Receiving a document headed injonction de payer can be alarming when you are a British citizen living in France. This is the French payment-order procedure: a creditor asks a court to order payment on the basis of written documents, usually before the debtor has been heard. The resulting ordonnance is a court order. It is not a final finding that the debt is correct, and it is not the same document as a County Court Judgment issued in England and Wales. The first task is to identify which French court issued it, what claim is alleged, how and when the order was formally served, and whether the claim is actually yours.

This article addresses a French order served on a British resident in France, including a bank, utility, landlord, insurer, consumer-credit or service dispute. It focuses on the urgent opposition, meaning the formal challenge that brings the underlying claim before the court. Brexit does not remove the French procedural deadline, but it often makes the file harder to read: names may be translated differently, the creditor may be a UK company or an assignee, and supporting documents may come from both sides of the Channel. The date of the order also matters because a reform applies to orders rendered from 1 September 2026. Do not pay, sign an acknowledgement or wait for a translation request before preserving the papers and calculating the deadline.

I. What does a French injonction de payer mean for a British resident after Brexit?

A. Is the French payment order valid, and which court should you deal with?

A French payment order starts with the creditor, called the créancier, asking for recovery from the debtor, called the débiteur. The application is a requête: a written application made on documents, normally without the debtor being called to a hearing first. The procedure is designed for a claim that can be presented in a sufficiently concrete way. It is not a shortcut that makes every disputed invoice, alleged loan or unverified account automatically payable.

Article 1405 of the French Code of Civil Procedure sets out the main civil route. It begins: Le recouvrement d’une créance peut être demandé suivant la procédure d’injonction de payer lorsque : The relevant claim generally has to arise from a contract or a statutory obligation and have a determined amount. The provision also covers certain negotiable instruments. In practical terms, a creditor should be able to show the agreement or legal source of the debt, the calculation, the due date and the documents connecting the obligation to the person named in the application.

That threshold does not decide the dispute in advance. The judge can accept the claim in full, accept only part of it, or refuse the application. The initial stage is deliberately non-contradictory: the debtor has not yet had the opportunity to present payment records, a cancellation, a limitation argument, a contractual defence or an identity-theft explanation. This is why a payment order must be treated as the beginning of the defence timetable, not as proof that the creditor has won.

The court named on the document is important. Depending on the type and amount of the claim, jurisdiction may belong to the juge des contentieux de la protection, the judge dealing with protection litigation, the tribunal judiciaire, the general civil court, or the tribunal de commerce, the commercial court. Article 1406 of the Code of Civil Procedure provides that the application is brought, depending on the case, before the appropriate judge or the president of the judicial or commercial court. It also states: Le juge territorialement compétent est celui du lieu où demeure le ou l’un des débiteurs poursuivis.

For a British resident, “where you live” needs to be checked against the facts on the date of the application. Keep evidence of your French address, the date you moved, the address used in the contract and any address supplied to the creditor. A British nationality, a UK bank account or a creditor’s registered office in the United Kingdom does not by itself identify the correct court. Conversely, a French address printed on an old contract does not prove that every French court is competent. If the claim has a consumer, tenancy, insurance or employment dimension, special rules may affect the competent court.

Article 1407 of the Code of Civil Procedure requires the application to set out the amount claimed, its calculation and its legal basis, and to attach the supporting documents. Read the bundle in that order. Compare the sum in the application with the sum in the order, then separate principal, interest, contractual charges, legal costs and any enforcement costs. A balance shown in pounds may have been converted into euros. Check the exchange-rate date and whether the creditor has added interest for a period in which the account was already closed or the debt was contested.

Look for the underlying contract rather than relying on the title of the case. A debt purchaser may use a brand familiar in Britain while the legal creditor is a French or Swiss company. A utility provider may have transferred the account. A landlord may claim rent while the amount actually concerns service charges or a deposit. A bank may list a closed overdraft while the documents do not show the statements, notices or assignment. Ask four basic questions: did I enter the agreement, did the creditor perform its side, was the amount due on the date claimed, and is the person or company asking for payment legally entitled to do so?

The identity of the person served is equally important. Check every spelling of your name, date of birth where shown, former addresses and account numbers. If a British or French address has been confused with another family member’s address, state that clearly in the opposition and attach evidence. If a former spouse, civil partner, tenant, co-borrower or company is also named, do not assume that liability is joint. The order may concern several debtors but each person’s procedural position and deadline must be calculated separately.

