on a set of duties for the whole term.

Income above a protected minimum, the vrij te laten bedrag, is paid to the creditors through the scheme. The debtor must not take on new debts, must try to earn as much as reasonably possible, must hand over what falls into the estate, and must keep the bewindvoerder informed of changes in their situation. These obligations are the counterpart of the eventual clean slate, and they run until the term ends.

Compliance is the pivot of the whole scheme. Where a debtor culpably fails to meet the obligations, the court can end the regeling early without granting the clean slate, which leaves the debts standing. The eighteen-month term is therefore a minimum period of genuine effort, not a waiting time after which debts fall away on their own.

The schone lei at the end

The point of completing a WSNP is the schone lei, the clean slate. Artikel 358 Fw provides that once the scheme ends after running its term, a claim to which the scheme applied is, so far as it has remained unpaid, no longer enforceable (niet langer afdwingbaar), whether or not the creditor took part in the scheme.

The effect is precise. The remaining balance does not vanish as a matter of bookkeeping, but the creditor can no longer compel payment of it, which for the debtor is a fresh financial start. It is why the WSNP is described as ending in a schone lei rather than in a write-off.

Some obligations sit outside the scheme and so outside the clean slate, and the granting of the schone lei depends on the debtor having met the obligations throughout. The clean slate is the reward for completing the scheme, not an automatic consequence of having entered it.

Where collection and wage attachment fit in

Debt restructuring sits at the end of a longer process that usually begins with ordinary collection. Before that process reaches a court, the cost of collection is capped and gated by a consumer-protection rule that is worth stating in full.

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.

If a creditor obtains a court judgment, enforcement can include an attachment of wages or benefits (loonbeslag) carried out by a bailiff (gerechtsdeurwaarder), and the law protects a minimum income from that attachment. The mechanics of collection costs are covered on the debt collection page, and the protected-income rules on the wage garnishment page. The WSNP is the route for when those individual pressures reflect a debt load that can no longer be carried at all.

Where to get help

Debt assistance is a municipal task, so the first port of call is the gemeentelijke schuldhulpverlening in the debtor's own municipality, which runs the minnelijk traject and files most WSNP requests. The courts publish plain-language information on the WSNP and the application through Rechtspraak, and Het Juridisch Loket, the state-subsidised legal information service, covers debt problems as well.

The wider structure of Dutch law, and the other consumer topics that surround this one, are set out on the consumer rights in the Netherlands section page and the Netherlands law overview.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is schuldsanering and how is it different from bankruptcy?

Schuldsanering is the statutory debt-relief scheme for individuals, the Wet schuldsanering natuurlijke personen (WSNP), set out in the Faillissementswet. Where bankruptcy (faillissement) liquidates a person or company and leaves the debts owing, the WSNP runs for a fixed period during which the debtor pays what they can, after which the remaining debts covered by the scheme become unenforceable under artikel 358 Fw. It is a route to a clean slate rather than a liquidation.

How long does the WSNP last?

The default term is anderhalf jaar (eighteen months) under artikel 349a lid 1 Fw, the term introduced by the reform that took effect on 1 July 2023, replacing the old three-year term. At the outset the court may set it at up to drieënhalf jaar (three and a half years) where the nature of the debts warrants it, and the rechter-commissaris can later extend it, subject to an absolute ceiling of vijf jaar (five years) under lid 2.

Do I have to try the minnelijk traject before applying for WSNP?

In principle yes. The out-of-court attempt (minnelijk traject) through the municipality's debt assistance is the first track, and the WSNP application must include a statement that it failed (artikel 285 lid 1 onder f Fw). Artikel 349a lid 1 Fw itself refers back to that arrangement, and can even start the WSNP term running from the first repayment already made in the minnelijk traject.

Who admits a person to the schuldsanering?

The district court (rechtbank) decides on a written request (verzoekschrift), usually filed through the municipality. Artikel 288 lid 1 Fw sets the test: it must be sufficiently plausible that the debtor can no longer pay their debts, acted in good faith about how the debts arose or went unpaid in the three years before the request, and will properly meet the scheme's obligations. Admission is not automatic.

Can a criminal debt or recent conviction block admission?

It can. Artikel 288 lid 2 onder c Fw makes the court reject the request where the debtor has debts flowing from an irrevocable criminal conviction that became final within five years before the request, unless the court sees reason to allow a longer term. This is separate from the three-year good-faith test in lid 1, and both are assessed by the court.

What happens during the schuldsanering?

An administrator (bewindvoerder) is appointed and supervises the scheme under the rechter-commissaris. The debtor keeps only a protected minimum to live on (the vrij te laten bedrag), while income above that goes to the creditors, and must not take on new debts, must try to earn as much as possible, and must report changes. Falling short of these duties can lead to the scheme ending without a clean slate.

What is a schone lei and is it guaranteed?

A schone lei (clean slate) is the effect of a successful WSNP: under artikel 358 Fw a claim covered by the scheme is, so far as it stayed unpaid, no longer enforceable after the regeling ends. It is not guaranteed, because it depends on the debtor meeting the obligations throughout the term. Where the debtor culpably fails to comply, the court can end the scheme without granting the clean slate.

What if a creditor keeps sending collection letters while I cannot pay?

Collection costs are regulated. Before a consumer owes any out-of-court collection costs, the creditor must first send a payment reminder giving at least fourteen days to pay, counted from the day after it is received (artikel 6:96 lid 6 BW). If debts are genuinely unmanageable, the routes above (the minnelijk traject and then the WSNP) address the underlying debt rather than each individual letter.