To collect a debt in Colombia from abroad, you usually do not need a judgment from your own courts first. If your documents meet Article 422 of the General Code of Procedure, a Colombian lawyer acting under your power of attorney can file an enforcement claim directly before a Colombian court and ask for the debtor’s assets to be attached from the filing. This page explains which documents qualify, how long you have, what interest you can charge, what attachment costs and what to send from abroad.
You shipped the goods or delivered the service, the Colombian buyer has stopped paying, and you are abroad. Colombian procedure lets a creditor go straight to enforcement on the strength of documents the debtor himself signed or accepted, and that route is open to a foreign company acting through a Colombian lawyer under a power of attorney granted as described further down. What decides whether it works is the paperwork you already have, and how old it is.
The rules below are quoted in Spanish with an unofficial translation in brackets, because the Colombian codes have no official English version. Where a quotation is cut short, the cut is marked […].
Debt collection lawyers in Colombia: who handles your file
Your file is handled by Andrés Felipe López Gutiérrez, founding partner of ADALET LEGAL S.A.S., a Colombian law firm, and a lawyer with more than 20 years of practice. His debt recovery practice covers pre-judicial and judicial collection of business debts, enforcement proceedings and precautionary measures, and the firm has acted for companies in more than 13 industries.
- Lawyer.
- Specialist in Commercial Law (Especialista en Derecho Comercial), Universidad del Rosario.
- Specialist in Public Management and Administrative Institutions (Especialista en Gestión Pública e Instituciones Administrativas), Universidad de los Andes.
At ADALET LEGAL every case goes through the partner’s hands, and you deal directly with the person handling your matter. He works with associate Kerlly Díaz, who drafts claims, appeals and briefs, takes part in enforcement proceedings and keeps track of procedural deadlines, under the direction of the partner in charge of each matter. ADALET LEGAL is part of Debitura’s international debt collection network. Full profile, in Spanish: Andrés Felipe López Gutiérrez, trademark and commercial lawyer.
What counts as an enforceable document in Colombia
Article 422 of the General Code of Procedure (Law 1564 of 2012) defines it: «Pueden demandarse ejecutivamente las obligaciones expresas, claras y exigibles que consten en documentos que provengan del deudor o de su causante, y constituyan plena prueba contra él, o las que emanen de una sentencia de condena proferida por juez o tribunal de cualquier jurisdicción, o de otra providencia judicial […] y los demás documentos que señale la ley» [unofficial translation: obligations that are express, clear and due, evidenced in documents originating from the debtor or his predecessor and constituting full proof against him, or arising from a judgment ordering payment or performance rendered by a court or tribunal of any jurisdiction, or from another judicial decision […] and such other documents as the law may specify, may be claimed by way of enforcement].
Two points of translation matter here, because both mislead foreign readers. A «sentencia de condena» is a judgment ordering payment or performance, not a criminal conviction. And «cualquier jurisdicción» means any of the branches of the Colombian judiciary, not any country: a judgment obtained abroad is not an enforceable instrument in Colombia by itself, and needs exequatur, which is dealt with at the end of this page.
Three words in the definition do the rest of the work. Express: the amount owed has to be stated, not inferred. Clear: it must be legible from the document without argument. Due: no term or condition is still pending, which usually means the payment date has passed. And the document must originate from the debtor, which is the requirement foreign creditors most often miss. An invoice you issued and the debtor never accepted did not originate from him. Where several documents are read together, as they often are, they must originate from the debtor and, taken together, show an obligation that is express, clear and due.
