Unpaid invoice in Algeria: a formal notice template and the steps before court

An invoice is three weeks late. You have chased twice by message, with no answer. Before you think of court, there is a step the Civil Code puts at the centre: the formal notice (mise en demeure). Here is the letter template, what it changes, and what comes next.

Download the letter template

• Formal notice to pay, English (.docx)
• Mise en demeure de payer, français (.docx)
• إعذار بدفع فاتورة، عربي (.docx)

Replace what is in square brackets, attach the invoice and the contract or quote, and keep proof of sending. This is not legal advice: for a large amount, have a lawyer read the letter.

Why the formal notice matters

The Civil Code says compensation for delay is due only if the debtor has been put in default (art. 179). Until your client has been put in default, you may not be able to claim late-payment compensation. Default can happen three ways (art. 180): by a formal notice or equivalent act, by post in the manner the code provides, or by a contract clause saying the arrival of the due date is enough. That is why the template contract contains this clause.

It is not needed in some cases, including where the debtor declares in writing they will not pay (art. 181). So keep their refusal messages too.

The steps, in order

1. A friendly reminder. By email or message, with the invoice attached and the due date. Keep the proof.
2. The formal notice letter. Send it by registered mail with acknowledgment of receipt, or through a bailiff (huissier de justice) for stronger proof. The text asks for payment within a set period (8 days in the template, to adapt) and announces what follows. Keep the postal receipt and the acknowledgment: they prove date and content.
3. Waiting out the period. If the client pays, keep the proof and close the invoice in your registers.
4. Proceedings. If nothing moves, two routes: an ordinary action, or the payment order.

The payment order

According to the Code of Civil and Administrative Procedure in its 2008 text (arts. 306 to 309), the holder of a claim of a determined amount, due and established in writing can file a request with the president of the court of the debtor’s domicile. The claim must be proved by a document: the text names a deed acknowledging the debt, a payment undertaking or an invoice endorsed by the debtor.

The president rules within 5 days at the latest. If the claim looks established, they order the debtor to pay the principal and costs; the order is served with a demand to pay within 15 days. The debtor has 15 days to contest it in summary proceedings before the same judge, and the contest suspends enforcement. If they do not contest, the order acquires the force of a final judgment; you then need to request the enforcement formula within a year.

The practical advice that follows: have your invoices endorsed by the client (signature, stamp, “received on …”) and have them confirm the amount due in writing. That can make the difference between a claim “established in writing” and a mere dispute.

What we could not confirm

We read the 1975 articles for the Civil Code and the 2008 ones for procedure; the procedure code has been amended since and we did not check whether these articles changed, nor court fees, nor which court is competent for which type of dispute. We also do not know whether a registered letter alone is enough as formal notice under art. 180: if the stakes are high, go through a bailiff or ask a lawyer.

Next, see the quote template and pricing method to avoid non-payment from the start, and the auto-entrepreneur invoice.