Payment reminder in Italy: how to chase an unpaid invoice
An invoice that’s overdue and unpaid isn’t a legal problem yet: most of the time it’s a missing reminder. That’s what a payment reminder (sollecito di pagamento) is for, and if it isn’t enough, it paves the way for the next steps. Here you’ll find the sequence to follow, a template for a reminder letter and one for a formal notice, the late-payment interest the law grants you, the limitation periods and what happens if you get as far as a payment order (decreto ingiuntivo).
When an invoice is really overdue
Before sending a reminder, check the due date. If you agreed one, that’s the one that applies. If you didn’t, between businesses or with a public administration the D.Lgs. 231/2002 sets thirty days from receipt of the invoice (or from receipt of the goods or the service, when the invoice date isn’t certain).
Between businesses a longer term can be agreed; beyond sixty days it must be agreed expressly and in writing, and it must not be grossly unfair to the party waiting for payment. With a public administration the term can’t exceed sixty days.
These rules apply to you too if you’re a professional or self-employed: law 81/2017 extends them to transactions between the self-employed and businesses, between the self-employed and public administrations, and between self-employed people. They don’t apply when the client is a private consumer.
With an e-invoice, the date of receipt is written in the SdI’s delivery receipt (the SdI is the Sistema di Interscambio, the state’s e-invoicing exchange system). If the client says they didn’t receive it, look there. If the code was wrong, read what the SdI code is.
The reminder sequence
Good debt collection is gradual. Each step is a little more formal than the one before, and leaves the client a simple way to pay.
| When | What you do | Tone |
|---|---|---|
| A few days after the due date | Reminder email or phone call, with the invoice attached | Friendly: it may be an oversight |
| After about two weeks | Payment reminder letter, with a new date | Clear and firm |
| After the second silence | Formal notice and notice of default, by PEC or registered letter with return receipt | Formal |
| If that isn’t enough | Lawyer, payment order (decreto ingiuntivo) | Legal |
The timings are indicative: the law doesn’t set how many reminders to send or how far apart. What matters is that every request is in writing, because that’s what you’ll be able to show later.
Before you write, check that the invoice is correct: amount, client details, IBAN. An error on the invoice can be enough to keep even a client acting in good faith waiting.
Template payment reminder letter for an invoice
The first written reminder reminds, it doesn’t accuse. Adapt the template to your case:
Oggetto: Sollecito di pagamento fattura n. [numero] del [data]
Gentile [nome del cliente],
Le scrivo a proposito della fattura n. [numero] del [data], di [importo] €,
con scadenza [data di scadenza]. Dai miei controlli non risulta ancora
il pagamento.
Se ha già provveduto, Le chiedo di inviarmi la contabile del bonifico e La
ringrazio. Altrimenti La prego di effettuare il pagamento entro il [nuova data]
sul conto IBAN [IBAN], intestato a [nome e cognome].
Allego una copia della fattura. Resto a disposizione per qualsiasi chiarimento.
Cordiali saluti,
[nome e cognome]
[partita IVA]
(In English: “Subject: Payment reminder, invoice no. [number] of [date]. Dear [client’s name], I’m writing about invoice no. [number] of [date], for €[amount], due on [due date]. According to my records, payment has not yet been received. If you have already paid, please send me the bank transfer receipt, and thank you. Otherwise, please make the payment by [new date] to IBAN account [IBAN], in the name of [first name and surname]. I attach a copy of the invoice. I remain available for any clarification. Kind regards, [first name and surname], [partita IVA (Italian VAT number)].”)
The template uses Lei, the usual register of a business letter. If you and the client address each other as tu, rewrite it that way: the content doesn’t change.
Formal notice and notice of default: the second step
If the reminder goes unanswered, the next step is a formal notice to pay (diffida ad adempiere) with a notice of default (messa in mora). Under the civil code (art. 1219), the debtor is put in default by a demand or a request made in writing. The formal notice has three useful effects:
- it says clearly that the next step will be legal;
- it interrupts the limitation period (prescrizione), because every act that puts the debtor in default interrupts it (art. 2943 c.c.);
- it leaves you proof with a certain date, if you send it by PEC (certified email) or registered letter with return receipt (raccomandata con ricevuta di ritorno).
Oggetto: Diffida ad adempiere e costituzione in mora – fattura n. [numero] del [data]
Gentile [nome del cliente],
nonostante il sollecito del [data del sollecito], la fattura n. [numero]
del [data], di [importo] €, scaduta il [data di scadenza], risulta ancora
non pagata.
Con la presente La diffido formalmente a pagare l'importo di [importo] €
entro [numero] giorni dal ricevimento di questa comunicazione, sul conto
IBAN [IBAN], e La costituisco in mora ai sensi dell'art. 1219 del codice civile.
Le ricordo che, ai sensi del D.Lgs. 231/2002, sull'importo dovuto maturano
gli interessi di mora dal giorno successivo alla scadenza, oltre all'importo
forfettario di 40 € a titolo di risarcimento dei costi di recupero.
Decorso inutilmente il termine, procederò al recupero del credito nelle
sedi opportune, senza ulteriore avviso.
