Debt collection in Greece

Debt collection in Greece begins with a legal and financial assessment of the debtor, the origin of the debt, the available evidence and the realistic prospects of recovery. At this stage, it is important to verify the debtor’s exact legal name, registered office, business activity, legal representatives, company status, possible liquidation or insolvency indicators, current court or enforcement exposure, and the documents confirming the amount, maturity and legal basis of the claim. For Greek companies, useful information may be obtained from the General Commercial Registry, while bankruptcy, small-scale bankruptcy and pre-bankruptcy restructuring publications may be checked through the Electronic Solvency Register.

The result of this assessment determines whether the creditor should start with lawful negotiations, apply for a payment order, file a civil claim, seek interim protection, move directly to enforcement on the basis of an existing enforceable title, or consider insolvency-related remedies. If the debtor remains active, has identifiable assets or business turnover in Greece and there is no immediate need for urgent court measures, the first practical step is usually amicable recovery.

The amicable stage involves lawful written reminders, negotiations with the debtor, settlement proposals and verification of whether the debtor is able and willing to pay the creditor’s claim voluntarily. Depending on the commercial situation, the parties may discuss full payment, partial payment, a repayment schedule, return of goods, transfer of debt to a third party, set-off, replacement performance or another settlement option that does not weaken the creditor’s legal position.

Interaction with the debtor usually begins after a formal notice is sent by available lawful communication channels. The purpose of this stage is not to harass the debtor, but to create a documented record of the creditor’s demand, identify the real decision makers, clarify the debtor’s objections and determine whether voluntary repayment is possible without court proceedings.

If amicable recovery does not produce a practical result, or if the initial assessment shows that negotiations may lead to delay, asset dissipation or loss of procedural advantage, the creditor should proceed to the debt recovery mechanisms provided by Greek law.

Before initiating legal action, the creditor must determine the applicable limitation period according to the legal nature of the claim. Under Greek law, general contractual claims may be subject to a twenty-year limitation period, unless a special rule applies. At the same time, many commercial, periodic and special categories of claims, including claims arising from commercial transactions, sale of goods, rent or other specific legal grounds, may be subject to a five-year limitation period. Special shorter limitation periods may also apply to particular instruments or claims, so the debt should be classified by its exact legal basis before choosing the recovery procedure.

The limitation period is calculated according to the rules applicable to the specific claim and may be interrupted by procedural actions or by the debtor’s acknowledgement of the debt. After interruption, the period begins to run again under the relevant Greek limitation rules. This makes written evidence of acknowledgement, partial payment, settlement correspondence, service of a payment order or filing of a lawsuit particularly important in debt collection in Greece.

Judicial debt collection in Greece may be carried out through a payment order, small claims proceedings, ordinary civil proceedings, interim measures, enforcement of an existing enforceable title, the European Payment Order procedure, and recognition or enforcement of a foreign judgment where the creditor already has a decision issued outside Greece.

If there is a risk that the debtor may transfer assets, withdraw funds, conceal income or move business activity to another company, the creditor may consider interim measures before or during the main proceedings. Such measures may help preserve assets and prevent future enforcement from becoming ineffective. In cross-border EU cases, the creditor may also consider the European Account Preservation Order if the conditions for freezing bank accounts in another EU Member State are met.

The payment order procedure is available for monetary claims and claims arising from securities when the claim and the exact amount due are proved by public or private documents. It is especially useful where the creditor has a clear documentary file, such as a contract, invoices, delivery documents, acknowledgement of debt, account statement, cheque, bill of exchange or other documents proving the debtor, the creditor, the legal basis and the amount of the claim. The procedure is documentary in nature and does not involve a full ordinary hearing before the debtor is served.

A payment order is not an ordinary judgment, but it is an enforceable instrument. It must be served on the debtor within two months from its issuance; otherwise, it ceases to be in force. A key limitation is important for foreign creditors: a Greek payment order cannot be validly issued if it must be served on a person residing abroad or whose domicile is unknown, unless that person has legally appointed a representative for litigation in Greece. Therefore, where the debtor is not established or represented in Greece, the creditor may need to consider ordinary proceedings, the European Payment Order procedure or another cross-border recovery route.

After service of the payment order, the debtor may file an opposition within the statutory period. Filing an opposition does not automatically suspend enforcement of the payment order. Suspension may be ordered only if the debtor applies for it and the competent court accepts the request under the applicable conditions. If no opposition is lodged in time, the creditor may serve the order again, giving the debtor a second short period to oppose it before the payment order becomes final in its effect.

Small claims proceedings in Greece are intended for lower-value civil disputes and are designed as a faster written procedure. Under the reformed framework introduced by Law 5221/2025, the monetary threshold for small claims has been increased to EUR 8,000. The claim is filed with the competent court, and the defendant must be served within the statutory period. The reformed procedure also provides short deadlines for filing the memorandum, evidence and rebuttal, after which the case may proceed on the basis of the written file.

This route may be useful for straightforward low-value debt claims where the creditor has clear documents and the amount falls within the applicable threshold. It is less suitable where the dispute requires complex evidence, multiple parties, cross-border service problems, asset tracing or broader enforcement planning.

Judgments issued under the small claims procedure are not subject to an ordinary appeal. However, specific forms of recourse and annulment before the Supreme Court may be available under the applicable procedural rules.

