Guide
How to chase an unpaid invoice
Most late invoices are paid after a reminder or two. When they are not, the law gives you a set path: add statutory interest, send a letter before action, then make a claim at the county court. This guide takes you through each step, with what to send and how long to wait.
Last checked 3 November 2026 against GOV.UK, the Civil Procedure Rules and legislation.gov.uk. The court steps are for England and Wales; Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own process. This is general information, not legal advice.
When an invoice is late
An invoice is late once the payment date you agreed has passed. If you did not agree one, it is late 30 days after the customer gets the invoice, or 30 days after you deliver the goods or service if that is later. Between businesses, an agreed payment date must usually be within 60 days, and within 30 days for public authorities. You can agree longer than 60 days if it is fair to both sides.
Step 1: send a reminder
Start polite and simple. Send a copy of the invoice, the amount and the due date, and ask whether anything is holding it up. Check it reached the right person: many invoices sit unpaid because they lack a purchase order number or went to the wrong inbox. Keep a note of every email and call. You will need them if it goes further.
Step 2: add interest and compensation
If your customer is a business, the law lets you add statutory interest and a fixed sum for each late invoice:
- Interest at 8% plus the Bank of England base rate, unless your contract sets a different rate.
- A fixed sum for the cost of recovering the debt: £40 on a debt up to £999.99, £70 from £1,000 to £9,999.99, and £100 on £10,000 or more. You can charge it once for each payment. You can also claim reasonable recovery costs above it.
GOV.UK suggests sending a new invoice if you add interest. Our late payment interest calculator works out both figures and gives you wording for the reminder. These rights cover business customers only; with a consumer, any interest has to come from your contract terms.
Step 3: send a letter before action
Before you go to court, the court expects you to write to the customer once more, formally. This is called pre-action conduct. If you skip it, the court can take that into account when it manages the case and decides who pays the costs, and it can impose sanctions (Practice Direction on Pre-Action Conduct, paragraphs 13 to 16).
If the customer is a business but not a sole trader
Paragraph 6 of the Practice Direction says your letter should give concise details of the claim: the basis of it, a summary of the facts, what you want, and how you worked out the amount. The customer should reply within a reasonable time, which is 14 days in a straightforward case.
If the customer is an individual or a sole trader
The Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims applies. It covers any business claiming a debt from an individual, including a sole trader, but not business-to-business debts unless the customer is a sole trader (paragraph 1.1). Your Letter of Claim should:
- state the amount, whether interest or other charges are still being added, the details of the agreement, how to pay, and where to send the reply;
- enclose an up-to-date statement of account;
- enclose the Information Sheet and Reply Form from Annex 1 of the Protocol, and a Financial Statement form;
- be dated near the top, and posted on that day or the next (paragraphs 3.1 to 3.3).
If there is no reply within 30 days of the date on the letter, you can start court proceedings (paragraph 3.4). If the customer says they are getting debt advice, you must allow a reasonable time for it, and not start proceedings less than 30 days after you receive their completed Reply Form (paragraph 4.2).
Step 4: make a court claim
In England and Wales you claim at the county court. This used to be called the small claims court. You can claim online through GOV.UK unless, for example, you do not know the exact amount, you are claiming against three or more people or businesses, or either side has no address in England or Wales. In those cases you use paper form N1.
The fee depends on the amount you claim, including interest:
| Amount you claim | Court fee |
|---|---|
| Up to £300 | £35 |
| £300.01 to £500 | £50 |
| £500.01 to £1,000 | £70 |
| £1,000.01 to £1,500 | £80 |
| £1,500.01 to £3,000 | £115 |
| £3,000.01 to £5,000 | £205 |
| £5,000.01 to £10,000 | £455 |
| £10,000.01 to £200,000 | 5% of the claim |
| More than £200,000 | £10,000 |
You can usually claim the fee back if you win, and you may be able to get help with fees on a low income. If you are claiming interest, include it in the claim. The online service calculates interest at a single rate. If the rate changed over the period, for example because the base rate changed, work the interest out yourself and claim by post.
What happens next:
- The customer is told the date by which they must respond. If they do not respond, you can ask the court for judgment.
- If they dispute a claim of £10,000 or less, you will both be told to attend free mediation by phone, run by HM Courts and Tribunals Service. The appointment lasts up to an hour.
- If mediation does not settle it, there is a hearing. For claims under £10,000 it can be held in the judge's room. You get the decision on the day. If you think the judge made a mistake, you can appeal within 21 days.
If you are told that the person who owes you is in the Breathing Space debt respite scheme, you cannot make a claim or enforce a judgment while it lasts.
Step 5: if they still do not pay
A judgment does not pay you by itself. If the customer ignores it, you can ask the court to act, for a further fee:
- order the debtor, or an officer of a debtor company, to come to court and give details of their finances;
- send bailiffs to collect the money, called a warrant of control. A county court can do this for debts up to £5,000; the High Court can for debts of £600 or more;
- take money from the debtor's wages (an attachment of earnings order);
- freeze money in the debtor's bank account (a third-party debt order);
- put a charge on the debtor's land or property (a charging order).
How long you have
In England and Wales, a claim on a contract must be brought within six years of the date on which the right to claim arose (Limitation Act 1980, section 5). For an unpaid invoice that is generally the date payment fell due. Chasing early is easier: your records are fresh and the customer is more likely to still be trading.
Sources
- Late commercial payments: charging interest and debt recovery, GOV.UK.
- Make a court claim for money, GOV.UK: online claims, fees, mediation, hearings and enforcement.
- Practice Direction on Pre-Action Conduct and Protocols, Civil Procedure Rules, justice.gov.uk.
- Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims (PDF), justice.gov.uk.
- Limitation Act 1980, section 5, legislation.gov.uk.