Payment reminder in Belgium: when and what you can charge
Do you have to send a payment reminder when an invoice is paid late? Not to a business: under the law of 2 August 2002, late-payment interest and €40 compensation run automatically. To a private person you do: the first reminder is the formal notice, and it is free.
After how many days is an invoice late, and when do I send the reminder?
An invoice is late from the day after the due date, and the reminder follows. If the contract names no date or term, the law of 2 August 2002 says a commercial transaction between businesses must be paid within thirty calendar days, counted from the day after the day your customer received the invoice. The parties may agree a term of up to sixty calendar days; a clause with a longer term is deemed not written.
A self-employed person who buys for their business is a business under that law, even when working alone. Your customer is then a business, even if it is a sole trade (eenmanszaak / en personne physique).
You send the reminder after the due date. Between businesses, the law sets no day by which you must send it.
The reminder for an invoice is the first step in the whole picture of an unpaid invoice, which you can read in unpaid invoices and reminders. This article belongs to the stage invoices and Peppol in Belgium.
What Dutch pages say about a reminder after fourteen days, about the Dutch statutory interest or about Dutch collection costs is Dutch law. This article contains only Belgian rules.
For a private person there is no fixed legal minimum term to pay an invoice, says the FOD Economie / SPF Economie (the federal economy department). If the general terms name no term, the amount is due immediately.
Do I have to send a payment reminder?
To a business you do not have to send a payment reminder; to a private person you do. Between businesses, under article 5 of the law of 2002, the outstanding amount is increased “by operation of law and without formal notice” with late-payment interest from the day after the due date, and under article 6 with fixed compensation of €40. The condition is that you have met your contractual and legal obligations and that the customer does not prove the delay is not their fault. A reminder is then a courtesy and proof that you contacted them.
A private person is a consumer in the law: under article I.1 of the Code of Economic Law, a natural person acting for purposes outside their commercial, business, craft or professional activity. A customer who buys for their own business is therefore not a consumer.
To a consumer you do send the reminder. Under book XIX of the Code of Economic Law, inserted by the law of 4 May 2023, a penalty clause (schadebeding / clause pénale, a flat sum agreed in advance) can be applied only after a formal notice in the form of a first reminder and after at least fourteen calendar days. These rules apply since 1 September 2023, and to older contracts since 1 December 2023, says the FOD Economie in its questions about invoices.
The two formal notices differ. Between businesses, the formal notice is a separate formal step that the law does not require. With a consumer, the first reminder is itself the formal notice.
The business must prove it followed the reminder rules, and a clause that exempts it from those prior formalities is forbidden and void. If the business does not follow them, the consumer is released by operation of law from the penalty clause under book XIX (except for the mandatory mentions of the first reminder, art. XIX.2 § 3). So keep proof of dispatch.
What must a payment reminder contain?
To a private person the law prescribes four items in the first reminder; for a reminder to a business the law of 2002 prescribes no content. Under article XIX.2 of book XIX, the first reminder to a consumer contains at least:
- the balance due and the amount of the penalty clause that is demanded if there is no payment within the fourteen calendar days;
- your name or business name and your company number;
- a description of the product that gave rise to the debt and the due date of the debt;
- the term within which the debt must be paid before costs, late-payment interest or compensation are claimed.
To a business you choose what it says. A useful reminder names the invoice number and invoice date, the outstanding amount, the original due date, a new payment date, your payment details and what follows if the invoice stays open.
Under article XIX.2, reminders to a consumer are sent on a durable medium. For an ordinary postal dispatch the fourteen-day term starts on the third working day after dispatch, and for an electronic reminder on the calendar day after the day it was sent.
What late-payment interest and compensation can I charge a business?
To a business you can charge late-payment interest and fixed compensation of €40, both from the day after the due date and without sending a reminder first. Under the law of 2002 that is the reference interest rate plus eight percentage points, rounded up to the next half percentage point, and fixed compensation of €40, both by operation of law and without formal notice. That applies if you have met your obligations, and unless the parties have agreed otherwise within article 7.
| What | What the law provides |
|---|---|
| Late-payment interest | reference interest rate plus eight percentage points, rounded up to the next half percentage point (art. 5) |
| Reference interest rate | the ECB’s rate on its most recent main refinancing operation: for the first half-year the one of 1 January, for the second the one of 1 July (art. 2) |
| Fixed compensation | €40 for your recovery costs, if late-payment interest is due (art. 6) |
| On top of the €40 | reasonable compensation for other recovery costs that exceed that amount (art. 6) |
| Payment plan | late-payment interest and compensation only on the overdue instalments (art. 4) |
For the second half of 2026 that comes to 10.5%, calculated from the main refinancing rate of the ECB on 1 July 2026: 2.40% plus eight percentage points is 10.40%, rounded up to the next half percentage point.
