Obtaining payment terms from the collection agency — 48 hours online, 12 months at most
Where an employer faces financial difficulties affecting payment of their employees' social security contributions, they may request PAYMENT TERMS from the collection agency. Two conditions, and they are firm: having filed their social declarations — that is, having transmitted the nominative social declaration — and having paid the WHOLE EMPLOYEE SHARE of contributions. The employer share may therefore be late; the employee share may not. The request is not a simple message: it sets out the CONTEXT (other debts, any ongoing clearance plan), the ORIGIN AND NATURE of the difficulties, the ACTION taken to restore the situation, and an ESTIMATE of the time needed together with the desired length of the schedule. The channel chosen changes the reply time sevenfold: 48 HOURS online on the business's account, 15 DAYS by telephone or post. If the employer meets all the criteria for automated payment terms, the terms are granted AUTOMATICALLY and the "payment" section opens directly. The terms granted CANNOT EXCEED 12 MONTHS, and the schedule proposed can be renegotiated.
Up to date for 2026 — verified on September 12, 2026Official procedure, no printed formGuide: about 20 min
Deadlines
- 48 hours — online reply
- Where the request is made online on the business's account, the agency replies within 48 hours of the request.
- 15 days — reply by telephone or post
- Through those channels, the agency replies within 15 days of the request. The choice of channel therefore multiplies the wait sevenfold.
- 12 months maximum
- The payment terms granted CANNOT EXCEED 12 months. That is the scheme's ceiling, to be built into the desired length stated in the request.
- Within 30 days, to avoid surcharges
- Taking out a payment-terms plan with the agency WITHIN 30 DAYS of the payment deadline avoids late-payment surcharges, on three conditions: no late payment over the last 24 months, filing obligations met, and surcharges below €4,005.
Documents to prepare
- Evidence that your nominative social declaration has been transmitted
- Evidence that the whole employee share of contributions has been paid
- The context: your other debts, and any ongoing clearance plan
- The origin and nature of the difficulties you face in paying your contributions
- The action already taken to restore the situation
- Your estimate of the time needed to recover
- The desired schedule length, within the 12-month cap
- Any other document useful in examining the request
- Access to your online account with the agency, which cuts the reply time sevenfold
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
- The EMPLOYER facing financial difficulties affecting payment of their employees' social security contributions
- The employer who has filed their social declarations, i.e. transmitted the nominative social declaration: an access condition
- The employer who has paid the WHOLE employee share of social security contributions: a second, non-negotiable condition
- The employer meeting all the criteria for automated payment terms, for whom the terms are granted without review
- The employer who does not meet them, whose request will be examined by an account manager
- The employer who finds the proposed schedule unsuitable: they may ask for it to be renegotiated
- The employer already under a clearance plan, which must be mentioned in the context of the request
Worked example
Example: an employer with 8 staff, an instalment they cannot meet, and the 48 hours
An employer with 8 staff sees cash tighten after a client pays late. The contributions deadline is approaching and they know they cannot pay it in full. First of all, they check the two conditions: they have transmitted their nominative social declaration, and they pay the WHOLE employee share of contributions — that second point is what they must protect above all, even by deferring other payments, because without it the request is closed. They then make their request ONLINE on the business's account rather than by post: the reply comes within 48 hours, against 15 days by telephone or post, and that gap is decisive when a deadline is running. In the request they set out the four expected elements: the CONTEXT — they list their other debts and state that no clearance plan is in progress; the ORIGIN AND NATURE of the difficulties — their main client's late payment; the ACTION taken to restore the situation — chasing, formal notice, temporary cost reductions; and the ESTIMATE of the time needed to recover, together with the schedule length they would like. They know the terms granted cannot exceed 12 MONTHS and frame their request accordingly. Meeting all the criteria for automated payment terms, they obtain the terms automatically: the "payment" section appears directly and they set up electronic payment of the instalments. Had they not met those criteria, the section would not have appeared and they would have had to validate the request via the "send" button so an account manager could examine it. Finding the proposed schedule too tight, they ask for it to be renegotiated, which the source expressly provides for. An extra benefit, often overlooked: having taken out their plan within 30 days of the deadline, with no delay over the last 24 months and up to date with their filings, they avoid late-payment surcharges — whereas paying three months later would have cost them.