Ordinary civil proceedings are used when the debt cannot be recovered through a payment order, small claims procedure, European Payment Order or direct enforcement route. The procedure begins with filing a lawsuit before the competent Greek court and serving it on the defendant within the statutory period. Under the reformed Greek civil procedure framework, service in ordinary proceedings is generally subject to a uniform deadline, and the hearing date is set at an early procedural stage.

Greek civil litigation is document-driven. The claimant must present the legal basis of the claim, identify the parties, state the amount claimed, calculate interest where applicable, and submit the documents supporting the debt. Foreign-language documents usually require a Greek translation for use in court. In cross-border cases within the European Union, service of judicial documents is governed by the EU service-of-documents framework, and Greece accepts standard forms in Greek, English or French.

Mediation and other settlement mechanisms may be relevant before or during litigation, depending on the type of dispute and procedural context. In practice, the creditor should prepare the case so that settlement remains possible, but the claim is still ready for court if the debtor refuses to pay, raises formal objections or uses negotiations only to delay recovery.

After the court examines the claim, evidence and procedural submissions, it issues a judgment. The judgment becomes final and enforceable according to the applicable appeal and enforcement rules.

A party that is wholly or partially unsuccessful before the court of first instance may file an appeal if the decision is appealable and the procedural requirements are met. The appeal period is calculated from service of the judgment, not simply from the date when the judgment was issued. In ordinary civil cases, the appeal period is generally thirty days where the appellant resides in Greece and sixty days where the appellant resides abroad or has an unknown residence.

A further appeal in cassation may be filed before the Supreme Court on points of law, not as a full rehearing of the facts. The filing of an appeal or cassation must be assessed together with the enforceability of the judgment, any temporary enforceability ordered by the first-instance court, and any available request for suspension of enforcement. Under the current reform of Greek civil procedure, the long-stop deadline for remedies where no service has taken place has also been shortened, which makes proper monitoring of service and publication dates important for both creditor and debtor.

The European Payment Order procedure may be used for uncontested monetary claims in cross-border civil and commercial matters within the European Union, except Denmark. The creditor submits the standard application form to the competent court. If the order is issued and served on the debtor, the debtor has thirty days to file a statement of opposition. If the debtor does not oppose the order within the required period, the European Payment Order becomes enforceable and may be used in other participating EU Member States without a separate declaration of enforceability.

For creditors who already have a judgment from another EU Member State, recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments in Greece is usually governed by the Brussels I Recast Regulation in civil and commercial matters. Under this regime, judgments from EU Member States are generally recognized without a special recognition procedure and are enforceable without a declaration of enforceability, subject to the Regulation’s requirements and possible grounds for refusal.

For judgments from non-EU countries, the creditor must rely on an applicable international treaty, convention or the Greek rules on recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments. In these cases, the practical route depends on the country of origin, finality of the judgment, jurisdiction of the foreign court, proper service of the debtor, compatibility with Greek public policy and the availability of enforceable assets in Greece.

After obtaining an enforceable title, the creditor may proceed to enforcement proceedings in Greece if the debtor does not comply voluntarily. Enforcement usually begins with obtaining an enforceable copy of the title and serving the debtor with the enforcement order through the competent enforcement officer. After the statutory period for voluntary compliance expires, enforcement measures may be imposed against the debtor’s assets.

Satisfaction of the creditor’s claim may be pursued through attachment of movable property, real estate, bank accounts, claims held by third parties, shares, business assets or other transferable property rights. Depending on the asset and the enforcement route, court bailiffs, lawyers and notaries may be involved in service, attachment, garnishment orders and auction procedures.

In practice, enforcement strategy in Greece should focus on locating real assets before spending resources on formal enforcement steps. Useful targets may include bank accounts, receivables from customers, real estate, vehicles, shares, business equipment, income-generating assets and claims against third parties. During August, enforcement acts and auctions are generally restricted, with specific exceptions such as ships and aircraft.

If enforcement does not produce recovery and the debtor is unable to meet overdue financial obligations in a general and permanent manner, the creditor may consider insolvency and bankruptcy-related remedies. Greek Law 4738/2020 provides for bankruptcy, small-scale bankruptcy and pre-bankruptcy restructuring procedures. Publications, disclosures and registrations of these proceedings are made through the Electronic Solvency Register, and certain information may also be reflected in the General Commercial Registry.

Insolvency analysis is important before and after court proceedings. It helps the creditor understand whether the debtor still has recoverable assets, whether other creditors have already initiated collective proceedings, whether enforcement should continue individually, and whether the claim should be asserted in bankruptcy or restructuring proceedings.

Where assets were transferred to avoid creditors, Greek law may also provide remedies against prejudicial transactions and other asset-shifting arrangements. In appropriate cases, liability of company management or persons influencing the debtor’s decisions may become relevant if the debtor’s insolvency was caused or aggravated by fraud, gross negligence or failure to comply with duties connected with insolvency. These remedies should be used strategically, because they require evidence of the debtor’s conduct, asset movement and causal connection with creditor harm.

If you need support with debt collection in Greece, Grandliga can analyze the debtor, evidence, limitation period, available court procedures, enforcement options, insolvency risks and cross-border recognition or enforcement issues. We can help prepare a recovery strategy, organize lawful negotiations, initiate and manage court proceedings, and support enforcement against assets in Greece or in another relevant jurisdiction.

# DEBT COLLECTION AGENCY GREECE

12.04.2024

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