Debt collection: how does the process go and how long does it take?

Debt collection is the legal process of recovering debts through a pre-trial settlement or court order.

In order to recover a debt in Ukraine in accordance with the established procedure, it is necessary to apply to the court with a statement of claim. A debt collection lawyer of the law firm “DE-JURE” helps prepare the application and collect evidence. Depending on the size of the debt — more or less than 30 subsistence minimums for the able-bodied population — two versions of the claim are possible: simplified and general. As of 2025, the subsistence minimum is UAH 3,028, respectively, the limit is UAH 90,840. All debt obligations, which are less than this amount, are considered within the framework of simplified legal proceedings, and those that are larger – general proceedings.

As for the terms of rendering a court decision, the simplified claim should ideally be considered in two months, and the general one in four months. However, these terms can often be extended for various reasons: for example, failure to appear in court, the need to implement certain procedural actions, or circumstances related to war, such as air strikes. Therefore, six months is considered a more realistic term for considering the case.

Grounds for debt recovery through court

The basis for collecting debts through the court is a debt obligation that has not been fulfilled by the debtor, which may arise for any reason. For example, such an obligation follows from a sales contract, if the debtor did not pay on time for the goods received, or from a loan contract, when he did not return the funds. In certain cases, such a liability may arise even without the conclusion of a contract: in particular, in the event of damage (traffic accident, flooding or other property damage). The person whose actions led to losses must compensate the victim.

How is the process of debt recovery through the court?

The first step in the process of debt collection through the court is the consultation of a lawyer (lawyer) on debts. He familiarizes himself with the circumstances of the case, if necessary, helps to collect and prepare evidence and prepares a statement of claim. In the future, debt repayment through the court takes place in several stages:

1. If the claim for debt recovery does not contain any defects, and there are no other circumstances preventing its consideration, the court makes a decision to open the case and determines how the proceedings will be conducted.
2. In simplified proceedings, the lawyer submits all documents to the first court session. If it is a joint production, the parties exchange documents during the preparatory production.
3. The court makes a decision on the satisfaction of the claims (or refusal of this satisfaction). If the court’s decision provides for the collection of funds, the next question is whether this decision will be contested in an appeal, and then in the constitutional order.
4. After the full consideration of the case and entry into legal force of the adopted court decision, the stage of executive proceedings begins. Namely, obtaining an enforcement document in court and applying to the enforcement service (state or private executor), which carries out compulsory collection of debts.

In the case of simplified proceedings (the amount of the debt does not exceed 30 subsistence minimums), the appeal court is the last instance for appealing a court order on debt collection. Cassation proceedings are not provided for in such cases.

What role does a lawyer play in solving debt collection issues in court?

A lawyer’s work begins even before going to court. His task is to form a legal position and prepare a statement of claim. To do this, the lawyer examines the client’s available documents and, if necessary, starts collecting evidence: sends requests to institutions, in some cases organizes an examination. After the evidence base is collected, the lawyer prepares a statement of claim and submits it to the court. At the stage of consideration of the case in court, the lawyer’s participation is limited to the following duties:

• the most important thing is the representation of the client’s interests during court hearings. The lawyer participates in the meeting, gives explanations, objections to the arising issues, presents the client’s position and proves it in court;
• other moments of participation in the case include the drafting of procedural documents, if such a need arises: a statement, petitions, written positions on the case, etc.

“DE-JURE” specialists have extensive experience in debt collection litigation.

How is the preparation of a debt recovery claim?

Preparation of a claim for debt or credit collection through the court begins with the client’s appeal to a lawyer. At this stage, the initial consultation takes place: the lawyer talks with the client about the circumstances of the case and based on this gives a general conclusion. If the client decides to cooperate and go to court, the lawyer analyzes the documents provided to him in more detail, and if additional evidence is required, he turns to the relevant institutions, enterprises or other legal entities. It is also possible to organize and conduct an examination.
After the evidence base is collected, the preparation of the statement of claim begins, in which the circumstances of the case and the evidence are outlined, as well as the legal grounds of the claim are specified and the amount of monetary claims is calculated with justification. In particular, this is the principal amount of the debt, as well as interest, interest, fines (if they are provided for), inflationary losses or other losses incurred by a person in connection with the debtor’s failure to fulfill a debt obligation. The claim is agreed with the client and submitted to the court.