How to fill it in, step by step
- First check the first condition: having filed your social declarations, i.e. transmitted your nominative social declaration.
- Check the second, which is the more demanding: having paid the WHOLE employee share of social security contributions. The employer share may be late, the employee share may not.
- Act quickly: taking out a plan WITHIN 30 DAYS of the payment deadline avoids late-payment surcharges, provided you have had no delay over 24 months, are up to date with your filing obligations, and the surcharges are below €4,005.
- Prefer an ONLINE request on the business's account: the reply comes within 48 hours, against 15 days by telephone or post.
- Set out the CONTEXT of the request: other debts, any ongoing clearance plan, and so on.
- Set out the ORIGIN AND NATURE of the difficulties you face in paying your contributions.
- Describe the ACTION taken to restore the situation: that is what distinguishes a request examined favourably from a mere statement of difficulty.
- Give your ESTIMATE of the time needed to restore your situation, and the desired length of the schedule — bearing in mind that the terms granted cannot exceed 12 months.
- Attach any other document that may be useful in examining the request.
- If you meet all the criteria for automated terms, go straight to the "payment" section to set up electronic payment of the instalments.
- Otherwise, validate your request via the "send" button so that it is examined by an account manager, then validate payment online once the request is accepted, following the schedule granted.
- If the proposed schedule does not suit you, ask for the instalment amounts and the schedule length to be renegotiated.
- If needed, use the step-by-step guide made available by the collection agency.
The form, line by line
- Condition — declaration transmitted
- The employer must have filed their social declarations, i.e. transmitted the nominative social declaration. Declaring and paying are two different things: it is the declaration that is required here.
- Condition — employee share paid in full
- The employer must have paid the WHOLE employee share of social security contributions. It is the condition that most often closes off the scheme.
- Context of the request
- First expected element: other debts, any ongoing clearance plan, and so on.
- Origin and nature of the difficulties
- Second element: what explains the inability to pay the contributions, not merely the statement of it.
- Action taken
- Third element: what the business is already doing to restore its situation.
- Durations
- Fourth element: the estimate of the time needed to restore the situation AND the desired length of the schedule. The terms granted cannot exceed 12 months.
- Automated payment terms
- If all its criteria are met, the terms are granted automatically and the employer goes straight to the "payment" section. Otherwise that section does not appear and the request must be validated via the "send" button to be examined by an account manager.
- Renegotiating the schedule
- Once the terms are accepted, the employer receives a proposed schedule. If it does not suit them, they may ask for both the instalment amounts AND the length to be renegotiated.
Good to know
- The channel changes the reply time sevenfold: 48 hours online, 15 days by telephone or post. When a deadline is running, that is no detail.
- The employee share is the red line: the employer share may be late, the employee share must have been paid in full.
- Declaring is not paying: the condition concerns TRANSMISSION of the declaration, not settlement.
- The terms granted are capped at 12 months: a request for a longer period cannot succeed as it stands.
- Approval may be AUTOMATIC: where all the criteria for automated payment terms are met, no human review is needed and the "payment" section opens directly.
- The absence of the "payment" section is a signal: it means not all criteria are met and the request must be sent to an account manager.
- The proposed schedule is not take-it-or-leave-it: both its length AND the instalment amounts can be renegotiated.
- Asking for terms early beats paying late: a plan taken out within 30 days of the deadline avoids late-payment surcharges, on the three conditions set out in the fact sheet on surcharges.
- An existing clearance plan does not close the door, but must be mentioned in the context of the request.
- The collection agency provides a step-by-step guide for the online procedure.
Common mistakes
- Requesting terms without having transmitted the nominative social declaration: filing is an access condition.
- Requesting terms while the EMPLOYEE share of contributions is outstanding: it must have been paid in full.