Your invoice: negotiable instrument or just evidence
Article 772 of the Commercial Code, as amended by Law 1231 of 2008, makes the invoice a negotiable instrument in its own right: «Factura es un título valor que el vendedor o prestador del servicio podrá librar y entregar o remitir al comprador o beneficiario del servicio» [unofficial translation: an invoice is a negotiable instrument which the seller or service provider may issue and deliver or send to the buyer or beneficiary of the service]. The same article requires that no invoice be issued that does not correspond to goods actually and physically delivered or to services actually rendered under an oral or written contract, and provides that for all legal purposes arising from the character of negotiable instrument «el original firmado por el emisor y el obligado, será título valor negociable por endoso por el emisor y lo deberá conservar el emisor, vendedor o prestador del servicio» [unofficial translation: the original signed by the issuer and by the obligor shall be a negotiable instrument transferable by endorsement by the issuer, and the issuer, seller or service provider must keep it].
Article 774 lists what the invoice must contain, on top of the general requirements for negotiable instruments in Article 621 of the same Code and the tax requirements of Article 617 of the Tax Statute, and then states: «No tendrá el carácter de título valor la factura que no cumpla con la totalidad de los requisitos legales señalados en el presente artículo. Sin embargo, la omisión de cualquiera de estos requisitos, no afectará la validez del negocio jurídico que dio origen a la factura» [unofficial translation: an invoice that does not meet all the legal requirements set out in this article shall not have the character of a negotiable instrument. However, the omission of any of those requirements shall not affect the validity of the transaction that gave rise to the invoice].
That is the difference between a fast case and a slow one, but it is narrower than it looks, and the article’s own last sentence is the part creditors are never told: «La omisión de requisitos adicionales que establezcan normas distintas a las señaladas en el presente artículo, no afectará la calidad de título valor de las facturas» [unofficial translation: the omission of additional requirements established by rules other than those set out in this article shall not affect the character of the invoices as negotiable instruments]. An invoice a client believes is lost to a formal defect may still be a negotiable instrument, if the defect comes from a rule other than those Article 774 itself lists or refers to.
One requirement of Article 774 catches foreign sellers regularly. The invoice must state a due date, and «En ausencia de mención expresa en la factura de la fecha de vencimiento, se entenderá que debe ser pagada dentro de los treinta días calendario siguientes a la emisión» [unofficial translation: in the absence of an express statement of the due date on the invoice, it shall be understood that it must be paid within thirty calendar days following issuance]. If your standard terms say ninety days but the invoice itself says nothing, the Colombian default is thirty calendar days, which moves the date your clock started running.
Acceptance: the three working days that work in your favour
Acceptance is governed by Article 773 of the Commercial Code, which requires the buyer to accept the content of the invoice expressly, «por escrito colocado en el cuerpo de la misma o en documento separado, físico o electrónico» [unofficial translation: in writing placed on the body of the invoice or in a separate document, physical or electronic], and Article 772 speaks of the original signed by issuer and obligor. Where there is no signature, what the seller relies on is the tacit acceptance in the final paragraph of Article 773, and it is often the first thing a Colombian debtor disputes: «La factura se considera irrevocablemente aceptada por el comprador o beneficiario del servicio, si no reclamare en contra de su contenido, bien sea mediante devolución de la misma y de los documentos de despacho, según el caso, o bien mediante reclamo escrito dirigido al emisor o tenedor del título, dentro de los tres (3) días hábiles siguientes a su recepción» [unofficial translation: the invoice is deemed irrevocably accepted by the buyer or beneficiary of the service if he does not object to its content, either by returning it together with the dispatch documents, as the case may be, or by written claim addressed to the issuer or holder of the instrument, within the three (3) working days following its receipt].
The same article requires that receipt of the goods or service be recorded, on the invoice or on the transport document, with the name, identification or signature of whoever receives it and the date. And it closes a defence that Colombian debtors reach for constantly: «El comprador del bien o beneficiario del servicio no podrá alegar falta de representación o indebida representación por razón de la persona que reciba la mercancía o el servicio en sus dependencias, para efectos de la aceptación del título valor» [unofficial translation: the buyer of the goods or beneficiary of the service may not plead lack of representation or improper representation by reason of the person who receives the goods or the service at his premises, for the purposes of acceptance of the negotiable instrument]. The warehouse clerk who signed for the delivery is enough.