The judge’s initial decision is recorded in an order, normally accompanied by a copy of the application and a list of exhibits. The order may carry a formule exécutoire, the wording that allows enforcement once the legal conditions are met. Under Article 1411 of the Code of Civil Procedure, the creditor must have a certified copy of the application, the evidence list and the order bearing the enforcement formula formally served on each debtor. The current article states: L’ordonnance portant injonction de payer est non avenue si elle n’a pas été signifiée dans les trois mois de sa date. That three-month rule is subject to the transitional rule explained below.

Formal service is called signification. It is carried out by a commissaire de justice, the French judicial officer who now performs the role historically associated with a huissier de justice. The envelope, the service act and the attached court documents are not interchangeable. Keep the complete pack, including the date on the service act, the method of delivery, the address used, the name of the officer and any electronic access code for the supporting evidence. If the documents are only available through a portal, download them and retain the access page and download date.

The supporting documents may show why the creditor used the procedure, but they do not replace your right to oppose. A judge who finds the application apparently founded may issue the order without hearing you first. The official Légifrance section on the injonction de payer contains the linked rules from Articles 1405 to 1422. Use the exact court and order references from your own papers when preparing the response; do not send a generic complaint to a different court or to the creditor’s customer-service address.

B. Which deadline applies to an order served around 1 September 2026?

The deadline most British residents need to protect is the time for opposition. Article 1416 of the Code of Civil Procedure states: L’opposition est formée dans le mois qui suit la signification de l’ordonnance. If the order was not served personally, the second paragraph provides a special starting point: the opposition may remain possible until one month after the first act served personally or, failing that, the first enforcement measure that makes all or part of the debtor’s assets unavailable. This is a protective rule, not a reason to ignore the first service attempt.

“One month” is not the same as thirty calendar days in every calculation. French procedural time limits are calculated under the relevant rules on periods, and the expiry date may move where the last day falls on a day when the court registry is not open. The safest practice is to calculate the earliest arguable expiry date, diarise it, and file well before it. The date on your letter or the date you opened a PDF may not be the legal date of service. Ask the commissaire de justice for the service act if it is missing rather than guessing.

A reform makes the order date particularly significant in 2026. Decree no. 2026-96 of 16 February 2026 modernises the payment-order procedure. Its transitional provision says: Les dispositions prévues aux 3° à 6° de l’article 1er du présent décret sont applicables aux ordonnances rendues à compter du 1er septembre 2026. The new provisions enter into force on 1 April 2026, but several of the changes are expressly reserved for orders rendered from 1 September 2026. The document should therefore be read for its date of rendering, not simply the date on which it reached your letterbox.

For an order rendered before 1 September 2026, the previous transitional regime may still govern the service period. The earlier version of Article 1411 used six months for service. For an order rendered from 1 September 2026, the new Article 1411 uses three months. Do not apply a three-month calculation to an older order without checking the date and version of the text, and do not assume that a late service of an old order can be treated like a timely service of a new order. The order date, service date and version of the procedural provision should appear together in the case chronology.

The service act itself must tell you what to do. Article 1413 of the Code of Civil Procedure makes the service act subject to nullity if the required information is missing. It must offer the choice to pay the amount fixed by the order or, where the debtor has a defence, to form opposition. It must show prominently the deadline, the court and the method of filing, and warn about the consequences of doing nothing. A French act may use words such as “opposition à ordonnance portant injonction de payer”; this means the formal challenge to the payment order, not an informal email disputing an invoice.

Check whether service was made à personne, meaning directly to you, or by another permitted method. A delivery to the officer’s office, a notice left at an address, or an electronic route may have different consequences. A British resident who was travelling, moving between France and the United Kingdom, or temporarily staying at a second address should preserve passports, travel evidence and address records only if they help explain the service facts. They do not automatically suspend the time limit. The procedural question is how the act was served and what the law attaches to that method.

The Supreme Court’s recent decisions show why the service evidence must be read carefully. In Second Civil Chamber, 24 October 2024, no. 22-15.682, the Cour de cassation examined an order that had not been served personally and a later intervention in wage enforcement. It repeated the rule that the opposition period can run from the first personal act or, failing that, the first enforcement measure that makes assets unavailable. The court held that, in the particular enforcement scenario, the starting point was the date on which the intervention was notified to the debtor. The decision is a warning against accepting a creditor’s date without asking what act was actually notified and when.

