The statute of limitations on invoices is one of the most overlooked risks in receivables management. An unpaid invoice is not lost as long as it has not expired — but once the deadline passes, all legal recourse becomes impossible. Under French commercial law, the limitation period is 5 years for B2B debts and 2 years for debts owed by consumers. Understanding when the clock starts ticking, how to interrupt it, and what options remain once a debt is time-barred is essential to fully protecting your receivables portfolio.
Definition of the Statute of Limitations in Debt Law
Simple Definition
The statute of limitations (prescription extinctive in French) is the legal mechanism by which the holder of a right loses the ability to take legal action to enforce that right, having failed to do so within a defined period. Applied to commercial receivables, it means that once the legal deadline has passed, the creditor can no longer obtain payment of an invoice through the courts.
The limitation period does not extinguish the debt itself (the debtor remains legally a debtor), but it strips the creditor of all means of legal compulsion. In practice, a time-barred debt is an irrecoverable debt by legal means.
It is important to distinguish:
- Statute of limitations (prescription extinctive): extinction of the right to take legal action (the subject of this article)
- Lapse of proceedings (péremption): extinction of already-initiated court proceedings due to inactivity for a certain period (generally 2 years)
- Foreclosure (forclusion): a fixed deadline beyond which a specific action is impossible (e.g. warranty period)
Legal Framework
The law of limitation is primarily governed by:
- Article L110-4 of the Commercial Code: sets a 5-year limitation period for obligations arising in the course of commercial activity between traders or between traders and non-traders
- Article 2224 of the Civil Code: general 5-year period and starting point (the day the holder knew or should have known the facts)
- Article L218-2 of the Consumer Code: 2-year period for actions by professionals against consumers
- Articles 2240 to 2246 of the Civil Code: causes of interruption of the limitation period
The Limitation Period by Debtor Type
B2B Debts: 5 Years
For any commercial debt between businesses (B2B), the limitation period is 5 years (article L110-4 of the Commercial Code). This 5-year period is the standard regime applicable to the vast majority of invoices issued by French companies.
Starting point: The limitation period runs from the day after the due date stated on the invoice. If an invoice issued on March 1, 2021 had a due date of March 31, 2021, the limitation period started running on April 1, 2021 and expires on March 31, 2026.
Where no due date is stated: If no due date is mentioned on the invoice, the period runs from the date of invoice receipt (or delivery date / service completion date if later). This is an additional reason to always state an explicit due date on every invoice.
Debts Owed by Consumers: 2 Years
If your debtor is a consumer (individual acting in a non-professional capacity), the applicable limitation period is just 2 years (article L218-2 of the Consumer Code). This shorter period aims to protect consumers from late claims by professionals.
This 2-year period applies to any action by a professional against a consumer, even where the transaction is commercial on the professional’s side. It therefore concerns B2C businesses (retail, services to individuals, etc.).
Special Cases
- Commercial lease invoices: 5 years (commercial obligations regime)
- Professional fees (lawyers, consultants): 5 years from end of engagement
- Social security contributions (URSSAF): 3 years for employers
- Tax claims: 4 years for most taxes (tax authority reassessment period)
How to Calculate Whether a Debt is Time-Barred
The Three-Step Method
To check whether a debt is time-barred, use this 3-step method:
Step 1: Identify the starting point of the limitation period This is the due date on the invoice. If absent, it is the invoice receipt date.
Step 2: Identify whether any interrupting acts occurred If so, the period resets to zero from the date of each interrupting act.
Step 3: Calculate the expiry date Add 5 years (B2B) or 2 years (B2C) to the starting point or last interrupting act.
Concrete example:
- Invoice issued July 1, 2020, due date July 31, 2020
- Starting point: August 1, 2020
- No interrupting acts
- Expiry date: July 31, 2025
If you read this example in April 2026, the debt has been time-barred since August 2025.
With an interrupting act:
- Same invoice
- Formal bailiff demand served January 15, 2023
- New starting point: January 15, 2023
- New expiry date: January 14, 2028
The interrupting act pushed the limitation period forward by almost 3 years.
How to Interrupt the Limitation Period
Interrupting Causes
Interruption of the limitation period erases the time already elapsed and starts a new full period of the same duration from the date of the interrupting act (articles 2240-2246 of the Civil Code). The main interrupting causes are:
1. Acknowledgement of debt by the debtor (article 2240 of the Civil Code) Any act by which the debtor explicitly acknowledges the debt interrupts the limitation period. This includes:
- An instalment payment agreement signed by the debtor
- An email in which the debtor acknowledges owing the amount
- A partial payment (which constitutes implicit acknowledgement)
2. Legal action or enforcement act (article 2241 of the Civil Code) Filing a request for a payment order (injonction de payer), serving a court summons, or any enforcement act interrupts the limitation period. Interruption occurs at the date of filing, even if the proceedings conclude later.
3. A note on simple demand letters Contrary to widespread belief, a simple demand letter (recorded delivery letter requesting payment) does not interrupt the limitation period in the strict sense of the Civil Code. Only a formal demand served by a bailiff (huissier) — an extrajudicial act — constitutes an interrupting act under article 2241.
Important: For B2B debts, it is therefore recommended to initiate an order for payment (injonction de payer) or have a formal demand served by a bailiff to validly interrupt the limitation period before the 5-year deadline expires.
See our article on demand letter templates for outstanding payments for practical guidance.
What to Do When a Debt Is Time-Barred
Accounting and Tax Treatment
A time-barred debt must be treated as an irrecoverable receivable:
Provision for doubtful debts: Before expiry, it is advisable to progressively provision overdue debts based on their age (e.g. 60%, 80%, 100% according to delay buckets).
Write-off: Upon actual prescription, the debt can be written off as a loss. This loss is tax-deductible under French tax rules, subject to conditions.
VAT recovery: VAT collected on a debt that ultimately proves irrecoverable can be recovered, provided a certificate of irrecoverability is obtained (article 272 of the French General Tax Code). This certificate attests that all collection efforts have been exhausted. See our article on certificates of irrecoverability in France for the conditions.
Tools to Ensure No Invoice Is Ever Time-Barred
Preventing Prescription Through Systematic Follow-Up
The best defence against prescription is a systematic and early follow-up policy. In practice, an invoice should never reach 3 years of age without legal action having been initiated.
Billabex fully automates receivables monitoring and triggers alerts well before any prescription risk arises. The platform enables you to:
- Automatically detect every unpaid invoice from the first day of delay
- Track the age of every receivable and alert before critical thresholds
- Trigger progressive follow-up: amicable reminders, formal demands, pre-litigation
- Record all communications to build a solid collection file in case of legal action
- Anticipate prescription risks with alerts at 12, 24 and 48 months before expiry
With Billabex, no receivable is ever lost to prescription by default. Discover Billabex →
For more on collection procedures, see our guide on the statute of limitations for unpaid invoices in France.
