How the Decreto Ingiuntivo Works in Practice: A Step-by-Step Guide for Foreign Creditors

The decreto ingiuntivo (injunction order) is the fastest and most cost-effective instrument that Italian law provides to creditors for recovering a documented debt. Compared with ordinary court proceedings — which before an Italian Tribunal typically take two years or more — the injunction order allows an enforceable title to be obtained within a matter of weeks, without the debtor being heard before the order is issued.

For a general introduction to the decreto ingiuntivo and the Italian debt recovery system, see the guide already published on this site: Understanding the Italian Injunction Decree. This article focuses instead on the concrete procedure: which documents are needed, how the application is filed, what happens after service on the debtor, and how to proceed with enforcement when the debtor still does not pay.

When the Decreto Ingiuntivo Is the Right Tool

Before initiating the procedure, it is essential to verify that the debt has the characteristics required by law. Art. 633 of the Code of Civil Procedure requires the claim to concern “a liquid sum of money” supported by “written proof”. Case law and legal doctrine have consolidated a practical three-part test: the claim must be certain (undisputed as to its legal basis), liquidated (determined or readily determinable in amount), and due (the payment deadline must have passed).

The decreto ingiuntivo is not the right tool where: the debt is disputed in its amount and requires complex judicial fact-finding; the contract contains an arbitration clause that excludes the jurisdiction of the ordinary courts; or the debtor is in a state of acknowledged insolvency (in which case the creditor must file a proof of debt in the insolvency proceedings).

Before filing the application, it is almost always advisable to send the debtor a formal notice (diffida) by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt or certified email (PEC). The notice interrupts the limitation period, places the debtor in default so that default interest begins to run, and in many cases produces voluntary payment — avoiding the cost of judicial proceedings altogether. For further details: The Formal Notice to Comply (Diffida ad Adempiere) Under Italian Law.

The Documents Required: What to Prepare Before Filing

The strength of a decreto ingiuntivo application depends entirely on the quality of the documentation produced. The judge decides inaudita altera parte — without hearing the debtor — relying exclusively on the documents attached to the application. Incomplete or poorly organised documentation can result in the application being rejected or in an order being issued without the provisional enforceability clause.

Evidence of the Debt

• Written contract: the document proving the existence of the legal relationship. This may be a supply contract, a services agreement, a distribution contract, or an agency agreement.
• Invoices or debit notes: invoices issued and unpaid by the Italian debtor, properly issued and corresponding to the services described in the contract.
• Purchase orders and order confirmations: commercial correspondence showing that the debtor ordered the goods or services and accepted the terms.
• Negotiable instruments: bills of exchange, bank cheques, or bank drafts that have been dishonoured. These instruments allow the order to be issued with an immediate provisional enforceability clause under Art. 642 c.p.c.

Proof of Performance

• Delivery notes (DDT): consignment notes signed by the recipient, proving that goods were actually delivered.
• Acceptance reports: in services or works contracts, test or acceptance reports signed by the client.
• Emails and commercial correspondence: emails in which the debtor confirmed receipt of goods or services, acknowledged the debt, or requested a payment extension. Emails constitute full documentary evidence in Italian civil proceedings.
• Account statements and statements of account: in ongoing commercial relationships, account statements showing movements and an uncontested debit balance.

Proof of Non-Payment

• Bank statements: proof that payment was not received.
• Chaser correspondence: emails or letters in which the creditor demanded payment, and any responses from the debtor — even a promise to pay that was never kept constitutes an acknowledgement of the debt and interrupts the limitation period.
• The formal notice: the registered letter or certified email sent before initiating proceedings.

Documents Specific to Foreign Creditors

• Company registry extract for the creditor: a document certifying the existence and legal representation of the foreign creditor company (the equivalent of the Italian visura camerale). It must be translated into Italian and, where required, apostilled.
• Special power of attorney for the lawyer: the foreign creditor must grant the Italian lawyer the powers needed to file the application. The power of attorney may be executed before a notary in the creditor’s country (with apostille) or before the competent Italian consul.
• Translations of documents: documents in a foreign language produced in proceedings are not required to be accompanied by a sworn Italian translation as a matter of validity — the judge has the power, but not the obligation, to appoint a translator, and may dispense with translation where there is no dispute about the content (Cass. civ. no. 24980/2020, confirmed by Trib. Foggia nos. 1053/2025 and 1120/2025). However, providing sworn translations remains strongly advisable: if the Italian judge does not know the foreign language, the absence of a translation becomes a concrete obstacle to the document being understood and given weight.

Powers of attorney and translations — Cass. civ. no. 2716/2026: an Italian translation of a special power of attorney to litigate granted abroad, and of the related notarial certification, is not a requirement for the validity of the instrument. The Italian language requirement applies to procedural acts in the strict sense, not to documents preparatory to the proceedings. Cass. civ. no. 26223/2024: failure to serve the power of attorney together with the injunction order does not constitute a ground of nullity of the order.

How to Calculate the Amount of the Application

The amount claimed in the application must include all sums owed at the date of filing:

• Principal: the amount of the unpaid invoices or the principal debt.
• Default interest: from the date the payment fell due to the date of filing. For inter-business debts, the default interest rate under Legislative Decree no. 231/2002 applies — the ECB reference rate plus 8 percentage points — significantly higher than the ordinary statutory rate.
• Documented expenses: costs of the formal notice, translations, and any protest of bills of exchange or cheques.

The application also requests an order that the debtor pay the legal costs of the proceedings, which — if the order is not opposed — are assessed by the judge.

