Legal Q&A · Debt Recovery

What is a payment order and how can I challenge it?

Law as at 10 September 2026

Answered by , Czech and Slovak attorney, admitted to the Slovak and Czech Bars (SAK 300422 · ČAK 19654).

Short answer

A payment order is a summary court decision requiring the debtor, without a hearing, to pay the claim and costs within 15 days or file an objection within the same period. A timely objection supported by substantive reasons sets the order aside and the dispute continues; in separate procedural joinder, however, one defendant's objection does not set the order aside against the others. Without an objection, the order becomes final and enforceable. Separate electronic payment order proceedings work similarly.

How is a payment order issued?

A payment order is a summary procedure. Where a case can be decided on facts alleged by the claimant that the court has no doubts about, particularly where supported by documents, the court may decide without a response from the defendant and without a hearing. The order requires the defendant to pay the amount claimed and costs within 15 days of service or file an objection within the same period (Section 265 of the Code of Civil Dispute Procedure). If the claimant submits the order on the prescribed form and pays the court fee, the court generally issues it within ten working days. We handle recovery through this route in our payment order and payment claim service.

What must an objection contain?

The defendant’s defence takes the form of an objection. Crucially, it must contain substantive reasons: the defendant describes the decisive facts supporting their defence and attaches documents or identifies evidence (Section 267(1)). If the objection is late, filed by an unauthorised person or lacks substantive reasons, the court rejects it by an order. However, if even one defendant files a timely objection supported by substantive reasons, the payment order is set aside in full and the court schedules a hearing (Section 267(4)). This does not apply in separate procedural joinder under Section 76: the objection affects only the defendant who filed it. We assess whether to defend the claim and how to structure the objection through our objections to payment orders and defence of defendants service.

What happens if I do not object?

If the defendant does not object, the payment order becomes final when the objection period expires (Section 268) and becomes an enforceable title. Ignoring the order is therefore dangerous: inaction leads directly to enforcement.

Electronic payment order proceedings and Czech orders

Alongside a standard payment order, separate electronic payment order proceedings are available under Act No. 307/2016 Coll.; here too, an objection must contain substantive reasons and filing it sets the order aside, subject to the same exception for separate procedural joinder (Section 11(5)). For Czech debtors, we handle the matter under Czech law through our payment order and payment claim (Czech Republic) service.

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.

More legal questions

All questions and answers
  1. A Czech customer in insolvency owes us money and we owe it money too. Can we set the claims off? Yes, but only on the conditions laid down by the Czech Insolvency Act. After a decision on insolvency, set-off is permissible if the statutory conditions for set-off arose before the decision on how the insolvency is to be resolved and if you are a creditor with a lodged claim. Set-off is also excluded where you acquired the claim by an ineffective legal act or at a time when you knew of the debtor’s insolvency, and you must pay your own debt due to the extent it exceeds your mutual claim. Without a lodged claim the insolvency administrator will recover your debt in full and your claim will go unsatisfied in the proceedings.
  2. How do we check a Czech company before we supply it on invoice or sue it? Go through four Czech sources: the commercial register with the collection of deeds (statutory bodies, changes, filed financial statements), the insolvency register, the central record of enforcement proceedings and the list of unreliable VAT payers. The insolvency register is publicly accessible; data from the record of enforcements is charged for. What you find determines the terms of the transaction (advance payment, retention of title, shorter payment terms) and, before an action, whether the company has anything to pay with.
  3. A Czech customer has lodged an objection against the order for payment without giving any reasons. Will the dispute drag on for years? Not necessarily. A Czech court cannot reject an objection against an order for payment for want of reasons; the order is set aside by it and the dispute continues. The court may, however, order the defendant by resolution to respond in writing within a period of at least 30 days and to set out its defence with supporting evidence. If the defendant stays silent without serious cause, the claim is deemed to have been admitted and the court may give judgment on admission even without a hearing.
  4. When does a claim become time-barred? An ordinary civil claim becomes time-barred after three years; a claim between businesses arising from a commercial relationship after four. Time runs from when the right could first be exercised, generally when due. Limitation does not extinguish the claim, but if the debtor raises it in court, the court will not award the time-barred right. For consumer agreements, however, Section 54a precludes enforcement of a time-barred right even without such a defence. Debt acknowledgement and timely pursuit in court affect limitation differently under the applicable regime.

Cannot find your question? Ask your own question

Facing this situation?

Tell us what you need help with.

Describe your situation. We will review it and usually tell you within 24 hours whether and how we can help, including an indicative fee.

  1. 1Send your enquiry via this form
  2. 2Usually within 24 h you get a price confirmation and plan
  3. 3We start work only after your approval
Mgr. Patrik Tulinský, LL.M. Czech and Slovak attorney · SAK 300422 · ČAK 19654

Not keen on calls or email? Message us on WhatsApp →
Prefer to book a time right away? Book a consultation →
Or email us about this matter.

Call the lawyer directly · 10:00–16:00 +421 944 006 948
PDF, Word, images, ZIP… max 10 MB per file, 30 MB total.

Submitting this form does not create an engagement or attorney-client relationship. Before taking on a matter we run a conflict-of-interest check, so please do not send sensitive originals until we confirm the matter together.

Contact a lawyer