A manufacturer's office at 5pm, a wrapped pallet waiting in the yard outside.

wolfx. Answers Search answers about getting paid Get started

Can I claim an unpaid invoice from a company based abroad?

The short answer

Sometimes. If your terms give the English courts jurisdiction, you can serve the claim form abroad without the court's permission1. Without it you need permission, and a contract governed by English law2 is one ground. A judgment is the start: whether their country enforces it6 is separate.

Mara, WolfX research desk
Written with AI, checked by a person · 8 October 2026

England and Wales only. WolfX is software, not a law firm.

The numbers

The numbers that matter here.

£455Court fee for a claim of £5,000.01 to £10,000, on the same scale as for a UK debtor.9

6 monthsTo serve the claim form abroad once the court has issued it.3

11.75%The yearly rate for debts that go late in the second half of 2026.11 12

What you can add

A £9,200 invoice to a company in the Netherlands

Say you invoiced a company in the Netherlands £9,200 for consultancy on 15 June 2026, due 15 July 2026. Your terms name the courts and the law of England and Wales. On 9 October 2026 it is still unpaid: 86 days late, from 16 July, so the second-half 2026 rate applies.

£9,200.00The invoice

£254.70Interest: £9,200 × 11.75% ÷ 365 × 86 days11

£70.00Fixed sum (invoices from £1,000 to £9,999.99)10

£9,524.70Claim on 9 October 2026

Then it grows by £2.96 a day. The court fee on a claim this size is £4559. Translation, service abroad and any local lawyer come on top, so get quotes first. Then set £455 and the quotes against the £9,524.70, and against what the company holds within reach.

The road ahead

Six steps. One fee, then quotes.

Step 1: Read your terms first
Look for two things: a clause naming the courts of England and Wales, and the law that governs the contract. Section 12 of the 1998 Act5 says when a choice of foreign law takes a contract outside it, and when it does not.
Cost: FreeTime: 10 minutes
Step 2: Find where they can be served
A company with a place where it carries on its activities, or a place of business, in England or Wales1 can be served there. An overseas company registered at Companies House can be served on a person in the UK authorised to accept its papers4.
If either is in England or Wales, serve them there as you would a UK company: you can claim online8 and skip steps 5 and 6.
Cost: FreeTime: 20 minutes
Step 3: Send the letter before action
Email the letter below to the person who approves payments, and post a copy to their head office. It asks who in the UK can accept court papers. Give them 14 days.
Cost: FreeTime: 14 days
Step 4: Ask whether their country will enforce it
Brussels Ia no longer applies6 since 31 December 2020. The 2005 Hague Convention still does where your clause gives the English courts exclusive jurisdiction.
The 2019 Hague Convention covers judgments in claims started from 1 July 2025, and EU countries are among its parties7. Ask a lawyer in their country whether either treaty fits your case, and for a quote.
Cost: A local lawyer's quoteTime: A few days
Step 5: Claim on paper, not online
The online claim is not available8 if the people you claim against have no address in England or Wales.
Claim by post, on form N1. The court fee for a claim this size is £4559.
Cost: £455 court feeTime: 1 hour
Step 6: Serve it abroad within 6 months
Service abroad follows its own rules, in Part 6, Section IV1. If you serve without permission, file your grounds on form N5102 with the claim form, and serve a copy with it (rule 6.34). Check the method for their country before you post anything.
A translation may be needed under rule 6.451. You must serve within 6 months of issue3. Their time to respond is longer, set by rule 6.35 and Practice Direction 6B2.
Cost: Translation and agent: quotesTime: Up to 6 months

A letter you can copy

Letter before action to a company abroad

Send it once the payment date has passed and a reminder has not worked. Email it and post a copy to their head office.

New email

SubjectInvoice : payment due, claim to follow if unpaid

Dear , Invoice , dated , for , was due on . It has not been paid. Under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998, I have added interest at a year from the day after the due date: to date, growing by a day. I have also added the fixed sum of for late payment. The total due today is . Please pay the full amount by to: The contract, in , says the courts of England and Wales have jurisdiction. If the invoice is not paid by that date, I will start a claim in the County Court without further notice. Please also tell me the name and address of anyone in the United Kingdom who is authorised to accept court papers for your company. If you believe any of this is wrong, please tell me before that date and say why. Kind regards,

Tap a highlighted gap to see what goes in it.

Email it, and post a copy to the head office address on their invoice or website, so it is dated and both addresses have it. Keep both copies. If you have no clause naming the English courts, delete that sentence. If your terms set their own late fee, or a foreign law governs the contract, check step 1 before you keep the interest and fixed-sum lines.

When not to bother

When it isn't worth it

The invoice is small beside the costs. Translation, an agent to serve the papers and a local lawyer are on top of the court fee, so get quotes first. A firm letter may be all the sum can bear.
Nothing of theirs is within reach. With no bank account, customers, goods or branch where a court will enforce, and a country that will not enforce an English judgment, you hold a judgment on paper. Find out before you pay the fee.
They are a consumer, not a business. Different law applies, and this page does not cover it.
They are in Scotland or Northern Ireland. Those courts have their own rules and forms, and this page does not cover them.