Limitation periods for debt obligations

The general statute of limitations in Ukraine is three years, and most debt obligations fall under it. However, the collection of fines or fines has a special statute of limitations of one hour. The parties themselves may extend the statute of limitations by mutual agreement in writing.
The statute of limitations for debt recovery during martial law and quarantine was not counted. However, from September 4, 2025, the statute of limitations will resume.

Peculiarities of debt collection under a receipt or contract

Collecting a debt by receipt from an individual has certain specific features. In particular, the receipt must meet the following requirements:

• contain information sufficient for identification about the person who borrowed the funds;
• include information about the amount of funds and confirmation that they were indeed transferred to the debt.

The refund period should not be specified in the receipt. However, even if there is only a receipt, debt collection without a loan agreement can be carried out.

Debt collection under the contract, however, is much easier, since the contract that is valid and concluded in accordance with the requirements of the law establishes a specific monetary obligation of the debtor. Non-fulfillment of the terms of the contract is grounds for filing a lawsuit.

Peculiarities of debt collection from legal entities

Debt collection from both physical and legal entities is carried out on the same basis. However, in the case of a legal entity, it is necessary to check whether the company is in liquidation or whether other bankruptcy proceedings are open. If this happens, debt collection will have certain features.

Another nuance is the issue of jurisdiction. For example, if a dispute occurs between legal entities or economic entities regarding economic rights, it will be considered in economic courts. An important point: legal entities keep accounting records, and these documents can be used as evidence in court.

Peculiarities of debt recovery in international litigation

In practice, it sometimes happens that persons belonging to different jurisdictions are recognized as participants in the dispute. In this case, the dispute between them must be resolved taking into account the Law of Ukraine “On International Private Law”, which regulates debt recovery in disputes with a foreign element.

So, the first question is the law of which state and which legal system will be applied to the legal relationship, and also which court should hear the case. Sometimes the court and the country whose law is to be applied do not coincide. However, it should be taken into account that in the case of long-term legal relations, the parties usually specify in the contract which law is to be applied to the contract, and the country whose court will consider this case, or generally specify that such a dispute may be referred to arbitration. Accordingly, the lawyer must submit a claim to the court specified in the contract.

How does enforcement proceedings proceed after a court decision?

After the court’s decision on debt recovery enters into legal force, the court issues an executive document (depending on the jurisdiction, it may be an executive list or a court order). With this document and application, the plaintiff applies to the enforcement service – the state or a private executor. In turn, the enforcement service searches for the debtor’s property (money in bank accounts, real estate, movable property) and demands it in order to fulfill the court’s decision and return the debt from the debtor.

Popular questions

How to return the debt if the debtor does not have property?

If the debtor does not have movable or immovable property, which can be turned into cash and pay the debt by court decision, in some cases it is possible to collect the debt from income: salary, pension or stipend. However, this option is only for small recovery amounts.

Another option is when the debtor tried to hide his assets in order to avoid execution of the court decision (for example, he gave them as a gift or sold them at a price below the market). Then the lawyer can raise the issue of declaring these actions invalid and collecting the property to pay the debt. If there is no property that can be alienated, then the debtor can be declared insolvent (bankrupt).

What to do if there is a court decision on debt recovery?

If you are a claimant who has received a court decision on debt collection, you should contact the enforcement service for its enforcement. For the debtor in this case, the best action is the execution of the court decision and the voluntary payment of the debt before the start of enforcement proceedings. After all, if the enforcement service takes over the case, then the debtor will be forced to pay another 10% of the enforcement fee or compensation to a private executor, as well as cover the costs of enforcement.

What is the risk of evading the execution of a court decision on debt collection?

If the court decision is not executed, it will create obstacles for the debtor: his assets — bank accounts, real estate, movable property — will be seized by the enforcement service. Not only the debt will be collected from him, but also 10% of the enforcement fee or remuneration of the private executor and the costs of the enforcement proceedings.

In cases where the debtor deliberately evades the execution of the court decision and takes actions to conceal the property so that it is not used to pay the debt, criminal liability may already arise.