Electronic invoices
The rules above were written for paper invoices. For electronic ones, the Commercial Code anticipates the point in the final paragraph of Article 772: «Para la puesta en circulación de la factura electrónica como título valor, el Gobierno Nacional se encargará de su reglamentación» [unofficial translation: for the circulation of the electronic invoice as a negotiable instrument, the National Government shall be responsible for its regulation]. Article 773 already contemplates acceptance recorded in a separate document, «físico o electrónico» [unofficial translation: physical or electronic].
That regulation is in Decree 1074 of 2015, as worded by Decree 1154 of 2020. An electronic sales invoice is accepted expressly when the buyer accepts its content by electronic means within the three working days following receipt of the goods or the service, and tacitly when the buyer does not object to the issuer within those same three working days; the objection has to be made in writing, in an electronic document (article 2.2.2.53.4). Receipt is shown by the buyer’s electronic receipt record, which forms part of the invoice and states the name, identification or signature of whoever receives and the date of receipt, and the issuer must record the facts giving rise to tacit acceptance in RADIAN, the registry of electronic sales invoices considered negotiable instruments defined by the DIAN, the Colombian tax and customs authority. The invoice can only circulate, by electronic endorsement, once it has been accepted expressly or tacitly (article 2.2.2.53.6), and accepted invoices intended to circulate must be registered in RADIAN by the issuer, together with all the events associated with them (article 2.2.2.53.7).
What that means for you is practical. Do not send us a PDF print-out and assume it is the instrument. Send the electronic invoice file as issued, the record of its delivery to the buyer, and any written acceptance or objection. Before suing on an electronic invoice we check two things: that it meets Article 774 and that its acceptance can be proved. If it is to be endorsed or sold, we also check its status in RADIAN.
How long you have: three years or five, and it is not the same claim
This is where most foreign creditors are given a single number, and a single number is wrong. There are two clocks, and which one runs depends on what you are suing on.
If you hold a valid negotiable instrument, Article 789 of the Commercial Code applies: «La acción cambiaria directa prescribe en tres años a partir del día del vencimiento» [unofficial translation: the direct action on a negotiable instrument is time-barred three years from the date of maturity]. Three years from the due date on the instrument.
If you are suing on the underlying transaction, on a contract or on other documents originating from the debtor, the civil limitation periods apply. They reach commercial obligations through Article 822 of the Commercial Code, which applies the principles governing the formation of civil acts, contracts and obligations, their effects, interpretation and ways of being extinguished, annulled or rescinded, to commercial obligations and transactions «a menos que la ley establezca otra cosa» [unofficial translation: unless the law provides otherwise]. That closing clause is the hinge of the whole section: where the invoice is a valid negotiable instrument, the law does provide otherwise, in Article 789. Article 2536 of the Civil Code, as amended by Article 8 of Law 791 of 2002, provides: «La acción ejecutiva se prescribe por cinco (5) años. Y la ordinaria por diez (10). La acción ejecutiva se convierte en ordinaria por el lapso de cinco (5) años, y convertida en ordinaria durará solamente otros cinco (5)» [unofficial translation: the enforcement action is time-barred after five (5) years, and the ordinary action after ten (10). The enforcement action becomes an ordinary action after five (5) years, and once converted it lasts only another five (5)].
