Declaring your claim when a customer is in insolvency proceedings

When a customer enters safeguard, receivership or judicial liquidation proceedings, an unpaid invoice is no longer chased with a reminder: it is DECLARED. The creditor sends a statement of claim to the court-appointed administrator — in receivership or safeguard — or to the liquidator, whose name appears in the publication of the opening judgment in the official bulletin of civil and commercial notices. The deadline is 2 MONTHS from that publication, and the sanction is blunt: claims that are not declared are left out of the proceedings and will therefore not be paid — the creditor is time-barred. No particular form is required, but the content is prescribed, and supporting documents — copies of the invoice, purchase order, delivery note — are attached under a schedule. A standard form exists.

Up to date for 2026 — verified on September 11, 2026Official procedure, no printed formGuide: about 35 min

Deadlines

2 months from publication in the official bulletin: The period to declare runs from the publication of the opening judgment — safeguard, receivership or judicial liquidation — in the official bulletin of civil and commercial notices.
2 months from notification, for creditors who are notified: Creditors holding a security or bound by a published contract are notified personally by the administrator within 15 days of the opening judgment; their 2-month period then runs from that notification.
4 months outside mainland France: The period rises to 4 months where the creditor is not located in mainland France, and where the proceedings are opened in an overseas department or territory and the creditor is not located there.
6 months to apply for relief from being time-barred: The application is addressed to the supervising judge within the 6 months following publication of the opening judgment. If it succeeds, the claim is declared within one month of notification of the decision.

Documents to prepare

Publication of the opening judgment in the official bulletin, which sets the start of the period and names the administrator or liquidator
Amount of the claim as at the date of the opening judgment, with its due date
Copies of the invoice, purchase order and delivery note, to be attached under a schedule
Nature and base of the security, where the claim carries one
How interest still running is calculated
An authority, where the statement is not signed by the legal representative

See the procedure on the official site

No form is attached to this procedure: the link leads to the official page that describes it.

What this page gives you

The guide above and the link to the official site. ActioFin does not produce any document for this page: whatever you fill in or file is done on the official medium.

Who this applies to

Any business holding a claim against a trading partner subject to collective proceedings — safeguard, receivership or judicial liquidation
Creditors holding a registered security — pledge, mortgage — or bound by a published contract such as a lease-purchase, who are notified personally
Legal representatives: the sole trader in person, a private company's manager, a public company's chief executive where it has a board
Agents — a lawyer or a judicial officer — and the creditor's employees holding an authority, for instance a member of staff with a delegation
NOT covered by the duty to declare: wage claims and maintenance claims, which are paid as a priority

Worked example

Example: Menuiserie Roussel declares €14,200 against a customer in receivership

Menuiserie Roussel delivered and fitted joinery worth €14,200 for a restaurant owner who never paid. In March the restaurant goes into receivership; the opening judgment is published in the official bulletin on 12 March, and the notice names the court-appointed administrator. The manager has until 12 May. He draws up a statement — no form is imposed, but he uses the standard one — setting out the amount due as at the date of the opening judgment and its due date, how interest still running is calculated, and, as his claim rests on no enforceable title, the material proving its existence and amount, which he certifies as true. He attaches under a schedule copies of the invoice, the signed quote and the delivery note, and sends the lot to the administrator by recorded delivery, to prove the deadline was met. As he signs himself, as manager, no authority need be attached — one would have been needed had his accountant signed. The administrator checks the claim, draws up the list of declared claims with proposals to admit or reject, and the supervising judge decides.