- Confusing "having declared" with "having paid": only the declaration is required as a condition.
- Going by post or telephone when the deadline is close: the reply takes 15 days, against 48 hours online.
- Sending a request that merely states the difficulty, without the context, the origin and nature of the difficulties, the action taken and the durations.
- Failing to mention an ongoing clearance plan in the context of the request.
- Asking for a schedule longer than 12 months, which is the cap on the terms granted.
- Worrying about the absent "payment" section without validating the request via the "send" button: without that, no manager examines it.
- Accepting an unworkable schedule when its amount and length can be renegotiated.
- Waiting more than 30 days after the deadline to request terms, and so losing the benefit of surcharges not being applied.
Frequently asked questions
What are the conditions for requesting payment terms?
Two: having filed your social declarations, i.e. transmitted the nominative social declaration, and having paid the whole employee share of social security contributions.
What must the request state?
The context of the request (other debts, any ongoing clearance plan, etc.); the origin and nature of the difficulties faced in paying contributions; the action taken to restore the situation; the estimate of the time needed to restore the situation and the desired length of the schedule; and any other document useful in examining the request.
How quickly does the agency reply?
Within 48 hours of the request where it is made online on the business's account, and within 15 days where it is made by telephone or post.
Are the terms granted automatically?
They are where the employer meets all the criteria for automated payment terms: they then go straight to the "payment" section to set up electronic payment of instalments. Otherwise that section does not appear and the employer must validate the request via the "send" button so it is examined by an account manager.
What is the maximum length of the terms?
The payment terms granted cannot exceed 12 months.
Can I discuss the proposed schedule?
Yes. Once the terms are accepted, the employer receives a proposed schedule; if it does not suit them, they may ask for the instalment amounts and the length of the schedule to be renegotiated.
Does requesting terms avoid late-payment surcharges?
Yes, provided the plan is taken out within 30 days of the contributions' payment deadline, you have had no late payment over the last 24 months, you have met your filing obligations, and the surcharges that would apply are below €4,005.
Go further
Compute the related amounts
Understand this form: the related course
Official sources
- entreprendre.service-public.gouv.fr — "Obtenir des délais de paiement auprès de l'Urssaf en tant qu'employeur", fact sheet F38100 (verified 15 July 2026, Entreprendre Service Public / Direction de l'information légale et administrative), read line by line on 2026-09-12: availability of the request to an employer facing financial difficulties affecting payment of their employees' social security contributions; the two access conditions — having filed their social declarations (transmission of the nominative social declaration) and having paid the whole employee share of contributions; the five elements to state in the request — context (other debts, any ongoing clearance plan), origin and nature of the difficulties, action taken to restore the situation, estimate of the time needed and desired length of the schedule, any other useful documents; reply times of 48 hours for an online request on the business's account and 15 days by telephone or post; step-by-step guide provided by the agency; automatic grant where all criteria for automated payment terms are met, with direct access to the "payment" section for electronic payment, and failing that validation of the request via the "send" button for examination by an account manager followed by online payment according to the schedule granted; proposed schedule and the ability to request renegotiation of instalment amounts and length; 12-month cap on the terms granted; references: French social security code, articles R243-11 and R243-21 — September 12, 2026
- entreprendre.service-public.gouv.fr — "Demander une remise des majorations de retard auprès de l'Urssaf", fact sheet F38145 (verified 1 January 2026, Entreprendre Service Public / Direction de l'information légale et administrative), read on 2026-09-12 for the effect of payment terms on surcharges: "Lorsque l'entreprise a souscrit un plan pour obtenir des délais de paiement auprès de l'Urssaf dans les 30 jours qui suivent la date limite de paiement de ses cotisations sociales, les majorations de retard ne sont pas appliquées" where it has had no late payment over the last 24 months, has met its filing obligations and where the surcharges that would apply are below €4,005; reminder of how surcharges are calculated (5 % of the amount not paid on time, then 0.2 % of the amount due per month or part-month elapsed from the due date) and that they are due from the 1st day past the deadline — September 12, 2026
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.