So a debt that looks lost at three years may not be, and the two clocks are the first thing to date on any file. There is also a rule pulling the other way that has to be read carefully rather than repeated as a slogan. Article 882 of the Commercial Code governs payment made with negotiable instruments delivered «por una obligación anterior» [unofficial translation: for a prior obligation], and provides that «Si el acreedor deja caducar o prescribir el instrumento, la obligación originaria o fundamental se extinguirá así mismo; no obstante, tendrá acción contra quien se haya enriquecido sin causa a consecuencia de la caducidad o prescripción. Esta acción prescribirá en un año» [unofficial translation: if the creditor allows the instrument to lapse or become time-barred, the original or underlying obligation shall likewise be extinguished; he shall nevertheless have an action against whoever has been unjustly enriched as a consequence of the lapse or limitation. That action shall be time-barred after one year]. Whether that rule reaches an ordinary sales invoice is contested, because the invoice is the instrument of the transaction itself, issued by the seller, rather than an instrument handed over by the debtor for a prior debt, and because Article 774 expressly preserves the validity of the transaction that gave rise to the invoice. We do not assume the point either way. We date every invoice against both clocks and we do not let the shorter one run out.
Stopping the clock, and the one-year service rule
Article 94 of the General Code of Procedure gives the creditor a tool that costs nothing: «El término de prescripción también se interrumpe por el requerimiento escrito realizado al deudor directamente por el acreedor. Este requerimiento solo podrá hacerse por una vez» [unofficial translation: the limitation period is also interrupted by a written demand made to the debtor directly by the creditor. That demand may be made only once]. A written demand letter, once, restarts the period. The text sets its conditions: in writing, made to the debtor directly by the creditor, and only once. Keep proof that it reached the debtor; we prepare the letter for you to sign and send. It interrupts limitation, not the lapse periods that run on negotiable instruments. If you are in the thirty-third month, that is the step to take this week.
The same article sets the condition that catches claims against debtors who make themselves hard to find: filing the claim interrupts limitation «siempre que el auto admisorio de aquella o el mandamiento ejecutivo se notifique al demandado dentro del término de un (1) año contado a partir del día siguiente a la notificación de tales providencias al demandante» [unofficial translation: provided that the order admitting the claim or the enforcement order is served on the defendant within one (1) year counted from the day following notice of those decisions to the claimant]. Past that year, the effects only arise with actual service on the debtor.
Interest, and the clause that can cost you all of it
Foreign supply contracts often carry a late-payment rate written for another market. Article 884 of the Commercial Code sets both the default and the ceiling: «Cuando en los negocios mercantiles haya de pagarse réditos de un capital, sin que se especifique por convenio el interés, éste será el bancario corriente; si las partes no han estipulado el interés moratorio, será equivalente a una y media veces del bancario corriente y en cuanto sobrepase cualquiera de estos montos el acreedor perderá todos los intereses, sin perjuicio de lo dispuesto en el artículo 72 de la Ley 45 de 1990» [unofficial translation: where interest on capital is payable in commercial transactions and no rate has been agreed, it shall be the current bank rate; if the parties have not stipulated default interest, it shall be one and a half times the current bank rate, and to the extent that either of those amounts is exceeded the creditor shall lose all interest, without prejudice to the provisions of article 72 of Law 45 of 1990].
Note what the sanction is. It is not an automatic reduction to the cap: the article says the creditor loses interest, and it does so subject to Law 45 of 1990, so the consequence in a given case is argued on both texts. What is not arguable is that the ceiling exists and that exceeding it puts your interest at risk instead of increasing it.
There is a criminal dimension as well, which foreign suppliers are rarely told about. Article 305 of the Criminal Code defines usury as receiving or charging, directly or indirectly, in exchange for a loan of money or for the sale of goods or services on credit, «utilidad o ventaja que exceda en la mitad del interés bancario corriente que para el período correspondiente estén cobrando los bancos, según certificación de la Superintendencia Bancaria […]» [unofficial translation: a profit or advantage exceeding by half the current bank interest rate being charged by banks for the corresponding period, according to certification by the Superintendencia Bancaria […]], whatever form is used to record, conceal or disguise the transaction, and punishes it with imprisonment and a fine. A paragraph added by Law 1142 of 2007 increases the penalty where the advantage triples that rate, «según certificación de la Superintendencia Financiera o quien haga sus veces» [unofficial translation: according to certification by the Superintendencia Financiera or whoever performs its functions].
