The objection must be timely, filed by an authorised person and substantively reasoned: describe the decisive facts supporting your denial of the claim and identify evidence. Case law can accept a brief challenge, but bare disagreement with the order, financial hardship or acknowledging the debt while requesting instalments is insufficient. The court rejects an unreasoned objection by order, and the payment order becomes final.
A payment order gives the defendant 15 days to pay or object. Our overview payment orders and objections explains the mechanism. This article addresses the narrower issue on which self-written objections most often fail: what the text must contain to avoid rejection.
The law requires substantive reasons
The Code of Civil Dispute Procedure states the requirement clearly:
An objection to a payment order must be substantively reasoned. […] The defendant shall describe the decisive facts supporting the defence against the claim, attach documents relied upon, or identify evidence supporting the assertions.
— Section 267(1) of Act No. 160/2015 Coll. (unofficial English translation)
The omitted sentence says the court does not invite correction of missing substantive reasons as it does for other filings. Once the deadline expires, missing reasons cannot be rescued. Paragraph 2 sets the consequence:
The court shall reject by order an objection filed (a) late, (b) by an unauthorised person, or (c) without substantive reasons; the payment order must inform the defendant of this consequence.
— Section 267(2) of Act No. 160/2015 Coll. (unofficial English translation)
Once rejection is final, the result is the same as filing nothing: the payment order becomes an enforcement title.
Wording that succeeded and wording that failed
Case law is more lenient than the statutory language suggests, but has a clear boundary. The Slovak Supreme Court overturned rejection where the defendant merely said the claim was unfounded and sought cancellation of the order and dismissal of the claim. It was sufficient that the objection disputed the imposed obligation; a defendant need not respond to every allegation or give a specific reason (Supreme Court order, case No. 2Cdo/201/2016). Although issued under the former procedural rules, its test is also used in practice under Section 267. Conversely, Nitra Regional Court upheld rejection of an objection stating only “I disagree with the payment order and request its cancellation”. It held that financial hardship, an explanation for non-payment or acknowledgement with a request for instalments are not substantive reasons either (Nitra Regional Court order, case No. 25Co/440/2016).
The distinction lies in challenging the claim. “I deny the claim because the goods were not delivered”, “the work is defective”, “the amount is incorrectly calculated” or “the claim is time-barred” can suffice without extensive argument. “I cannot afford to pay and request instalments” cannot, because it confirms rather than challenges the claim.
Electronic payment order proceedings add formal requirements
Substantive reasons are also required in electronic payment order proceedings, with additional rejection grounds. An electronic objection must use the designated form and be authorised; another electronic method leads to rejection (Section 11(2) and Section 12(1) of Act No. 307/2016 Coll.). If both parties are accounting entities, the defendant must state whether the invoice was received, how it was handled and whether the claim appears in the accounts (Section 11(3)). If the claimant declared that the claim was included in its VAT control statement, the defendant must state whether it also included the invoice in its own VAT control statement. Only where the defendant did include it must the defendant seriously challenge the claim and substantiate its assertions with documents within the objection period (Section 11(4)).
An objection in these proceedings cannot be withdrawn. Only consumers benefit from a more lenient assessment of substantive reasons (Section 267(3)); businesses do not. Czech payment orders follow different rules: under Section 174(3) of the Czech Code of Civil Procedure, an objection cannot be rejected for insufficient reasons, so a short objection followed by arguments in a later response is common.
How we can help
Our objection to a payment order service assesses whether and how to defend and prepares a compliant objection. For creditors, our payment order and payment claim service prepares applications and handles recovery. After an objection cancels the order, the dispute proceeds to a hearing, covered by our court representation service.
The objection deadline cannot be extended. Contact us immediately after service so as much as possible of the 15 days remains for preparing the defence.
This answer provides general information on the law as at 10 September 2026. It does not constitute legal services or replace an assessment of an individual case. The details of your situation may differ. Book a consultation to discuss them.
