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To lodge a claim in Dutch bankruptcy, you send the court-appointed trustee (curator) a written statement of the nature and amount of your claim, with copies of the supporting documents. This page is for foreign and Dutch suppliers, finance managers and in-house counsel with unpaid invoices. You will learn how to claim, what deadline applies, how claims rank and when to instruct a Dutch lawyer.
What happens to your collection when a Dutch debtor goes bankrupt?
Individual collection stops. Once the court declares the debtor bankrupt (faillietverklaring), you can no longer sue for payment or enforce against its assets. The only way to pursue payment from the estate is to lodge your claim with the trustee.
Article 26 of the Dutch Bankruptcy Act (Faillissementswet, “Fw”) allows claims for payment from the estate only in the manner of article 110 Fw. In practice:
- Enforcement that started before the bankruptcy ends immediately, and attachments already levied lapse (article 33 Fw). That includes a prejudgment attachment on the debtor’s bank account or stock.
- An attachment revives if the bankruptcy ends through annulment or termination (opheffing), provided the asset still belongs to the estate (article 33(2) Fw).
- The court suspends a pending lawsuit for payment. It only continues if someone disputes your claim in the verification (article 29 Fw).
- You can no longer use a judgment you already hold for enforcement through a bailiff against the bankrupt company’s assets.
If your Dutch customer has just gone bankrupt and you are unsure what your attachment, lawsuit or delivered goods are still worth, ask us to review your position against the bankrupt customer before you file anything.
How do you lodge a claim with the trustee?
You send the trustee an invoice statement or other written declaration stating the nature and amount of the claim. Attach the supporting documents or copies, and state whether you claim a preference, pledge, mortgage or right of retention (article 110(1) Fw).
Ask the trustee for a receipt (article 110(2) Fw); it proves timely lodging. The trustee checks your claim against the debtor’s books and may ask you for missing documents or access to your records (article 111 Fw).
Interest accruing after the bankruptcy date does not qualify for verification unless a pledge or mortgage secures it (article 128 Fw). Calculate interest up to the bankruptcy order. You may include pre-bankruptcy extrajudicial collection costs if you were entitled to them.
The trustee then places your claim on a list of provisionally admitted claims or a list of contested claims, with reasons (article 112 Fw).
What is the deadline for lodging a claim?
Lodge your claim no later than fourteen days before the first verification meeting, unless the supervisory judge (rechter-commissaris) sets another date. A claim lodged after that day is not taken into consideration for verification.
The rule is in article 127(1) and (3) Fw. The registry enters the final date in the public register (article 127(4) Fw). The trustee also informs known creditors in writing (article 109(2) Fw). Do not wait for it; check the Central Insolvency Register (Centraal Insolventieregister) as soon as you hear about the bankruptcy.
Many bankruptcies never reach that stage. If the assets are unlikely to pay unsecured creditors anything, the supervisory judge can decide that no verification meeting takes place (article 137a Fw). Lodge your claim anyway, in case assets turn up.
What happens at the verification meeting?
At the verification meeting (verificatievergadering) the supervisory judge informs creditors about the lists of admitted and contested claims. Uncontested claims go on the list of admitted claims. Contested claims go to a settlement attempt and, failing that, to the court.
The supervisory judge sets the date, time and place of one or more meetings where needed (article 108 Fw). Every creditor on the lists may question or dispute any claim, including its claimed priority (article 119(1) Fw).
An admission recorded in the official record has the force of res judicata in the bankruptcy (article 121(4) Fw). If someone disputes your claim, the judge first attempts a settlement. Failing that, the parties go to a court hearing without a writ of summons (renvooiprocedure, article 122(1) Fw). Miss that hearing or the court fee, and the law treats your claim as withdrawn (article 122(3) Fw).
In what order are creditors paid in a Dutch bankruptcy?
Secured creditors with a pledge or mortgage can enforce outside the bankruptcy. From the rest of the estate, the costs of the bankruptcy come first. Then follow preferential claims, ordinary unsecured claims pro rata and, last, subordinated claims.
Creditors share in proportion to their claims unless the law gives priority (article 3:277(1) Dutch Civil Code, “BW”). Priority arises from pledge, mortgage and statutory preferences (article 3:278 BW). Pledge and mortgage rank above preferences unless the law provides otherwise (article 3:279 BW).
| Category | Who | Position in the bankruptcy | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Secured creditors (separatisten) | Holders of a pledge (pand) or mortgage (hypotheek) | May exercise their rights as if there were no bankruptcy; the trustee can set a reasonable period to do so | Articles 57 and 58 Fw |
| Costs of the bankruptcy | General bankruptcy costs (algemene faillissementskosten) | Charged to every part of the estate, except what goes to secured creditors after their own enforcement | Article 182 Fw |
| Preferential creditors | Creditors with a statutory preference, for example certain wage claims of employees | Paid before unsecured creditors | Articles 3:278 and 3:288 BW |
| Unsecured creditors (concurrente schuldeisers) | Most trade suppliers and service providers | Paid pro rata from what remains | Article 3:277(1) BW |
| Subordinated creditors (achtergestelde schuldeisers) | Creditors who agreed to a lower rank | Rank below the creditors they agreed to be subordinated to | Article 3:277(2) BW |
Secured creditors can still face a delay. The supervisory judge can order a cooling-off period (afkoelingsperiode) of at most two months, extendable once by at most two months (article 63a(1) Fw). During that period, recourse against estate assets or reclaiming goods needs the judge’s permission.
Can you set off your claim against a debt to the bankrupt company?
Yes, if you owe the bankrupt company money and it owes you, you can set the two off. Both must have arisen before the bankruptcy or result from acts carried out with the debtor before the bankruptcy.