The current bank rate is not a market rate you negotiate: it is an official rate, certified periodically by the financial supervisor. Article 884 provides that it is proved by a certificate of the Superintendencia Bancaria. Article 1 of Decree 4327 of 2005 merged the Superintendencia Bancaria into the Superintendencia de Valores, which has since been named Superintendencia Financiera de Colombia, the entity Article 305 itself names in its later paragraph. The practical conclusion is that the late-payment rate in a contract with a Colombian buyer should be checked against Colombian law before it is signed, not after the debtor raises it.
Attachment: what you can ask for, and what it costs
Article 599 of the General Code of Procedure: «Desde la presentación de la demanda el ejecutante podrá solicitar el embargo y secuestro de bienes del ejecutado» [unofficial translation: from the filing of the claim the enforcing creditor may request the attachment and seizure of the debtor’s assets]. What exists from the filing is the right to ask. When the request is made outside a hearing, Article 588 requires the judge to decide it no later than the day after the case is allocated or the request is filed, and the measure is then communicated to the registry or to whoever must comply with it. Under Article 593, the attachment of money held in a bank is completed when the bank receives the court’s communication, which must state a maximum amount of no more than the debt and costs plus fifty per cent; the attachment of registered property is communicated to the registry for registration; and that of a receivable is completed with notice to the third party who owes it. No prior judgment is needed, and no separate injunction proceeding, but nothing is frozen on the day you file.
The same article caps the measure: the value of the assets may not exceed twice the total of the debt claimed, its interest and costs prudently calculated, except where there is a single asset, where the assets are secured by a mortgage or pledge guaranteeing that debt, or where dividing them would reduce their value or saleability. Bank accounts, receivables owed to the debtor by third parties, vehicles and real estate are the usual targets, subject to the list of assets that cannot be attached in Article 594 of the General Code of Procedure, which includes, among others, savings deposits up to the amount fixed by the competent authority, public budget and social security resources, and public-use assets.
And it has a price the creditor should know before deciding. Under the same Article 599, a debtor who raises substantive defences, or a third party affected by the measure, may ask the court to order the creditor to post security of up to ten per cent of the current value of the enforcement, to answer for the damage the measure causes, failing which the measure is lifted; the security must be posted within fifteen days of service of the order requiring it, and it is not required where the creditor is a financial institution, an entity supervised by the Superintendencia Financiera de Colombia or a public-law entity. Article 443 adds that if the defences succeed in full, the creditor is ordered to pay costs and the damages the debtor suffered both from the precautionary measures and from the proceeding itself. Attachment is a lever, not a free one.
What the debtor can do, and when
Two separate windows. Formal defects in the document are dealt with under Article 430: «Los requisitos formales del título ejecutivo sólo podrán discutirse mediante recurso de reposición contra el mandamiento ejecutivo. No se admitirá ninguna controversia sobre los requisitos del título que no haya sido planteada por medio de dicho recurso» [unofficial translation: the formal requirements of the enforceable instrument may only be disputed by way of a motion for reconsideration against the enforcement order. No dispute regarding the requirements of the instrument shall be admitted that has not been raised by means of that motion]. Preliminary defences and the benefit of discussion (beneficio de excusión) are raised by the same motion against the enforcement order (Article 442, numeral 3).
If that motion succeeds and the enforcement order is revoked for want of the requirements of the instrument, the same article gives the creditor a way back: within the five days following the order becoming final, a declaratory claim may be filed in the same file without new allocation (after that period it can still be brought as a separate proceeding), and, if it is filed in time, «en el nuevo proceso seguirá teniendo vigencia la interrupción de la prescripción y la inoperancia de la caducidad generados en el proceso ejecutivo» [unofficial translation: in the new proceeding the interruption of limitation and the non-operation of lapse generated in the enforcement proceeding shall remain in effect]. For a creditor near the limitation date, that sentence is the difference between a setback and a loss.
