How to collect a debt from an Estonian company

By Ero Liivik, lawyer (jurist) at Erovik Law Office · Updated 2 November 2026

You can often collect a debt from an Estonian company without travelling to Estonia, because many steps are written and electronic. Check the company, send a demand letter with a deadline, then use the payment order procedure for an undisputed claim of up to EUR 8,000 or a statement of claim for anything larger or disputed. A bailiff then enforces the court decision and can arrest the debtor’s bank accounts.

Key points

• Contractual claims are generally time-barred after three years. For an unpaid price, the period runs from the end of the year in which payment fell due.
• Statutory late payment interest is the ECB main refinancing rate plus 8% a year. From a business debtor you can also claim EUR 40 for collection costs.
• The Estonian payment order covers undisputed contractual claims of up to EUR 8,000, including interest. The debtor has 15 days (30 if served abroad) to object.
• If the company goes bankrupt, you must file your claim with the trustee within two months of the bankruptcy notice.

Step 1: Check the company in the e-Business Register

Search the e-Business Register by name or registry code. Check the company’s status (active, in liquidation or bankrupt), its management board, registered address and annual reports, and the information on tax arrears.

Liquidation and bankruptcy notices are published in the official gazette Ametlikud Teadaanded (Commercial Code (ÄS) § 212; Bankruptcy Act (PankrS) § 33). If a private limited company (OÜ) is being liquidated, notify the liquidator of your claim within four months of the notice. Missing that period does not extinguish your claim or stop you from suing (ÄS § 213). See our guide to closing an Estonian company.

Step 2: Collect your evidence

Under the General Part of the Civil Code Act (TsÜS), most contracts can be made in any form, so a deal agreed by e-mail can be valid (TsÜS § 77). But in court you must prove it. Gather the contract or order, delivery or acceptance documents, the invoices, any e-mails in which the debtor admitted the debt, and a list of part payments.

If no payment date was agreed, payment generally falls due no later than 30 days after the invoice reaches the debtor. A business customer cannot rely on a payment term longer than 60 days unless it was expressly agreed and is not grossly unfair to you (Law of Obligations Act (VÕS) § 82¹).

Step 3: Send a demand letter with a deadline

State the amount, the invoices, the interest, the deadline and your next step. The letter has three legal effects:

• Limitation. A payment deadline pauses the limitation period until the deadline expires or the debtor finally refuses to pay. After that, the claim cannot expire for at least two months (TsÜS §§ 167 and 168). Only an acknowledgement by the debtor, such as a part payment, restarts the three years (TsÜS § 158).
• Costs. If you sue without asking for payment first and the debtor accepts the claim at once, you may have to bear the costs yourself (Code of Civil Procedure (TsMS) § 168).
• Bankruptcy warning. One way to show that a debtor is insolvent is that it has not paid within 30 days of the due date and then still does not pay within 10 days of a written bankruptcy warning (PankrS § 10). Only use this if you mean it: filing when you know, or should know, that there are no grounds makes you liable for the debtor’s damage.

Late payment interest and compensation

Late payment interest (viivis) runs from the due date until payment. The statutory rate is the European Central Bank’s main refinancing rate as it stood just before 1 January or 1 July, applied for the following half-year, plus 8% per year (VÕS §§ 94 and 113). A higher contractual interest rate applies instead, but at the debtor’s request a court may reduce an unreasonably high rate (VÕS §§ 113 and 162).

From a business debtor you can also claim a fixed EUR 40 for collection costs; this does not apply to consumers (VÕS § 113¹).

Step 4: Choose the court route

Route	Suitable for	Main limits	Time for the debtor to respond
Estonian payment order (maksekäsu kiirmenetlus)	Undisputed contractual money claims that are already due	Up to EUR 8,000 including interest; electronic filing	15 days to pay or object, 30 days if served abroad
European Payment Order	Uncontested cross-border money claims in the EU	Cross-border cases only; standard Form A	30 days to oppose
European Small Claims Procedure	Smaller cross-border claims in the EU	Up to EUR 5,000; mainly written; a lawyer is not required	30 days to reply
Statement of claim (hagi)	Disputed or larger claims, damages	Filed in Estonian; state fee payable	Set by the court: at least 14 days, 28 days if served abroad

The Estonian payment order

The claim must be for a fixed sum, already due and based on a contract or on the debtor’s acknowledgement of debt. It cannot be brought against a company that is already bankrupt (TsMS § 481). The application is filed electronically with a digital signature; a representative can file it for you (TsMS § 482).

The Haapsalu courthouse of Pärnu County Court deals with the application within ten working days and sends the debtor a payment proposal (TsMS §§ 108, 483 and 484). If the debtor neither pays nor objects, the court issues a payment order that is immediately enforceable (TsMS § 489). You recover only the state fee and EUR 20 towards your other costs (TsMS § 484²).