The wording of that decision is practical: le point de départ de l’opposition à une ordonnance portant injonction de payer qui n’a pas été signifiée à personne est, en cas d’intervention d’un créancier à une procédure de saisie des rémunérations, la date de notification de l’intervention au débiteur. It does not create a general right to wait. It shows that a court must identify the legally relevant act and its notification date. If you have already received a wage seizure notice, a bank seizure or another enforcement act, treat the matter as urgent and obtain the full enforcement file.

In Second Civil Chamber, 6 March 2025, no. 22-18.166, the Cour de cassation considered an opposition after a bank account seizure. It held that the fact that the account balance was below the protected subsistence amount did not necessarily mean that the seizure had no effect of making assets unavailable. The official analysis records: Le fait que le compte ait présenté, au jour de la saisie, un solde inférieur à la somme à caractère alimentaire laissée à la disposition du débiteur n’a pas d’incidence sur cette indisponibilité. This is a warning not to infer from a small balance that the enforcement act is legally irrelevant.

There is a separate timing question for the creditor. If the order is not served within the applicable period, it may become non avenue, meaning it ceases to have the procedural effect of that order. That does not automatically decide whether the underlying debt exists or whether the creditor can start a different action within the limitation period. If the creditor relies on an old order, ask for the order date, the service act and the proof of timely service. Keep the response focused: challenge the legal effect of the document rather than declaring that every underlying debt has disappeared.

II. How should a British resident file opposition and defend the claim?

A. How do you file a valid opposition before the one-month deadline?

The opposition is filed with the registry of the court that issued the order. The registry is the greffe. Article 1415 of the Code of Civil Procedure provides that the opposition is brought before the court whose judge or president made the order. It states: Elle est formée au greffe, par le débiteur ou tout mandataire, soit par déclaration contre récépissé, soit par lettre recommandée. In other words, the permitted route is a declaration that gives you a receipt or a registered letter, rather than an ordinary email to the creditor.

The same article allows the debtor to act through a representative. A representative who is not a lawyer must have a special power. The opposition must state the debtor’s address on pain of nullity. Give the registry a stable correspondence address in France or, if you now live in the United Kingdom, the address at which procedural documents can reliably reach you. If you have a lawyer, include the authority requested by the registry and make sure the lawyer has the full order and service pack.

Prepare the document in French or have it professionally translated before filing where time allows. A heading such as Opposition à l’ordonnance portant injonction de payer should be followed by the court, the order number, the date of the order, the names of all parties and the date and method of service. The body can be drafted from an English chronology, but the registry must be able to identify the procedural act immediately. An English letter headed “I disagree with this invoice” may be treated as correspondence rather than an opposition if it does not unambiguously challenge the order.

Use a short first page that says what you are asking. For example: you oppose the order in full; or you oppose only the interest, charges or a specified part of the principal; or you ask the court to declare the application inadmissible because the wrong person or court was pursued. Then provide the factual grounds and the documents supporting each ground. Do not write a long narrative without linking it to the sum or legal issue that the court must decide.

A reliable filing pack usually contains:

1. the payment order, including every page and the enforcement formula;
2. the application, evidence list and all supporting documents supplied by the creditor;
3. the complete service act, its date, method and address;
4. a copy of your passport or identity document if needed to resolve an identity issue;
5. the contract, account opening material, terms or correspondence on which the alleged debt is based;
6. bank statements, receipts, transfer confirmations and settlement offers showing payment or a different balance;
7. letters disputing the goods, work, rent, insurance cover or credit calculation;
8. evidence of cancellation, return, termination or a failed service where that is the defence;
9. the creditor’s assignment, chain of title or authority if a debt purchaser is claiming payment;
10. the chronology of addresses and communications if service or identity is disputed;
11. a calculation showing principal, interest and charges in separate columns; and
12. proof of filing and delivery, including the registry receipt or the registered-letter tracking record.

Number the exhibits and refer to them consistently. If an exhibit is in English, identify it in English and give a short French description. For a central document such as a contract, notice of termination, bank statement or assignment, a certified translation may be necessary or strategically useful. A “traduction assermentée” is a translation made by a translator approved for court purposes. It is not automatically required for every page, but an unreadable or unexplained foreign document can weaken an otherwise sound defence.

State the grounds in a way the court can test. Common examples include no contract with the named debtor, a payment already made, an incorrect balance, a missing credit or refund, a contract cancelled before the claimed period, an unenforceable charge, limitation, lack of standing by the claimant, or a jurisdiction objection. If the creditor has produced a contract with an English company, check whether the claim has been assigned, whether the French entity is the contracting party and whether the documents prove the amount after the assignment.

