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After a pre-judgment attachment in the Netherlands, you must start proceedings on the merits within the period set by the judge (Article 700(3) DCCP). Normally you claim an order to pay. The Dutch Supreme Court has held that a claim for a declaratory judgment can also suffice, and that such a judgment is an enforceable title if it makes clear that you can actually claim payment (ECLI:NL:HR:2022:298).
This page is for foreign creditors that have attached assets of a Dutch debtor, or of a director or guarantor, and now have to bring the claim on the merits, and for debtors facing such a claim. It explains which claim keeps the attachment alive, what the Supreme Court decided and what the risks of a declaratory claim are. Have you levied an attachment, or are you about to? Let a Dutch litigation lawyer draft the claim on the merits so that the judgment can be enforced.
Which claim must you bring after a pre-judgment attachment?
A claim on the merits for the right for which you attached, brought within the period the judge set, of at least eight days after the attachment (Article 700(3) DCCP). If you miss that period, the attachment lapses. Usually you claim an order that the debtor pay the amount owed.
An order to pay is an enforceable title: Dutch judgments can be enforced throughout the Netherlands after service on the debtor (Article 430 DCCP). Once you have obtained such a title and served it, the pre-judgment attachment becomes an attachment in execution. If your claim is finally rejected, the attachment lapses by operation of law (Article 704 DCCP). The general rules are on our page on pre-judgment attachments under Dutch law.
A declaratory judgment (verklaring voor recht) is different. At the request of a person directly involved, the court declares what the legal relationship between the parties is (Article 3:302 DCC), for example that a party is liable. Such a judgment does not as such order anyone to pay. The question is therefore whether a declaratory claim is enough to keep the attachment alive and to enforce it.
What did the Supreme Court decide in ECLI:NL:HR:2022:298?
That a creditor who has attached assets may limit its claim on the merits to establishing the existence and extent of its claim. If that claim is allowed, the judgment is an enforceable title for the claim established, provided it is clear from that finding that the creditor can actually claim payment (HR 25 February 2022, ECLI:NL:HR:2022:298, para. 3.2.3).
The facts. In 2004 a landlord let an office building to a company and attached a property of the company’s sole director for a claim provisionally estimated at EUR 260,000. In 2007 the subdistrict court (kantonrechter) ordered the company to pay the rent arrears, but dismissed the claim against the director. On appeal, the landlord only claimed a declaration that the director was jointly and severally liable for everything the company had been ordered to pay. In 2009 the court of appeal granted that declaration.
In the meantime the director’s property had been sold at the request of the mortgage lender, and a balance of more than EUR 100,000 remained with a notary. In the distribution of that balance, the director and two other creditors argued that the landlord had no enforceable title and that its claim was time-barred. The Supreme Court disagreed. It was clear to the director that the claim aimed to establish that the landlord could actually claim payment, so the declaratory judgment was an enforceable title (para. 3.2.4). Under the 20-year limitation period for enforcing judgments, the claim had not lost its enforceability (Article 3:324(1) DCC).
When is a declaratory judgment an enforceable title?
When it is clear from the judgment that the creditor can actually claim payment. The Supreme Court gave one example: a finding that the debtor is jointly and severally liable for what another party has already been ordered to pay (ECLI:NL:HR:2022:298, para. 3.2.3).
- The claim on the merits aims to establish the justification and the extent of the claim for which you attached.
- The judgment establishes that claim in a way that shows you can actually demand payment, for example by reference to an amount or to an earlier order against another party.
- The debtor could understand from your claim that you maintained the claim for which you attached (para. 3.2.4).
The ruling is fact-specific. It shows that a declaratory claim does not automatically end an attachment, but it does not make such a claim a safe choice. Where you can claim an order to pay, do so.
What are the risks of claiming only a declaration?
Uncertainty about enforcement and about limitation. In the case decided in 2022, the debtor argued that the claim for payment had become time-barred because the original claim for an order to pay had not been allowed. It took a dispute through three courts before the creditor could share in the proceeds.
The background is a rule on interruption of limitation. Starting proceedings interrupts limitation, but if the claim is not allowed, the interruption only counts if a new claim is brought within six months after the proceedings end and that claim is allowed (Article 3:316(1) and (2) DCC). A declaratory claim that is later considered “less” than the original claim invites that argument. The court of appeal described the landlord’s change of claim on appeal as a reduction of the claim; the Supreme Court accepted that it still served to establish the claim for which the landlord had attached.