The EU procedures

A European Payment Order (Regulation (EC) No 1896/2006) becomes enforceable if the debtor does not oppose it within 30 days. If the debtor opposes it, you choose whether the case continues in ordinary proceedings or under the European Small Claims Procedure, or ends. Estonia enforces a European Payment Order only if it is in Estonian or English, or comes with a translation into one of them (TsMS § 490¹).

The European Small Claims Procedure (Regulation (EC) No 861/2007) covers cross-border claims of up to EUR 5,000. The judgment is recognised and enforceable in other member states without a declaration of enforceability.

Step 5: If the debtor disputes the claim

If the debtor objects to a payment proposal, the case becomes an ordinary court case, unless you asked for the proceedings to end. The claim counts as filed on the date of your application, and you may be given 14 days to file a full statement of claim (TsMS §§ 486–487). If the debtor then does not reply in time, the court may issue a default judgment (TsMS § 407). The loser normally pays the winner’s justified and necessary costs (TsMS §§ 162 and 175). See our page on court disputes in Estonia.

Step 6: Secure the claim if assets may disappear

If a judgment might otherwise be hard to enforce, the court can secure the claim, for example by arresting assets or bank accounts or entering a judicial mortgage (TsMS §§ 377–378). You can apply even before filing the claim; the court then gives you at most one month to file it (TsMS § 382). For a money claim, the court requires security of at least 5% of the claim, but not less than EUR 32 and not more than EUR 32,000. It can waive the security in justified cases (TsMS § 383).

Step 7: Enforcement by a bailiff

Final judgments, payment orders, court-approved settlements and foreign judgments that are enforceable in Estonia are enforcement titles under the Code of Enforcement Procedure (TMS § 2). Submit the title, in Estonian or English, with an application to a bailiff (kohtutäitur) whose area covers the debtor’s seat or assets (TMS §§ 4 and 23).

The debtor first gets time to pay voluntarily, as a rule at least 30 days (TMS § 25). The bailiff can obtain bank and register data and arrest bank accounts (TMS §§ 26 and 115), and may ask you for an advance payment (TMS § 40). The limitation period for enforcing a claim confirmed by a final judgment is ten years (TsÜS § 157).

Step 8: If the company is insolvent

If the company’s assets cannot cover the costs of bankruptcy proceedings and nothing can be recovered, the court ends the proceedings without declaring bankruptcy and the company is deemed dissolved. This can be avoided if a creditor or someone else pays a deposit set by the court (PankrS § 29).

Once bankruptcy is declared, interest stops running (PankrS § 35). Send the trustee a written claim with evidence within two months of the bankruptcy notice (PankrS §§ 93–94). A late claim is paid only after the claims filed in time, unless the court restores the deadline for a good reason (PankrS § 102). The trustee can ask the court to set aside transactions that harmed creditors (PankrS §§ 109 and 118).

If the company cannot pay, a creditor can in some cases claim from a management board member the damage the member caused the company in breach of their duties. After bankruptcy, only the trustee can bring that claim (ÄS § 187).

Typical mistakes of foreign creditors

• Waiting too long. An invoice due in March 2024 is normally time-barred at the end of 2027, and the assets may be gone much sooner.
• No written terms. Confirm prices, scope and payment terms in writing, even by e-mail.
• Not checking the register. Suing a bankrupt or empty company wastes money.
• Ignoring the language rules. The courts work in Estonian and may disregard untranslated documents (TsMS §§ 32–33).
• Expecting a collection agency to seize assets. Only a bailiff can enforce a court decision.

Related guide: Bailiffs and enforcement in Estonia.

Frequently asked questions

Can I sue an Estonian company from abroad?

Yes. Court documents can be filed electronically (TsMS § 336), and a representative in Estonia can act for you. Jurisdiction depends on EU rules, your contract and Estonian law; under the Estonian rules, a company can be sued where it has its seat (TsMS §§ 70 and 79).

Is there a small claims court in Estonia?

There is no separate one: civil cases start in the county courts (TsMS § 9). For financial claims of up to EUR 3,500 (EUR 7,000 with interest and other ancillary claims), the court may use a simplified procedure (TsMS § 405). Cross-border claims in the EU can also use the European Small Claims Procedure.

How long does it take?

The court deals with a payment order application within ten working days, and the debtor then has 15 days (30 if served abroad) to respond. If service goes smoothly and there is no objection, you can have a payment order within a few weeks. Contested cases take longer.

How Erovik Law Office can help

We prepare a written action plan (EUR 120–180), a demand letter (EUR 120–200) and a statement of claim (from EUR 300). Other court documents, such as a payment order application, and representation are by agreement; international matters may receive a separate quote. We work in English and Estonian, directly with you, and agree the scope and price first. See our debt collection service and fees, or contact us.

This guide reflects Estonian law in force on 1 November 2026. It is general information, not legal advice for your situation.