This is article 53(1) Fw. Set-off is usually worth more than a lodged claim: up to the amount you owe, you recover in full. You cannot set off claims or debts taken over from a third party after the bankruptcy. A claim taken over before the bankruptcy only qualifies if you acted in good faith (article 54(1) and (2) Fw). Tell the trustee in writing that you are setting off, and lodge any remaining balance as a claim.
What happens to goods supplied under retention of title?
If you validly retained title, the unpaid goods are still yours and you can reclaim them from the trustee. Without it, a seller may in some cases use the statutory right of reclamation (recht van reclame).
A retention of title clause can only secure the price of goods supplied, related work and claims for non-performance of those contracts (article 3:92(2) BW). The owner of goods may reclaim them from anyone who holds them without right (article 5:2 BW). Identify your goods in the debtor’s stock and ask the trustee in writing to release them; a cooling-off period under article 63a Fw can delay this. See also our page on how retention of title works under Dutch law.
The right of reclamation is different. A seller of delivered movable goods may reclaim them by written declaration. The buyer must not have paid, and the conditions for termination must be met (article 7:39(1) BW). The goods must be in the same condition as at delivery (article 7:41 BW). The right lapses once two periods have both expired (article 7:44 BW): six weeks after the price fell due, and sixty days after the goods came into storage with the buyer. In a bankruptcy, the reclamation has no effect if the trustee pays the price or provides security within a reasonable period that you set in your declaration (article 7:40(1) BW).
What rights do foreign creditors have under the EU Insolvency Regulation?
A creditor based in another EU Member State may lodge its claim by any means of communication accepted under Dutch law, in any official EU language, without a lawyer. Dutch law still governs verification and ranking.
These rights come from Regulation (EU) 2015/848 on insolvency proceedings (recast), which applies to proceedings opened from 26 June 2017 (article 84(1)). Annex A lists the Dutch faillissement. A “foreign creditor” has its habitual residence, domicile or registered office in another Member State (article 2(12)). The main rules:
- You may lodge your claim by any means of communication accepted by Dutch law; a lawyer is not mandatory for the sole purpose of lodging (article 53).
- The court or the trustee must immediately inform known foreign creditors, including the time limits and the consequences of missing them (article 54).
- You may use the EU standard claims form, which covers principal, interest, costs, preference, security, retention of title and set-off (article 55(1) and (2)).
- You may lodge in any official EU language, but the trustee may ask for a translation into Dutch (article 55(5)).
- The time limit for a foreign creditor may not be shorter than 30 days after publication of the opening in the Dutch insolvency register (article 55(6)).
As the law of the State where proceedings opened, Dutch law governs lodging, verification, admission and ranking of claims (article 7(2)(h) and (i)). The opening does not affect rights in rem or a seller’s retention of title over assets then located in another Member State (articles 8 and 10(1)). Set-off stays available where the law governing the debtor’s claim permits it (article 9(1)).
Step by step: lodging your claim as a foreign creditor
- Look up the bankruptcy in the Central Insolvency Register: court, trustee and final date for lodging (article 127(4) Fw).
- Stop individual collection steps; attachments have lapsed and enforcement has ended (article 33 Fw).
- Check whether you owe the debtor anything and can set off (article 53 Fw).
- Check your terms for retention of title and list unpaid goods that may still be in stock (article 3:92 BW).
- Calculate principal, interest up to the bankruptcy date and pre-bankruptcy costs (article 128 Fw).
- Send the trustee your written claim with invoices, contract and terms, if you like on the EU standard form (article 110 Fw; article 55 of the Regulation).
- Ask for a receipt and keep it (article 110(2) Fw).
- Read the trustee’s reports, filed every three months at the court registry for free inspection (article 73a Fw), and react if anyone disputes your claim.
Example: a German manufacturer supplied parts to a Dutch assembler under terms with a retention of title clause. Three invoices are unpaid when the assembler goes bankrupt, and the manufacturer owes it a credit note for returned goods. It would set off the credit note, ask the trustee to release parts still in stock, and lodge the balance as an unsecured claim. Whether the trustee can still identify the parts depends on the documents and the stock.
Your debtor’s bankruptcy differs from filing for the bankruptcy of a debtor who does not pay. For other collection routes, see our debt collection in the Netherlands hub.
Frequently asked questions about a claim in Dutch bankruptcy
Do I need a Dutch lawyer to lodge a claim?
No. Article 110 Fw requires a written statement with supporting documents, and for creditors from other EU Member States article 53 of Regulation (EU) 2015/848 confirms that a lawyer is not mandatory for lodging. A lawyer helps when the trustee disputes your claim or when security, retention of title or set-off is at stake.
Can I still claim interest after the bankruptcy date?
Not as an unsecured creditor. Under article 128 Fw, interest running after the declaration of bankruptcy does not qualify for verification unless a pledge or mortgage secures it. Secured interest goes on the list pro memoria. Include interest up to the date of the bankruptcy order in your claim.
What if I miss the deadline for lodging?
Under article 127(3) Fw, a claim lodged after the final date is not taken into consideration for verification. The supervisory judge can adjust the period after consulting the trustee (article 127(2) Fw). If you are late, contact the trustee at once.
Does a bankruptcy end my retention of title?
No. A valid retention of title under article 3:92 BW means the goods remain yours, and you may reclaim them under article 5:2 BW. The supervisory judge can impose a cooling-off period of up to two months, extendable once (article 63a Fw). During it, you need permission to collect.
If you supplied a Dutch company that is now bankrupt and want to know whether to lodge, set off or reclaim goods, contact MAAK Advocaten about your claim against the bankrupt estate. What it costs depends on the size of the claim, the number of documents and whether the trustee contests it.
