Limitation period for invoices in the Netherlands

Just like criminal offenses, invoices in the Netherlands have a limitation period (verjaringstermijn). Different rules apply in the Netherlands for business and private customers. Many invoices to business customers in the Netherlands expire five years after the payment term has expired. If you sell a product to a consumer, the invoice expires after just two years (shortened limitation period). The limitation period shows how long you have to enforce payment from the customer. The limitation period of invoices can seriously affect your company if you do not manage it properly.

How does the limitation period work?

When an invoice is sent on a certain date, that is the invoice date. Additionally, the invoice has a due date. This is the date by which the invoice should actually have been paid. The limitation period starts counting from the due date, not from the invoice date.

Imagine you send an invoice to a business customer on November 1, 2023. A payment term of 14 days applies to the invoice. In that case, the invoice date is November 1, 2023, and the due date is November 15, 2023. The invoice will expire 5 years after the due date, on November 15, 2028.

Different limitation periods

The limitation period can differ per type of debtor (private or business) and per sale (service or product). The table below shows the most common limitation period for every situation. We will ignore the exceptions for now (we will discuss these later).

What happens when the limitation period has expired?

The moment an invoice expires, the creditor (the party sending the invoice) can no longer take legal action to collect the money. The customer is then no longer obligated to pay the invoice. This does not mean, however, that the debtor's debt has disappeared. The debt continues to exist, but the creditor no longer has the right to enforce payment from the debtor.

What can you do to prevent invoices from expiring?

Good accounts receivable management is the solution to prevent invoices from expiring. As a company, you start by sending a reminder or payment reminder (aanmaning). You could even call the customer to point out the outstanding invoice. If the customer does not pay despite your efforts, it is a good idea to engage a collection agency. Incasso.nl is an online collection solution for collecting invoices from your customers. You can easily and quickly take a photo of your invoice and send it to the collection agency with just a few clicks.

Interrupting the limitation period (Stuiten)

There is also a trick to prevent an invoice from expiring. This trick is also called "interrupting" (stuiten). If the limitation period is "interrupted," the limitation period starts again. You can interrupt it by reminding the customer that an invoice is still outstanding. This can be done, for example, with a payment reminder or a dunning notice. To prove that the customer received the reminder or dunning notice in time, it may be a good idea to send it by registered mail.

If a customer makes a (partial) payment or requests a payment arrangement, the limitation period also starts again. Through the (re)action of the debtor, the existence of the invoice is confirmed, and the countdown begins anew.

Exceptions to the limitation period

There are a number of situations in which different limitation periods apply. For example, for transport agreements, which expire after 1 year. Shorter periods than five years also apply to certain other categories, such as energy claims and claims against insurers. The general limitation period is even 20 years.

Alternative agreements

If an alternative limitation period has been agreed upon in advance, the standard limitation period does not apply. For instance, companies can agree on a longer limitation period with customers in their general terms and conditions or individual purchase agreements.

Criminal offenses

If there is a question of criminal offenses, such as fraud or swindling, the 5-year limitation period does not apply either. In that case, other agreements will be made with the parties involved.