Substantive defences run on a different clock. Article 442 gives the debtor ten days from service of the enforcement order to raise them, stating the facts and attaching the evidence. On a claim based on the debtor’s own documents the code does not limit which substantive defences he may raise. The closed list applies where what is being enforced is a judgment, a conciliation or a settlement approved by a body exercising judicial functions: payment, set-off, merger, novation, remission, limitation or settlement, provided they rest on facts subsequent to that decision, plus nullity for improper representation or for want of service or summons, and loss of the thing owed.
If the debtor enters insolvency, the race is over
Article 20 of Law 1116 of 2006 is categorical: «A partir de la fecha de inicio del proceso de reorganización no podrá admitirse ni continuarse demanda de ejecución o cualquier otro proceso de cobro en contra del deudor» [unofficial translation: from the date of commencement of the reorganisation proceeding, no enforcement claim or any other collection proceeding against the debtor may be admitted or continued]. Enforcement proceedings already under way are sent to the insolvency proceeding, pending defences are treated as objections for the purpose of ranking the claim, and the precautionary measures pass to the insolvency judge, who decides whether they stay or are lifted.
For a creditor abroad this is the real deadline behind the legal one. Filing early matters because it may produce payment before the reorganisation opens. Once it opens, that advantage is gone: the measures pass to the insolvency judge, who decides whether they stay or are lifted, and your claim is graded and ranked with the others in the reorganisation.
What you have to send us from abroad
A power of attorney, first. Article 74 of the General Code of Procedure allows it to be granted outside Colombia: «Los poderes podrán extenderse en el exterior, ante cónsul colombiano o el funcionario que la ley local autorice para ello; en ese último caso, su autenticación se hará en la forma establecida en el artículo 251» [unofficial translation: powers of attorney may be granted abroad, before a Colombian consul or before the officer authorised for that purpose by local law; in the latter case, their authentication shall be carried out in the manner established in article 251]. Where the grantor is a company and the consul records that he had before him the evidence of its existence and that the signatory is its representative, those circumstances are taken as established. How to sign one outside Colombia is explained in power of attorney for Colombia.
The same article contains the requirement that most foreign powers fail: «En los poderes especiales los asuntos deberán estar determinados y claramente identificados» [unofficial translation: in special powers of attorney the matters must be specified and clearly identified]. A general power of attorney drawn in your own jurisdiction, granting broad authority in open terms, does not meet that requirement: under the same article, general powers for all kinds of proceedings can only be granted by public deed. The power has to name the debtor and the matter.
Then the documents. Article 251 requires that documents drawn up in a language other than Spanish be filed with a translation by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, by an official interpreter, or by a translator appointed by the judge, and that public documents issued abroad be filed «apostillados de conformidad con lo establecido en los tratados internacionales ratificados por Colombia» [unofficial translation: apostilled in accordance with the international treaties ratified by Colombia], or, where the foreign country is not a party to that instrument, duly authenticated by the Colombian consul or diplomatic agent in that country and, failing that, by that of a friendly nation. Apostille and translation run in parallel with the demand letter, not after it.
If you already have a foreign judgment or award
A judgment obtained abroad does not enforce itself here. Article 605 provides that judgments and other decisions of that character rendered by foreign authorities, «en procesos contenciosos o de jurisdicción voluntaria» [unofficial translation: in contentious or non-contentious proceedings], «tendrán en Colombia la fuerza que les concedan los tratados existentes con ese país, y en su defecto la que allí se reconozca a las proferidas en Colombia» [unofficial translation: shall have in Colombia the force granted to them by the treaties in existence with that country, and failing that, the force recognised there for judgments rendered in Colombia]. That second limb is the first filter: reciprocity. If your country does not recognise Colombian judgments, yours will not be recognised here. The exequatur of arbitral awards made abroad is governed by the rules on that subject.
