Guide · European Union

Late payment interest in the EU

Directive 2011/7/EU gives every business in the EU the same floor of rights when another business or a public authority pays late. Each member state has written it into national law, and some go further.

What you are entitled to

• Interest, automatically. It starts the day after the due date. You do not have to send a reminder first.
• A minimum rate. At least 8 percentage points above the European Central Bank reference rate. The reference rate in force on 1 January applies for the first half of the year, and the rate on 1 July for the second half.
• At least €40 compensation for recovery costs on each late invoice, plus reasonable further costs if recovery costs you more.

Worked example

Limits on payment terms

• Business to business: where no term is agreed, payment is due within 30 days. Agreed terms should not exceed 60 days unless expressly agreed and not grossly unfair to the creditor.
• Public authorities: 30 days as a rule, extendable to 60 only in limited cases.

Where countries differ

The directive sets a minimum. Some countries apply a higher margin or use their own reference rate, so check the national rule for the country whose law governs your contract. In the calculator you can change the margin above the reference rate if your country sets more than 8 points.

Recovering a debt across a border

• The European Payment Order is a standard-form procedure for uncontested cross-border money claims.
• The European Small Claims Procedure covers cross-border claims up to €5,000.

Both are designed to be used without a lawyer, though for larger or disputed debts local advice is worth having.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Rates shown were checked on 10 November 2026.