How to fill it in, step by step

Watch for publication in the official bulletin: it is what starts the 2-month period running, and what names the administrator or liquidator to write to.
Identify the claims to declare: those arising before the opening judgment, those arising after it that do not enjoy priority of payment, and certain securities granted by the business over its claims — for which the statement sets out both the nature AND the base of the security.
Set aside what need not be declared: wage claims and maintenance claims, paid as a priority, together with post-judgment claims enjoying priority, those arising for the purposes of the proceedings or the observation period, or in return for a service supplied to the struggling business.
Have it signed by someone entitled to: the legal representative — sole trader, private company manager, public company chief executive where it has a board — a lawyer, a judicial officer, or an employee holding an authority. Attach the authority where the statement is not signed by the legal representative.
Draft the statement: amount of the claim due as at the date of the opening judgment with its due date — on the basis of an estimate where the claim rests on no title yet or its amount is not finally settled — nature and base of any security, how interest still running is calculated, material proving existence and amount where the claim rests on no enforceable title — in which case it is certified as true — and the court seised where the claim is disputed.
Attach the supporting documents UNDER A SCHEDULE: copies of the invoice, purchase order, delivery note.
Send the statement by recorded delivery, to prove the deadline was met — to the administrator in receivership or safeguard, to the liquidator in liquidation.
If the deadline has passed through no fault of yours, file an application for relief at the commercial court registry, addressed to the supervising judge within 6 months of publication.

The form, line by line

Amount of the claim: The amount due AS AT the date of the opening judgment, with its due date. Where the claim rests on no title yet, or its amount is not finally settled, the statement is made on the basis of an estimate.
Nature and base of the security: Where the claim carries a security, the statement must set out not only its nature but also its base.
How interest is calculated: To be stated where interest is still running: it is what allows it to be settled afterwards.
Claim with no enforceable title: If the claim rests on no enforceable title — a judgment, a notarised loan — the statement carries the material proving its existence and amount, and it must then be CERTIFIED AS TRUE by the creditor.
Court seised: To be stated where the declared claim is disputed.
Schedule of documents: Supporting documents — copies of the invoice, purchase order or delivery note — are attached UNDER A SCHEDULE, not loose.
Authority: To be attached to the statement where it is not signed by the business's legal representative.

Good to know

Within 15 days of the opening judgment, the administrator notifies KNOWN creditors. Creditors holding a registered security are informed by recorded letter — but the absence of notification does not excuse failing to declare.
There is no requirement as to form, and a standard statement of claim is available: it is the CONTENT that is prescribed, not the layout.
Recorded delivery is not a formal requirement, but the way to prove the deadline was met.
The administrator or liquidator checks each claim, draws up the list of declared claims with proposals to admit or reject, and the supervising judge decides.
The list of claims is filed at the court registry, where anyone may consult it, and a notice in the official bulletin announces that filing.
Relief from being time-barred is available only where the failure to declare was not the creditor's fault — hospitalisation, or the creditor being left off the list drawn up by the struggling business.

Common mistakes

Carrying on chasing the customer instead of declaring: a claim that is not declared is left out of the proceedings and will not be paid.
Waiting to be notified by the administrator: notification reaches known creditors only, and the period runs from publication in the official bulletin.
Counting the period from the judgment rather than from its PUBLICATION.
Declaring without attaching an authority where the signature is not the legal representative's.
Leaving out how interest still running is calculated.
Forgetting to certify as true a claim that rests on no enforceable title.
Attaching documents without a schedule.
Assuming relief from being time-barred is automatic: it requires that the failure was not the creditor's fault, an application to the supervising judge within 6 months, and the claim is then declared within one month of notification.
Declaring wage or maintenance claims: they fall outside the duty, being paid as a priority.

Frequently asked questions

By when must a claim be declared?

2 months from publication of the opening judgment in the official bulletin. Creditors notified personally have 2 months from that notification, and the period rises to 4 months where the creditor is not located in mainland France, or where the proceedings are opened overseas and the creditor is not located there.

Who should the statement be sent to?

To the court-appointed administrator in receivership or safeguard, to the liquidator in judicial liquidation. Their name appears in the publication of the opening judgment in the official bulletin.

What happens if the deadline passes?

The creditor is time-barred and cannot obtain payment. They may nonetheless apply for relief if the failure to declare was not their fault, to the supervising judge, within 6 months of publication.

Is a particular form needed?

There is no requirement as to form, but a standard statement of claim is available. What is prescribed is the content.

Must every claim be declared?

No. Wage and maintenance claims need not be, being paid as a priority, and certain claims arising after the opening judgment enjoy a priority of payment that excuses them from declaration.

Go further

Compute the related amounts

Understand this form: the related course

Related forms

Official sources

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Guide and document provided for information purposes only; they do not constitute personalised legal or tax advice. Check the recipient organisation's requirements and consult a professional if needed.