Payment order

The payment order is the document the enforcement office serves on the debtor once proceedings are opened. It states the amount claimed, the basis of the proceeding, the payment and objection deadlines, and warns that the proceeding will become final absent an objection.

Service of the document is decisive for the running of deadlines. Payment within the period ends the proceeding; an objection halts it in the ordinary no-judgment route; inaction lets it become final, enabling attachment. Content and deadlines vary by enforcement route, with negotiable-instrument proceedings following their own periods and objection forum.

Service is the most critical practical issue. Failure to notify an address change, or defective service, can leave debtors unaware of the proceeding until a wage attachment appears; in such cases correction may be sought based on the date the irregular service was actually learned of.