Spain's monitorio payment order: a step-by-step guide

If a Spanish customer owes you money and won't pay, you will eventually hear the word monitorio. It is Spain's fast-track payment order procedure for documented debts, and for many foreign creditors it is the most cost-effective route to an enforceable title. It also has quirks that trip up people used to their home courts.

This guide goes deeper than our overview of collecting an unpaid invoice from a Spanish company. The rules are in articles 812-818 of Spain's Civil Procedure Act (Ley de Enjuiciamiento Civil).

General information, not legal advice. Procedural rules change and some points are applied differently by different courts.

Monitorio or European Payment Order?

If you're based in another EU country, you have two court options:

	Spanish monitorio	European Payment Order
Legal basis	Civil Procedure Act, arts. 812-818	Regulation (EC) 1896/2006
Amount	Any	Any (cross-border cases only)
Pre-action negotiation (MASC)	Required in practice	Expressly exempt
Language	Spanish (translations of foreign documents)	Standard EU forms
If the debtor objects	Spanish trial (verbal or ordinary)	National proceedings in the issuing court, usually Spain

The exemption matters. Spain's Organic Law 1/2025 (article 5.3) states that no prior negotiation is needed to apply for a European Payment Order or to start a European Small Claims procedure. For creditors outside the EU, the monitorio is the main option.

Step 1: check the debt qualifies

The debt must be money, of a fixed amount, due and payable, and documented: signed documents, or invoices, delivery notes and similar documents normally used in your commercial relationship, even if you produced them. There is no upper limit.

You can include the principal plus late-payment interest and the €40 per invoice allowed by Spain's Late Payment Act, calculated to a specific date. Our guide on calculating late-payment interest in Spain has a worked example. If the court thinks part of the claim is wrong, it can propose a lower amount (article 815.3).

Documents in another language need a Spanish translation.

Step 2: attempt negotiation, and keep proof

Since 3 April 2025, Organic Law 1/2025 makes a prior attempt at negotiation (a MASC, "appropriate dispute resolution method") a condition for most civil claims, including the special proceedings where the monitorio sits. Courts and court clerks have issued their own interpretation guidelines, and the details are still settling. The safe route:

• Send the debtor a written invitation to negotiate that identifies the invoices and amounts. A Spanish burofax with certified content is the standard way to prove receipt (article 10.2).
• If 30 calendar days pass from receipt without a meeting or a written reply, the negotiation counts as ended without agreement (article 10.4).
• File the proof with your petition.

A phone call to the debtor's manager first often helps. Debt collection isn't marketing, but the same courtesy applies: say who you are and deal only with the debtor. Our guides to calling Spanish companies and emailing them under the LSSI cover the rules for sales contact.

Step 3: get the debtor's address right

You must file in the court of the debtor's domicile (article 813). Jurisdiction clauses in your contract don't apply. The payment demand must be served personally; service by public notice is not allowed (article 815.1). If the court can't find the debtor at the address you give, the case is closed and you start again. Check the current registered office and any other premises before filing: see how to locate a Spanish debtor.

Step 4: file the petition

• No lawyer needed for the initial petition (articles 23, 31 and 814.2).
• Electronic filing: legal entities must deal with the Spanish courts electronically (article 273.3). In practice, a foreign company without Spanish e-filing credentials will use a local lawyer or procurador anyway.
• Court fee: under Ley 10/2012, companies pay a flat €100 for a monitorio above €2,000 (form 696 of the Spanish Tax Agency). Claims up to €2,000 and individuals are exempt.

Step 5: the payment demand

The court clerk orders the debtor to pay or file a reasoned objection within 20 days. These are court working days, and August doesn't count. Three outcomes:

1. The debtor pays. The case is closed (article 817).
2. The debtor does nothing. The monitorio ends and you can request enforcement straight away. From the enforcement order, the debt accrues statutory interest plus two points (articles 816 and 576).
3. The debtor objects. Up to €15,000, the case continues as a juicio verbal (fast-track trial). Above €15,000, you have one month to file an ordinary claim, or the case is dismissed and you pay costs (article 818). Above €2,000, you'll need a lawyer and procurador from here on.

Before you file

• Invoices plus proof of delivery or acceptance, translated where needed.
• Interest and €40 compensation calculated to a fixed date.
• Proof that the debtor received your invitation to negotiate, and 30 days elapsed.
• A current, verified address for the debtor.
• Local counsel lined up in case of objection.

If you're missing a current address or a number to try for a settlement, find it before you file. More on how creditors use our data in debt collection.