Identity fraud deserves its own section. Attach the genuine bank or provider correspondence, report of the fraud where one exists, evidence of the address at which you lived, and a clear statement of what you did not sign or receive. Do not accuse the creditor of fraud unless the evidence supports it. The immediate objective is to prevent a mistaken order from becoming enforceable and to give the court a clean factual basis for investigating the alleged account.

If the claim arises from a tenancy, explain the difference between rent, charges, repairs, deposit retention and any statutory notice. If it arises from a bank or consumer credit agreement, reconcile each drawdown, payment, interest period and insurance charge. If it concerns a French service bought while you were in Britain, identify the place of performance, the address used, the governing-law clause and the actual French connection. Brexit may form part of the background, but it is not itself a defence to a debt that is otherwise due.

The opposition brings the underlying dispute before the court. Article 1417 of the Code of Civil Procedure states that the tribunal decides the recovery claim and knows, within its jurisdiction, the original claim, related applications and defences on the merits. The article begins: Le tribunal statue sur la demande en recouvrement. This means that a debtor should present the complete defence at the opposition stage. Do not reserve the only payment record, limitation argument or jurisdiction point for an assumed second opportunity.

There may be a fee or professional cost even where the registry accepts the filing without a court fee. Service by a commissaire de justice, translation, legal representation and enforcement advice are separate costs. A lawyer is not automatically mandatory for every opposition, but the court, claim type and amount can change the representation rules. Read the court’s instructions and the summons carefully. For a British resident working across two legal systems, early advice is often most valuable when the deadline is short, the claim is large or enforcement has begun.

B. What happens after opposition, and how does Brexit affect the wider defence?

Once the registry receives the opposition, it notifies the creditor or its representative under the conditions in Article 1415. The new version provides for notification within one month, except before the commercial court. The court then organises the hearing or written process under the relevant procedural rules. The claimant may need to appoint a lawyer in ordinary civil matters within the period stated in the summons. Failure by the claimant to take the required step can have consequences for the continuation of the case, but a debtor should not rely on the creditor’s procedural mistake without checking the court’s notice and the current version of the code.

Under Article 1418 of the Code of Civil Procedure, the opposition process includes a summons to the hearing and information about the parties’ claims and documents. The post-1 September 2026 rules apply to orders rendered from that date. Keep every notice from the greffe, because the hearing date, the time for communicating exhibits and any instruction to appoint a lawyer become part of the next timetable. A person who lives in France but works or travels in the United Kingdom should give the court an address and email channel that will be monitored throughout the case.

The court is no longer deciding only whether the original judge had enough papers to issue the order. It hears the creditor’s claim and your defence. You can ask it to dismiss the claim, reduce the principal, remove interest or charges, recognise payment, order restitution where appropriate, or rule on a related claim that falls within its jurisdiction. A counterclaim or request for compensation must be linked to the facts and supported by evidence; opposition is not an invitation to add every dispute ever had with the creditor.

The legal effect of the final judgment matters. Article 1420 of the Code of Civil Procedure says: Le jugement du tribunal se substitue à l’ordonnance portant injonction de payer. The judgment replaces the payment order. This is why the court must not simply “confirm” an order after declaring the opposition inadmissible as though it were deciding an appeal against the order. In Second Civil Chamber, 6 March 2025, no. 22-18.166, the Cour de cassation held that a court which declared the opposition inadmissible and then confirmed the order exceeded its powers in the circumstances examined. The case is a useful procedural safeguard, but it does not excuse a late filing.

Enforcement must be analysed separately from the merits. For orders in the scope of the 2026 reform, Article 1422 of the Code of Civil Procedure provides: Quelles que soient les modalités de la signification, le délai d’opposition prévu au premier alinéa de l’article 1416 est suspensif d’exécution. The new text also says that the order does not produce the effects of an enforceable judgment until the suspensive causes have ended and two months have elapsed after service, subject to its precise conditions. It allows forced enforcement if the relevant notice or invitation has not been received within the specified period. Check the order date before applying the new rule.

If a bank account has been frozen, a salary has been targeted or a commissaire de justice has demanded payment, send the enforcement documents to the lawyer and the registry immediately. A bank seizure may generate the legally relevant enforcement event for a non-personal service, as the 2025 decision no. 22-18.166 illustrates. The fact that the account contained little money does not necessarily stop the account from being treated as unavailable for the procedural calculation. Ask the bank for the seizure notice and the date it was disclosed to you; do not rely on a telephone explanation.