Article 606 then lists the requirements. The judgment must not concern rights in rem over assets located in Colombia when the proceeding began; must not conflict with Colombian public-order law, other than procedural rules; must be final under the law of its country of origin and filed in a duly legalised copy; must not fall within the exclusive jurisdiction of Colombian judges; there must be no proceeding pending or final judgment of Colombian courts on the same matter; and, if rendered in contentious proceedings, the defendant must have been duly summoned and heard under the law of the country of origin, which the code presumes from the judgment being final. A last requirement closes the list: that the exequatur requirement itself be met.
Article 607 says where it goes, and this is the part that decides the strategy: the exequatur claim is filed «a la Sala de Casación Civil de la Corte Suprema de Justicia» [unofficial translation: to the Civil Cassation Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice], unless a treaty assigns it to another judge. And the sting is in its last rule: «Si la Corte concede el exequátur y la sentencia extranjera requiere ejecución, conocerá de esta el juez competente conforme a las reglas generales» [unofficial translation: if the Court grants the exequatur and the foreign judgment requires enforcement, the competent judge under the general rules shall hear it]. Winning the exequatur is not collecting. You then start the enforcement proceeding you could have started at the beginning.
Hence the advice clients rarely expect. Where the debtor’s assets are in Colombia and your contract documents already satisfy Article 422, filing here directly is one proceeding instead of two. Litigating abroad first and asking about Colombia afterwards is the expensive order of operations.
How we handle a foreign creditor’s file
Send the contract, the unpaid invoices with their delivery and acceptance records, and any written exchange about the debt. We come back with three things: whether what you have already satisfies Article 422 or needs to be completed, the limitation position of each invoice on both clocks, and what the debtor actually owns in Colombia, because a claim against a company with nothing attachable is a different decision from a claim against one with receivables and property.
We act at both stages: the pre-judicial written demand, which we prepare for you to send directly to the debtor so that it also interrupts limitation once under Article 94, and which can lead to a payment agreement without a court, and the enforcement proceeding with attachment where it does not. Fees are agreed in writing before we start, and we report in English. Our founding partner has more than 20 years of practice; we do not promise outcomes, because no one can.
If your Colombian exposure is contractual rather than overdue, see commercial and corporate law in Colombia. Our full details are on the contact page.
If you live abroad and have other matters in Colombia, such as property, a divorce or an inheritance, see Colombian lawyer for clients abroad.
Frequently asked questions
How do I collect a debt in Colombia from abroad?
Through a Colombian lawyer acting under your power of attorney. The usual sequence is: check that your documents meet Article 422 of the General Code of Procedure; send the debtor a written demand, which, made directly by you as creditor, also interrupts limitation once (Article 94); and, if payment does not follow, file an enforcement claim and ask for the debtor’s assets to be attached from the filing (Article 599). No judgment from your own courts is needed first.
What kind of lawyer do I need to collect a debt in Colombia?
A lawyer authorised to practise in Colombia: Article 73 of the General Code of Procedure requires anyone appearing in a proceeding to do so through a lawyer legally authorised, except where the law allows direct intervention. A foreign company appoints the lawyer by a special power of attorney, which can be granted abroad before a Colombian consul or before the officer authorised by local law, in the latter case authenticated as Article 251 provides (Article 74). For an enforcement claim, look for a lawyer who handles enforcement proceedings and precautionary measures.
How much does a debt collection lawyer cost in Colombia?
Our fees are agreed in writing before we start. Colombian lawyers must set their fees «con criterio equitativo, justificado y proporcional frente al servicio prestado o de acuerdo a las normas que se dicten para el efecto» [unofficial translation: on an equitable, justified and proportionate basis in relation to the service provided or in accordance with the rules issued for that purpose] (Law 1123 of 2007, article 28, numeral 8). Beyond fees, plan for the translation and apostille of foreign documents (Article 251 of the General Code of Procedure) and, if the debtor raises substantive defences or a third party is affected by an attachment, the security of up to ten per cent of the current value of the enforcement that the court may order you to post to keep the measure (Article 599).
