Bailiff in Estonia: enforcement proceedings for debtors and creditors

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

In Estonia, judgments and other enforcement documents are enforced by a bailiff (kohtutäitur), and every bailiff Estonia-wide applies the same Code of Enforcement Procedure (TMS). If a bailiff writes to you, you usually get at least 30 days to pay voluntarily, and you have only 10 days to complain about a bailiff’s action. If you are a creditor, you need an enforcement document and generally have ten years to submit it to a bailiff.

Key points

• Enforcement starts with a notice of enforcement (täitmisteade) giving, as a rule, at least 30 days for voluntary payment; paying in time halves the bailiff’s basic fee (TMS §§ 24, 25).
• Monthly income up to the minimum wage is, as a rule, protected, with more for dependants (TMS § 132).
• Complaints about the bailiff go to the bailiff within 10 days, then to the county court (TMS §§ 217, 218).
• Civil and commercial judgments from other EU member states generally need no declaration of enforceability (Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012).
• As a rule, enforcement becomes time-barred after ten years (§ 157 of the General Part of the Civil Code Act (TsÜS)).

Bailiffs and enforcement documents

Enforcement is organised by bailiffs (TMS § 3), on the creditor’s application and an enforcement document (täitedokument) (TMS § 23). Private creditors and debt collection agencies cannot seize anything themselves. Enforcement documents include (TMS § 2(1)):

• a final or immediately enforceable civil court judgment or ruling, including a payment order (maksekäsk), which is enforceable at once (§ 489(7) of the Code of Civil Procedure (TsMS));
• a Labour Dispute Committee (töövaidluskomisjon) decision in force, for example on unpaid salary;
• a foreign judgment enforceable in Estonia, and an arbitral award declared enforceable;
• a notarised agreement in which the debtor, after the money claim fell due, consented to immediate enforcement (see our notary guide).

If a bailiff contacts you

The bailiff’s letter

The notice of enforcement names the creditor and the enforcement document, sets the deadline for voluntary payment and explains your right to meet the bailiff and to go to court (TMS § 24(3)). If waiting for the notice could seriously endanger enforcement, the bailiff may seize assets before sending it (TMS § 64(2)).

A payment order can be appealed within 15 days of service (30 days if served abroad), but only on limited grounds (TsMS § 489¹).

Voluntary payment

The bailiff sets the period unless the law or a court has set it: as a rule at least 30 days, longer with the creditor’s consent, and at most ten days for child maintenance (TMS § 25(1), (1¹)). If you pay within it, or agree a payment schedule (maksegraafik) with the creditor before it ends and keep to it, you owe only half of the bailiff’s basic fee plus the fee for starting proceedings (TMS §§ 24(3), 25(2)). The fees are set by the Bailiffs Act.

What can be seized

• Bank accounts, electronically through the enforcement register (täitmisregister). Money arriving later is caught up to the stated amount, and the seizure extends to accounts opened later (TMS § 115).
• Income: salary, pension, dividends, board member fees and similar (TMS § 130).
• Property: movables, real estate, shares in a private limited company (OÜ) and securities, which are then sold (TMS §§ 52, 124, 125).

The bailiff may not seize more than needed for the claim and costs (TMS § 53(1)). Essential household items and clothing, one device for receiving information, a month’s food, items essential for your work and pets kept at home are, as a rule, protected (TMS §§ 66, 67).

Protected income

As a rule, monthly income up to the minimum wage, which the government sets by regulation, is not seized (TMS § 132(1); § 29(5) of the Employment Contracts Act (TLS)). For each person you must maintain by law or pay maintenance to, one third of the minimum wage is added (TMS § 132(2)).

From income above the protected amount, the bailiff may take two thirds of the part up to five times the minimum wage and all of the rest. In total, however, no more than two thirds of your income may be taken (TMS § 132(3)). If other assets do not cover the debt, a limited part of lower income can be seized, but not income below the official subsistence minimum (TMS § 132(1²)). For maintenance debts, especially child maintenance, the protection is much weaker (TMS § 132(1¹)–(3)). Some income cannot be seized at all, for example state family benefits and social benefits for people with disabilities (TMS § 131(1)).

If your account is seized, apply to the bailiff and state which money is protected income and who your dependants are. The bailiff must release the protected amount within three working days of your application (TMS § 133(1)), and meanwhile may release what you and your family need to live on (TMS § 133(2)).

How to challenge enforcement

1. Complain to the bailiff within 10 days of the day you learned, or should have learned, of the decision or action. The bailiff hears it within 15 days and decides within 10 days of the hearing. If you miss the deadline, you cannot later rely on facts you could have raised (TMS § 217).
2. Go to the county court within 10 days of receiving the bailiff’s decision on your complaint; you cannot skip the bailiff. The court deals with it within 15 days and may suspend enforcement (TMS § 218).
3. Dispute the debt itself in court. If the debt was paid, deferred or set off, sue the creditor to have enforcement declared inadmissible. Against a judgment, only grounds arising after it became final count; against other documents, such as a notarised agreement, you can dispute the claim itself (TMS § 221). You can ask the court to suspend enforcement meanwhile (TsMS § 378(1) point 6). If you win, the creditor bears the enforcement costs.