Under article 2 of the law of 2002 the rate is set per half-year, based on the rate of 1 January or 1 July, and under article 5 the Minister of Finance publishes it in the Belgian Official Gazette (Belgisch Staatsblad). Read it each time for the half-year you are calculating.
Under article 7, a clause that excludes the payment of late-payment interest is regarded as manifestly unfair, and the judge revises a clause that is manifestly unfair to the creditor at the creditor’s request.
These are the late-payment interest of the law of 2002. The interest on late tax payments (nalatigheidsinteresten / intérêts de retard) that the tax office charges on tax paid late is a different thing, with its own rate.
What can I charge a private person for a reminder?
Under book XIX you may charge a private person nothing for the first reminder. The penalty clause, late-payment interest or fixed compensation, can be applied only after at least fourteen calendar days, and only if your contract or terms provide for it. The FOD Economie / SPF Economie explains that compensation and late-payment interest must be stated clearly in the contract or the general terms.
After those fourteen days, book XIX lets you claim only two things. Late-payment interest is capped at the rate of the law of 2002, the reference interest rate plus eight percentage points, calculated on the sum still to be paid. Fixed compensation, where expressly provided, follows a scale:
| Balance due | Fixed compensation, at most |
|---|---|
| up to and including €150 | €20 |
| from €150.01 to €500 | €30 plus 10% of the amount due on the portion between €150.01 and €500 |
| above €500 | €65 plus 5% of the amount due on the portion above €500, with a maximum of €2,000 |
The amounts of the scale cover both the late-payment interest and all costs of the amicable recovery of the unpaid debt. You may claim late-payment interest and/or the fixed compensation, but nothing else.
Under article XIX.2, with a contract for the regular supply of goods or services, such as a subscription, the reminders for three unpaid due dates per calendar year are free. For additional reminders you may charge at most €7.50 plus the postage costs of that moment.
Put the penalty clause in your terms before you need it. If you have none, send the free first reminder and charge nothing.
How many reminders do I send and how firm can the tone be?
No legal text this article relies on sets a number of reminders. The law regulates the first reminder to a private person and what you may charge afterwards, and that is all. In practice you send a friendly reminder, then a firmer one, and then the formal notice.
The tone is firm and factual, without accusation: write what is outstanding, since when and what you will do if it stays unpaid. Name the amount and the next step. What comes after the reminder, the formal notice, the collection agency and the judge, is in collecting an unpaid invoice.
Frequently asked questions
How many payment reminders do I have to send?
No legal text this article relies on sets a number. The law regulates only the first reminder to a private person, which is mandatory and free, and what you may charge afterwards. In practice you send a friendly reminder, then a firmer one, then the formal notice.
Do I have to send a payment reminder before charging late-payment interest?
Not to a business: under the law of 2 August 2002, late-payment interest and the €40 fixed compensation run by operation of law and without formal notice, if you have met your own obligations. To a private person you do: without a first reminder and at least fourteen calendar days, you cannot apply the penalty clause.
Can I charge for a payment reminder?
To a private person the first reminder is free. For a subscription or other regular supply, reminders for three unpaid due dates per calendar year are free, after that at most €7.50 plus postage. Late-payment interest and fixed compensation follow only after fourteen calendar days, and only if your terms provide for them.
How much late-payment interest can I charge on a late invoice?
To a business: the reference interest rate plus eight percentage points, rounded up to the next half point, and €40 fixed compensation. For the second half of 2026 that is 10.5%, calculated from the ECB rate of 1 July 2026. To a private person the same ceiling applies to the interest; the fixed compensation follows a scale.
After how many days do I send a reminder?
The law sets no day: you send it after the due date. If the contract names no term, an invoice between businesses is payable within thirty calendar days of the day your customer received it, and an agreed term may be sixty days at most. From the next day, the invoice is late.
A reminder is a calm sentence about a date and an amount. Whoever writes it clearly does both sides a favour.
💜💙 Your BravoLisa Team
This article is for general information purposes only and does not constitute professional tax, legal, or accounting advice. Every situation is different — consult a qualified professional (tax adviser, accountant, or lawyer) for advice specific to your circumstances. BravoLisa does not accept liability for decisions made based on this information.
Sources (6)
- Justel — Wet van 2 augustus 2002 betreffende de bestrijding van de betalingsachterstand bij handelstransacties, art. 2 tot 7
- FOD Economie — Vijf vragen over facturen die iedereen zich stelt, vragen 2 en 3
- Justel — Wetboek van economisch recht, art. I.1
- Justel — Wet van 4 mei 2023 houdende invoeging van boek XIX Schulden van de consument in het Wetboek van economisch recht, art. XIX.1 tot XIX.4 en XIX.15
- ECB — Key ECB interest rates
- FOD Economie — Onbetaalde facturen: gratis herinnering en beperkte vergoeding