Do you have to go to court to collect a debt in Colombia?
Not always. A written demand made to the debtor directly by the creditor interrupts limitation once (Article 94 of the General Code of Procedure) and can lead to a payment agreement without a court. If it does not, collecting by force requires an enforcement claim before a Colombian court, where attachment of the debtor’s assets can be requested from the filing (Article 599).
Can a foreign company sue a Colombian debtor without a local judgment first?
Yes. If your documents satisfy Article 422 of the General Code of Procedure, that is, an express, clear and due obligation evidenced in documents originating from the debtor, an enforcement claim can be filed directly in Colombia and attachment of the debtor’s assets requested from the filing.
How long do I have to collect an unpaid invoice in Colombia?
It depends on what you are suing on. On a valid negotiable instrument, Article 789 of the Commercial Code gives three years from the date of maturity. On the underlying contract or on other documents originating from the debtor, Article 2536 of the Civil Code gives five years for the enforcement action and ten for the ordinary action. A written demand made to the debtor directly by the creditor interrupts the limitation period once, under Article 94 of the General Code of Procedure.
My invoice has no due date on it. When was it payable?
Article 774 of the Commercial Code provides that in the absence of an express due date on the invoice, it is understood to be payable within thirty calendar days following issuance, whatever your general terms say.
The buyer never signed my invoice. Is it still enforceable?
Possibly. Under Article 773 of the Commercial Code the invoice is deemed irrevocably accepted if the buyer does not object to its content, by returning it with the dispatch documents or by written claim to the issuer, within the three working days following its receipt; receipt of the goods or service must be recorded with the name, identification or signature of whoever received them and the date. The buyer may not plead that the person who received the goods or service at his premises lacked authority. For electronic invoices, the three working days run from receipt of the goods or the service (Decree 1074 of 2015, article 2.2.2.53.4).
Can I charge the late-payment interest set out in my contract?
Only up to the Colombian ceiling. Under Article 884 of the Commercial Code, where no default interest is stipulated it equals one and a half times the current bank rate, and exceeding the limit puts the interest at risk rather than increasing it. Above that ceiling the conduct may also constitute usury under Article 305 of the Criminal Code. The rate should be checked before the contract is signed.
What do I need to send from abroad to start?
A special power of attorney identifying the debtor and the matter, and the supporting documents. Under Article 74 a power of attorney can be granted abroad before a Colombian consul or before the officer authorised by local law, and in the latter case it is authenticated as Article 251 provides. Under Article 251, documents in another language need a translation by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, an official interpreter or a court-appointed translator, and public documents issued abroad must be apostilled under the treaties ratified by Colombia or, where the country is not a party to that instrument, authenticated by the Colombian consul or diplomatic agent there.
I already won a judgment in my country. Is that enough?
No. A foreign judgment needs exequatur, filed before the Civil Cassation Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice under Article 607, and must meet the requirements of Articles 605 and 606, starting with reciprocity. If it is granted and the judgment requires enforcement, a separate enforcement proceeding follows. Where the assets are here and your documents are already enforceable, filing directly in Colombia is one proceeding instead of two.
What happens if the debtor enters reorganisation?
Under Article 20 of Law 1116 of 2006, from the commencement of the reorganisation no enforcement or collection claim against the debtor may be admitted or continued, and proceedings already under way are sent to the insolvency proceeding, where the precautionary measures pass to the insolvency judge, who decides whether they stay or are lifted.
Talk to a lawyer
Send us a message on WhatsApp with the amount, the date of the oldest unpaid invoice and the debtor’s name, and we will tell you whether the file is enforceable here and what it needs. An initial inquiry does not create an attorney-client relationship.
See also suing in Colombia as a foreigner.