Court · France
Injonction de payer — an order made without you
A judge signed this on the creditor's file alone. You were not called and nothing you might have said was weighed. The one route to being heard is an opposition, and it has one month from the day the order was served on you.
How serious: enforcement closeAlso called: injonction de payer, ordonnance d'injonction de payer, IP
The ordonnance was granted on the creditor's application, without the debtor being summoned. That is what the procedure is for, and it is why the opposition exists.
Article 1416 of the Code de procédure civile gives one month from the signification of the order. Where the order was not served on the person, the opposition stays admissible until one month after the first act served on the person or, failing that, after the first enforcement measure that makes the debtor's assets unavailable.
The opposition goes to the registry of the court whose judge made the order — by declaration against a receipt, or by registered letter. Writing to the creditor or to the commissaire de justice forms no opposition.
Who sends it
A court — the tribunal judiciaire or the tribunal de commerce — on the creditor's application alone. The order is then served on the debtor by a commissaire de justice.
A court order headed 'ordonnance portant injonction de payer', naming the court, the creditor and the amount, served by a commissaire de justice with an acte de signification. The papers state the period for an opposition and the court it goes to.
The deadline
one month from the signification of the order
One month from the signification of the order (Code de procédure civile, art. 1416). Where the signification was not made to the person, the opposition stays admissible until one month after the first act served on the person or the first enforcement measure making the debtor's assets wholly or partly unavailable. A period ending on a weekend or public holiday runs to the next working day (art. 642).
If you do nothing
Article 1422: the order becomes an enforceable title on the expiry of two months following its signification, and then produces all the effects of a contradictory judgment. It is not open to appeal, even where it grants time to pay.
Compute your date
The rule above is what the law sets. Put in the dates on your own letter and it becomes a date.
How it escalates
- 01The order becomes an enforceable title two months after its signification and produces all the effects of a contradictory judgment (art. 1422).
- 02It is not open to appeal, even where it grants time to pay.
- 03The creditor may enforce — a saisie-attribution on a bank account, a saisie des rémunérations, or a seizure of goods.
- 04The month does not reopen once it has run, except in the case article 1416 describes where the order was not served on the person.
How to respond
The procedure below is what makes an opposition effective: the right court, the right registry, inside the month. What to argue belongs at the hearing that follows, with a lawyer.
Response types
- Form an oppositionOpposition to the ordonnance portant injonction de payer · Code de procédure civile, articles 1415 and 1416
- Pay, or show a payment madePayment of the amount, or a record of a payment already made
- Agree time to payWritten agreement with the creditor on time to pay
Where and how
- A declaration against a receipt at the registry of the court named on the order — keep the receipt.
- A registered letter to that registry, where the papers allow it.
- Ordinary post, which proves nothing about the date.
- The registry's telephone number, which forms no opposition.
What to attach
- A copy of the ordonnance.
- A copy of the acte de signification.
- The documents you rely on, where they are ready.
- An identity document, for a declaration at the counter.
What makes it count
The opposition is formed when the registry of the court named on the ordonnance receives it, within one month of the signification. Writing to the creditor or to the commissaire de justice forms nothing.
Common questions
Where does the opposition go?
To the registry of the court whose judge or president made the order — the one named on the ordonnance. It can be made by declaration against a receipt at the counter, or by registered letter.
The bailiff left the papers with someone else.
Article 1416 deals with that: where the signification was not made to you in person, the opposition stays admissible until one month after the first act served on you in person or, failing that, after the first enforcement measure making your assets unavailable.
Is it one month or two?
One month to form an opposition (art. 1416). Two months after the signification is when the order becomes an enforceable title and produces the effects of a contradictory judgment (art. 1422). They are different things.
Can I appeal instead?
No. Article 1422 says the order is not open to appeal, even where it grants time to pay. The opposition is the route.
Sources
Facts verified against the sources below on 10 September 2026.