Distinti saluti,
[nome e cognome]
[partita IVA]
(In English: “Subject: Formal notice to pay and notice of default, invoice no. [number] of [date]. Dear [client’s name], despite the reminder of [date of the reminder], invoice no. [number] of [date], for €[amount], due on [due date], is still unpaid. I hereby formally demand that you pay the amount of €[amount] within [number] days of receiving this notice, to IBAN account [IBAN], and I put you in default under art. 1219 of the civil code. I remind you that, under D.Lgs. 231/2002, late-payment interest accrues on the amount due from the day after the due date, in addition to the flat sum of €40 as compensation for recovery costs. If the term passes without payment, I will proceed to recover the debt through the appropriate channels, without further notice. Yours faithfully, [first name and surname], [partita IVA].”)
Remove the paragraph on D.Lgs. 231/2002 interest if the client is a private individual: that law doesn’t apply to consumers.
Late-payment interest and the €40 for costs
Between businesses, and between a self-employed person and a business, late-payment interest (interessi di mora) runs automatically from the day after the due date, with no need for a notice of default (art. 4, D.Lgs. 231/2002). It’s simple interest, calculated day by day.
If you haven’t agreed a rate, the statutory late-payment rate is the European Central Bank’s reference rate plus eight percentage points. The Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) publishes the reference rate every six months in the Gazzetta Ufficiale.
| Period | Reference rate (MEF) | Late-payment rate (reference + 8 points) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 July – 31 December 2026 | 2.40% | 10.40% |
For a delay that falls in another half-year, use that half-year’s rate: the MEF publishes them all on the interest rates page of its Department of the Economy.
An example: on a €1,000 invoice paid 60 days late in the second half of 2026, the interest is about 1,000 × 10.40% × 60 / 365 = €17.10.
On top of that you’re entitled to a flat sum of €40 as compensation for recovery costs, also with no need for a notice of default (art. 6), and you can claim more if you prove higher costs, for example a lawyer’s.
With a private client, the statutory interest (interessi legali) of art. 1284 of the civil code applies instead, set for 2026 at 1.60% a year by the D.M. of 10 December 2025.
How long you have: the limitation period
A claim doesn’t last forever. The periods in the civil code that concern you most often are three:
| Claim | Period | Article |
|---|---|---|
| General rule | 10 years | art. 2946 c.c. |
| A professional’s fee for work performed | 3 years | art. 2956 c.c. |
| Price of goods sold by a trader to someone who doesn’t trade in them | 1 year | art. 2955 c.c. |
The three-year and one-year periods are presumptive limitation periods (prescrizioni presuntive): once that time has passed, the law presumes that you’ve been paid, and contesting it becomes very difficult. Treat them as the practical limit within which to act.
Every written formal notice interrupts the limitation period. That’s why the notice of default by PEC or registered letter isn’t a formality: it’s what keeps the claim alive while you wait.
If they still don’t pay: the decreto ingiuntivo
The decreto ingiuntivo is the fastest route for a documented money claim. You apply for it to the court with a petition, usually through a lawyer, and the judge decides on the basis of the documents you file.
In plain terms:
- You need written proof. For services by entrepreneurs and the self-employed, the law also treats e-invoices transmitted through the SdI as written proof, under art. 634 of the code of civil procedure.
- The judge issues the order. The code asks the judge to do so within thirty days of the petition being filed, and the order also settles the costs.
- The debtor has forty days. From service of the order they can pay or file an objection. The term is fifty days if they live in another European Union state.
- Without an objection, you move to enforcement. If the debtor neither pays nor objects, you can proceed with enforcement, for example a seizure (pignoramento).
Before you get there, weigh the costs and timescales with a lawyer: for a small invoice, a well-drafted formal notice often achieves more than a petition.
An unpaid invoice is still an issued invoice. Outside the regime forfettario (Italy’s flat-rate tax regime), the VAT on an issued invoice is due from the invoice date, even if the client doesn’t pay: talk to your commercialista (accountant). For the fields of the forfettario invoice, read the invoice under the regime forfettario.
Summary
- Check the due date: thirty days if you haven’t agreed another, between businesses and the self-employed.
- Reminder, written reminder, formal notice with notice of default by PEC: every step in writing.
- Late-payment interest runs automatically at the reference rate plus eight points (10.40% in the second half of 2026), plus a flat €40.
- Three years for a professional’s fee, one year for a trader selling to a private individual: the formal notice interrupts the count.
- The last step is the decreto ingiuntivo, with the e-invoice as written proof.
Getting paid for the work you’ve done isn’t rude: it’s respect, including for your own time.
💜💙 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 (8)
- Normattiva — D.Lgs. 9 ottobre 2002, n. 231 (ritardi di pagamento nelle transazioni commerciali)
- MEF, Ragioneria Generale dello Stato — testo del D.Lgs. 231/2002 (artt. 4 e 6)
- MEF, Dipartimento dell'Economia — Saggio di interesse nei ritardi di pagamento, 2° semestre 2026
- MEF, Dipartimento dell'Economia — Tassi di interesse (pubblicazioni semestrali)
- Normattiva — Legge 22 maggio 2017, n. 81, art. 2 (lavoro autonomo e transazioni commerciali)
- Gazzetta Ufficiale — D.M. 10 dicembre 2025, saggio degli interessi legali per l'anno 2026
- Normattiva — Codice civile (artt. 1219, 2943, 2946, 2955, 2956)
- Normattiva — Codice di procedura civile (artt. 633, 634, 641)