In practice: word the claim on the merits so that the amount and the basis of payment are clear, do not drop an order to pay on appeal without a good reason, and check every change of claim against the attachment and the limitation period. Our page on how prejudgment attachment works in the Netherlands sets out the other conditions.
What happens to the attachment while the proceedings run?
It stays in place until it is lifted, lapses or becomes an attachment in execution. The debtor can ask the preliminary relief judge to lift it, for example if the claim appears unfounded on summary examination or if sufficient security is provided (Article 705(2) DCCP).
If the attached property is sold by another creditor, such as a mortgage lender, the proceeds are distributed among the parties entitled. Those parties, including a creditor that has attached the property, can ask for a court-supervised distribution (rangregeling) before a supervisory judge (rechter-commissaris) (Article 3:271 DCC and Article 552 DCCP). Disputes that the supervisory judge cannot settle are referred to the district court in a referral procedure (renvooiprocedure) (Article 486 DCCP). That is what happened in the 2022 case.
Has a debtor’s property been sold before you obtained judgment? Contact our Dutch law firm in Amsterdam; we check whether you can still share in the proceeds and what your claim on the merits must contain.
Practical example: attachment against a director and a company
Suppose an Italian supplier attaches a Dutch customer’s bank account and the house of its director, because it believes the director is personally liable for the unpaid invoices. In the main proceedings, the court orders the company to pay, but dismisses the claim against the director.
If the supplier, on appeal, limits its claim against the director to a declaration that he is jointly and severally liable for what the company was ordered to pay, the 2022 ruling suggests that a judgment granting that declaration can be enforced against him. The safer route is to keep the claim for an order to pay against the director as well, so that there is no discussion about the title, the attachment or limitation.
When do you need a Dutch lawyer after a pre-judgment attachment?
Immediately: before the period for starting proceedings on the merits expires, and before any change of claim. In proceedings before the district court and the court of appeal, you must be represented by a Dutch advocate (Article 79(2) DCCP).
MAAK Advocaten in Amsterdam levies and defends against attachments, brings the claim on the merits, and acts in distribution and referral proceedings, at first instance and on appeal. Read more about summary proceedings to lift an attachment, or contact our litigation lawyers.
Frequently asked questions about declaratory judgments after a pre-judgment attachment
Does a pre-judgment attachment lapse if I only claim a declaratory judgment?
Not necessarily. The Supreme Court held that a claim establishing the justification and extent of the claim for which you attached can suffice (HR 25 February 2022, ECLI:NL:HR:2022:298). The safer course is still to claim an order to pay.
Is a declaratory judgment an enforceable title in the Netherlands?
It can be, if it is clear from the finding that the creditor can actually claim payment, for example because the debtor is declared jointly and severally liable for what another party was already ordered to pay (ECLI:NL:HR:2022:298, para. 3.2.3).
How long do I have to start the main proceedings after an attachment?
Within the period set by the preliminary relief judge, which is at least eight days after the attachment. The judge can extend it if you ask before it expires. Otherwise the attachment lapses (Article 700(3) DCCP).
What happens to the attachment when I win the main proceedings?
Once you have an enforceable title and have served it on the debtor, and on the third party if the attachment was levied under a third party, the pre-judgment attachment becomes an attachment in execution (Article 704(1) DCCP).
How long can a Dutch judgment be enforced?
In principle for twenty years from the day after the judgment (Article 3:324(1) DCC). A five-year period applies to amounts that the judgment requires to be paid annually or more often (Article 3:324(3) DCC).
Primary sources
Dutch statutes are only officially available in Dutch, on wetten.overheid.nl. Judgments can be found on rechtspraak.nl by their ECLI number. Legal position checked on 28 October 2026.
- Supreme Court of the Netherlands (Hoge Raad), 25 February 2022, ECLI:NL:HR:2022:298
- Dutch Civil Code (Burgerlijk Wetboek), Book 3: Articles 3:271, 3:302, 3:316 and 3:324
- Dutch Code of Civil Procedure (Wetboek van Burgerlijke Rechtsvordering): Articles 79, 430, 486, 552, 700, 704 and 705