Brexit affects the evidence and the cross-border setting, not the basic need to oppose a French order in the prescribed French form. A UK creditor may have changed its trading entity, sold the account to a French collection company or supplied statements in English. Ask for the assignment and the complete chain of documents. If the debt is based on a UK judgment rather than a French ordonnance, do not file an Article 1415 opposition automatically. Recognition and enforcement of a foreign judgment is a different question, with its own documents and objections. First establish which country’s court made the order and which enforcement instrument is actually being used in France.

A French order can also arise from a contract that was signed while the debtor was still in Britain. That fact may support a jurisdiction or consumer-law argument, but it does not turn the French order into a UK judgment. Read the jurisdiction clause and any applicable European or international instrument with the facts. If the creditor has served papers across borders, preserve the envelope, service certificate, language used and any information about the route by which the documents were transmitted. A challenge to service must be precise: identify the missing act, wrong address, language problem or statutory defect and explain the prejudice caused.

Prepare a hearing file that makes the cross-border chronology easy to follow. Start with a table showing the date, country, actor, document and legal effect. For example: contract signed in the United Kingdom; service or performance in France; payment from a UK account; move to a French address; creditor’s demand; French application; French order; formal service; opposition; enforcement notice. Then put the documents behind the table. This lets the judge distinguish residence, contract performance, payment, service and enforcement instead of treating every UK reference as one undifferentiated Brexit argument.

Before filing, run this final checklist:

1. Confirm that the document is a French injonction de payer, not an ordinary demand, a UK judgment or a different enforcement notice.
2. Record the court, order number, order date, amount, named creditor and named debtor.
3. Obtain the complete application, exhibits, order, enforcement formula and service act.
4. Identify whether the order was rendered before or from 1 September 2026.
5. Record the legal service date and method, then calculate the earliest one-month expiry.
6. Check whether a personal service, bank seizure, wage seizure or other enforcement act changes the starting point under Article 1416.
7. Draft an unambiguous opposition naming the exact order and court.
8. State your complete address and include any special power required for a representative.
9. Separate identity, contract, amount, limitation, jurisdiction and service objections.
10. Attach a numbered evidence bundle with a calculation that reconciles the claimed sum.
11. File at the correct greffe by a permitted method and keep proof of receipt.
12. Diarise the hearing, the communication of documents and every enforcement deadline after filing.

Do not treat a registered letter as successful merely because it was posted. Keep the postal receipt, delivery confirmation and a copy of the exact document sent. If the registry refuses to accept the document, ask for the reason in writing, record the name and time, and obtain urgent procedural advice. The aim is to prove both the content of the opposition and its timely arrival through the channel authorised for that court.

Do not negotiate away the procedural protection without understanding the wording. A settlement proposal, instalment agreement or payment made “on account” may affect the factual dispute but may not stop enforcement unless the creditor confirms the legal consequence. If you decide to pay to protect a bank account or family finances, reserve your rights in writing and obtain advice on whether payment is consistent with the defence. If the debt is genuinely due but the amount or timing is wrong, a partial admission and a focused challenge may be more credible than a blanket denial.

Finally, keep the French and British files together but do not merge their legal conclusions. A UK tax record, bank statement or company letter may prove a fact; it does not decide the French court’s jurisdiction or the effect of French service. Equally, a French order may affect a UK-based creditor or account without becoming a UK court judgment. The practical answer to a Brexit-era debt document is a dated, bilingual evidence file and a formally valid opposition served on the correct French registry within the earliest defensible deadline.

Conclusion

A British resident in France who receives a French injonction de payer must act on the procedure, not on the language barrier or the fact that the creditor has UK connections. Identify the court, the order date, the underlying claim and the formal service act. The ordinary opposition period is one month after service, subject to the special rule where service was not personal and a later personal act or enforcement measure fixes the starting point. The 2026 reform adds a critical transition: the three-month service rule and related changes apply to orders rendered from 1 September 2026.

The safest response is to file a clear opposition with the correct greffe, state the address required by Article 1415, preserve proof of filing and present the full defence with numbered evidence. Challenge the identity, contract, amount, standing, limitation, jurisdiction or service defect that the documents actually support. If a bank or salary seizure has started, obtain the enforcement file immediately. If the instrument is a UK judgment rather than a French order, use the correct recognition or enforcement route instead of assuming that the French opposition procedure applies.

The French court will hear the underlying recovery claim after a valid opposition, and its judgment will replace the order. The objective is therefore not merely to delay payment. It is to move the dispute from a paper application made without your participation to a properly documented hearing in which the creditor must prove the debt and you can present the evidence created on both sides of the Channel.