Debt collection · Croatia

🇭🇷 Your customer in Croatia is not paying?

Goods delivered, invoice overdue, the customer in Croatia silent. This page explains how a B2B claim is collected in Croatia, how long it takes, and which interest and costs can be charged to the debtor. Incasso Mentor sets up and runs this process on your behalf: we choose the right route, bring in the local specialist, follow every step and report to you in Turkish. You only take the decisions. Information as at September 2026.

Croatia at a glance

The four figures that matter most to a Turkish exporter. Fees and rates change; before any legal step we confirm the current figures with our partner.

8 days
Period to object to the enforcement order (rješenje o ovrsi) that a notary public issues on the basis of the invoice. No objection: the order becomes final and directly enforceable.
10.40%
B2B commercial default interest (Obligations Act, art. 29, 1 July – 31 December 2026): reference rate published by the HNB 2.40% + 8 points. Plus a €40 flat recovery fee.
60 days
Usual maximum payment term that undertakings may agree by contract; 30 days if no term was agreed (Financial Operations and Pre-Bankruptcy Settlement Act).
3 years
Limitation for commercial claims between traders (Obligations Act, art. 228). Note: a demand does not interrupt it (art. 244), only an acknowledgment or a legal step.
Process

How collection in Croatia proceeds

Amicable phase

Croatian-language demand; commercial interest and the €40 flat fee are claimed. The debtor's entry in the Court Register (Sudski registar) and any account blockade at FINA are checked at the outset.

Enforcement via a notary

Under Croatian law an invoice is a "trustworthy document" (vjerodostojna isprava): the application filed through the e-ovrha system is assigned automatically to a notary public, who issues the enforcement order. The debtor pays or objects within 8 days; without objection the order becomes final.

Court action if objected

The file goes to the Commercial Court (Trgovački sud) and continues as ordinary proceedings; small-claims track up to €6,630. Court fee: above €2,000 it is €140 + 1% of the excess, capped at €1,500. Appeal to the High Commercial Court.

Enforcement and insolvency

The final order is lodged with FINA: FINA registers it in the payment-order register (Očevidnik), blocks all of the debtor's bank accounts and collects directly from them. A blockade of more than 60 days is a presumption of insolvency (Bankruptcy Act); bankruptcy and pre-bankruptcy proceedings run at the Commercial Court.

Our role

We organise your collection in Croatia

Collecting a debt in a foreign country on your own is exhausting: language, law, finding the right firm, negotiating fees, not missing deadlines. This is exactly where Incasso Mentor comes in. We review your file, obtain an independent credit report on the debtor and determine the most suitable route for Croatia.

Then we set up the process: we select the notary or lawyer in Croatia, hand over a complete and well-prepared file, fix the fee on your behalf in advance and follow every step. You work with one contact, in your own language. Every decision is yours; no step is taken without your approval.

What you do, what we do
✓

You: send us the invoice, contract and delivery documents.

✓

We: assess the file, obtain the credit report and report the route and cost to you in writing.

✓

We: select and brief the local specialist in Croatia, fix the fee and watch the deadlines.

✓

We: report every development in Turkish and answer your questions.

✓

You: take the decision at every stage. Legal steps only with your approval.

Three points that matter for a Turkish exporter

The invoice alone opens the enforcement route

In Croatia an enforcement application based on an invoice goes to a notary, not to a court; an enforcement order is obtained without a lawsuit. This makes it decisive that the invoice clearly shows the parties, the amount and the due date. We set up this step with the local notary.

A demand does not interrupt the limitation period

In Croatia only a written acknowledgment by the debtor or a notarial or court step stops the clock (Obligations Act, arts. 240–244). If the 3-year period is close, we do not lose time with demands: straight to enforcement via the notary.

FINA sees every account

The final enforcement order is lodged with FINA, which blocks all of the debtor's accounts in Croatia from a single register (Očevidnik) and pays creditors in order of receipt. Your place in that queue is decided by how quickly you act.

Frequently asked questions

How long does collection in Croatia take?

Unopposed notarial route: service plus 8 days to object plus the finality clause, then collection through FINA; about 3–4 months until the money reaches your account. A defended case at the Commercial Court takes much longer, often more than a year.

Do I need a lawyer?

No. There is no obligation to use a lawyer for the notarial route, litigation or enforcement; only an appeal on points of law to the Supreme Court (revizija) must be filed through a lawyer (Civil Procedure Act, art. 91.a). In practice a local lawyer handles a defended case; we organise this with your approval.

What is the decision worth in the EU and in Turkey?

A Croatian court judgment is enforced in the EU under Brussels I-bis without extra formalities. A notary's enforcement order on an invoice, however, does not count as a "judgment" under that regulation according to the Court of Justice (Pula Parking, C-551/15); since the debtor's assets are usually in Croatia, this rarely matters. In Turkey recognition (tenfiz) is needed.

Incasso Mentor is not a law firm. We coordinate the amicable phase; where a legal step is needed, an authorised notary, lawyer or registered agency in Croatia acts with your approval. This page is general information, not legal advice. Source legislation: Obligations Act (arts. 29, 228, 240–244), Financial Operations and Pre-Bankruptcy Settlement Act, Enforcement Act (arts. 31, 39.a, 41, 57), Civil Procedure Act (arts. 91.a, 502), Act on Enforcement on Monetary Funds, Bankruptcy Act, Regulation on the Tariff of Court Fees (NN 50/2026), HNB reference-rate notice (NN 68/2026). Information as at September 2026.

Submit your Croatia claim today

Share your invoice and the basic documents. We review the file and report the route in Croatia and the expected cost to you in writing, in Turkish; the rest we plan together. B2B, from €20,000 per debtor.

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