A third person whose property was seized can sue for its release (TMS § 222). On your application, the court may also suspend, extend or defer enforcement if continuing would be unfair to you, taking into account your family and financial situation and the creditor’s interests (TMS § 45).

Payment schedules and growing costs

If you agree a payment schedule with the creditor, the bailiff must suspend enforcement on the creditor’s application (TMS § 46(1)). Act early, because the debtor bears the enforcement costs: the bailiff’s fee and necessary expenses such as data queries, storage of seized property and auctions (TMS §§ 37, 38). Money collected pays costs first, then ancillary claims such as late-payment interest, and only then the principal (TMS § 56(2)).

On request, you must give the bailiff a list of your assets, including gifts made in the last two years (TMS § 60). If you fail to do so without good reason, the court can have you brought in and, if necessary, detained for up to 30 days (TMS § 62).

If you are a creditor

Applying to a bailiff

1. Choose a bailiff whose service area covers the debtor’s residence, seat or assets (TMS § 4(1)).
2. Submit a written enforcement application (täitmisavaldus), electronically with a digital signature if you like, with the parties’ details and any information on the debtor’s assets (TMS § 23(2), (6)).
3. Attach the enforcement document as an original or certified copy, in Estonian or English or with an official or certified translation into one of them (TMS § 23(4)).
4. Be ready to pay an advance if the bailiff asks for one (TMS § 40).

Money recovered is transferred to you within ten working days of the bailiff receiving it (TMS § 43(1)). The enforcement register shows publicly whether a company has debts in enforcement after the voluntary payment period (TMS § 63(12)). See also our guide on collecting a debt from an Estonian company.

What the bailiff can and cannot do

The bailiff can obtain information from the debtor, employers, banks and state databases (TMS § 26) and, with consent or a court ruling, enter the debtor’s premises (TMS § 28). Except when urgent, the bailiff does not act at night, on rest days or on public holidays (TMS § 30).

If the debtor is declared bankrupt, enforcement as a rule ends (TMS § 51(1)), and you must report your claim to the trustee within two months of the bankruptcy notice (§ 93(1) of the Bankruptcy Act (PankrS)).

If enforcement has not satisfied your claim, or is unlikely to, the court can set aside gifts the debtor made within two years before your action. It can also set aside transactions made within three years to deliberately harm creditors, if the other party knew or should have known of it (TMS §§ 187–189).

Foreign judgments in Estonia

• EU member states: under the Brussels I bis Regulation, a civil or commercial judgment that is enforceable where it was given is enforced in Estonia without a declaration of enforceability, using the Regulation’s standard certificate (TsMS § 619(1)).
• Other countries: unless a law or treaty provides otherwise, an Estonian court must first declare the judgment enforceable, on an application with sworn translations into Estonian; it does not review the merits (TsMS §§ 621–623).

Limitation

The right to enforce a final judgment or other enforcement document becomes time-barred after ten years, or 20 years for unlawfully caused damage. The period runs from when the judgment enters into force or the document is issued, but not before the claim is due; periodic payments such as maintenance follow other rules (TsÜS § 157).

The first submission to a bailiff restarts the period (TsÜS § 159). When it has run again, enforcement does not end automatically: the debtor must apply. The bailiff ends it only if the creditor does not object; the debtor can also apply to the court (TMS §§ 48¹, 223¹).

Typical mistakes

• Debtors: ignoring the notice until the cheaper voluntary period has passed; missing the 10-day complaint deadline; complaining to the bailiff about the debt instead of going to court; moving assets to relatives, which creditors can challenge (TMS § 188).
• Creditors: waiting years before applying; bringing a non-EU judgment without an Estonian declaration of enforceability.

Frequently asked questions

Can a bailiff take my whole salary?

No. As a rule, income up to the minimum wage is protected, more with dependants, and no more than two thirds of your total income can be taken, except for maintenance debts (TMS § 132).

Can an Estonian bailiff seize my assets abroad?

No. Estonian bailiffs act only in Estonia; enforcement abroad follows the law of that country (TMS § 4(4)). Your accounts and assets in Estonia can be seized even if you live abroad.

Who pays the bailiff?

The debtor bears the bailiff’s fee and other enforcement costs (TMS § 38). A creditor’s advance is returned once the costs are fully recovered from the debtor (TMS § 41).

How Erovik Law Office can help

We act for debtors and creditors: checking a notice of enforcement, complaints to the bailiff, court actions, release of protected income and enforcement applications, including for foreign creditors. See our debt collection and court disputes pages and fees, and contact us with the bailiff’s letter and the date you received it.

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