The Competent Court

Territorial jurisdiction follows the general rules (Arts. 637–638 c.p.c.):

• Debtor’s court: the court of the place where the debtor has its registered office (for companies) or domicile (for individuals).
• Contract court: the court of the place where the obligation arose or is to be performed (Art. 20 c.p.c.).
• Agreed court: where the contract contains a valid jurisdiction clause that has been specifically approved in writing (Art. 1341, para. 2, c.c.).

For disputes exceeding €10,000 the Tribunal has jurisdiction. For disputes relating to works contracts, franchising, and sub-supply, the competent court is the Specialised Court for Business Matters (Sezione Specializzata in materia di Impresa) of the relevant district capital.

The Procedure Step by Step

Step 1 — Drafting and Filing the Application

The application for an injunction order (Art. 638 c.p.c.) is drafted by the Italian lawyer and filed electronically through the Italian Civil Telematic Process (Processo Civile Telematico — PCT). It must contain: the identification of the competent court, the identification of the parties, a statement of the facts, the quantification of the claim, and a list of the documents attached. The foreign creditor does not need to be physically present at any stage.

Step 2 — The Court Fee (Contributo Unificato)

The contributo unificato — the court fee payable to the State — is paid simultaneously with the filing. For injunction applications it is significantly lower than for ordinary proceedings. Indicative figures:

• Up to €1,100: €43.
• €1,101 to €5,200: €98.
• €5,201 to €26,000: €237.
• €26,001 to €52,000: €518.
• €52,001 to €260,000: €759.
• €260,001 to €520,000: €1,214.
• Over €520,000: €1,686.

Step 3 — The Judge’s Review

The judge examines the application in chambers without scheduling a hearing. Timelines vary significantly:

• Efficient courts (Milan, Bologna, northern Italy generally): two to six weeks.
• Medium-workload courts: one to three months.
• Courts with significant backlogs: three to six months or more.

If the documentation is insufficient, the judge may request supplementary evidence (Art. 640 c.p.c.) or reject the application — in the latter case, the creditor may refile with more complete documentation or proceed by way of ordinary proceedings.

Step 4 — The Provisional Enforceability Clause

An ordinary injunction order only becomes enforceable after 40 days from service, if the debtor does not oppose it. However, the creditor may request that the order be issued with a provisional enforceability clause (Art. 642 c.p.c.), which allows enforcement to begin immediately, even while the debtor’s opposition is pending.

Provisional enforceability is granted automatically where the claim is based on bills of exchange, bank cheques, bank drafts, notarial deeds, or authenticated private documents. For certified extracts of statutory accounting records, the legal basis is Art. 634 c.p.c. (not Art. 642), and provisional enforceability is not automatic — it must be expressly requested and assessed by the judge.

Provisional enforceability as an enforcement title — Cass. civ., Sec. III, order no. 11376/2023: an injunction order made provisionally enforceable under Art. 642 c.p.c. constitutes a fully valid title for enforcement. In the enforcement notice (precetto) it is sufficient to state the details of service of the order; there is no need to mention the decision granting enforceability or the attachment of the enforcement formula.

Payment pending provisional enforcement — Cass. civ., Sec. II, order no. 15281/2024: payment made by the debtor pursuant to a provisionally enforceable order has purely executory effect and does not extinguish the debt. A debtor who pays to avoid enforcement does not thereby acknowledge the merits of the claim and may still lodge an opposition to the order.

Step 5 — Service on the Debtor

The order must be served on the debtor within 60 days of its issue (Art. 644 c.p.c.) for service within Italian territory. For service abroad — for example where the debtor is based in a foreign country but has assets in Italy — the period is 90 days. In both cases, failure to serve within the period causes the order to lapse.

From the date of service, the debtor has 40 days in which to lodge an opposition.

Step 6 — Scenario A: Order Not Opposed

Where the debtor does not lodge an opposition, the creditor files a request for a declaration of enforceability (Art. 647 c.p.c.). The judge endorses the enforcement formula and the order acquires the force of a final judgment (giudicato), with full formal and substantive res judicata effect.

Res judicata and insolvency proceedings — Cass. civ., Sec. I, order no. 739/2025: an unopposed injunction order acquires the force of res judicata only upon the declaration of enforceability under Art. 647 c.p.c. Provisional enforceability under Art. 642 c.p.c. does not equate the order to a judgment. Accordingly: if the debtor is declared insolvent after the order is issued but before the Art. 647 c.p.c. declaration of enforceability, the order — even if provisionally enforceable — is not enforceable against the insolvency estate. Where there are signs of the debtor’s financial distress, it is essential to accelerate the proceedings and obtain the Art. 647 c.p.c. declaration of enforceability before any insolvency proceedings are opened.

Step 7 — Scenario B: Order Opposed

Where the debtor lodges an opposition, the proceedings are automatically converted into ordinary civil proceedings (Art. 645 c.p.c.). The opposition is not an appeal against the order nor an action to declare it void, but gives rise to ordinary proceedings on the merits, in which the creditor retains the substantive position of claimant and must prove the constituent elements of the debt.

Burden of proof in opposition proceedings — Cass. SS.UU. no. 13533/2001 (established principle, confirmed by Trib. Civitavecchia no. 744/2025, Trib. Potenza no. 560/2025, and Trib. Nola no. 573/2025): the creditor as substantive claimant bears the burden of proving the constituent facts of the claim; the debtor-opponent must prove any facts that modify, prevent, or extinguish it. The court grants the creditor’s claim if the facts are established at the time of the decision, even if they were not established at the time the application was filed.

Where the order was issued with a provisional enforceability clause, the creditor may continue enforcement during the opposition proceedings, unless the court suspends provisional enforceability on the debtor’s application (Art. 649 c.p.c.) — a suspension available only where there are serious grounds.

Enforcement: How to Actually Collect the Money

Attachment of Bank Accounts

Attachment of current accounts (Art. 543 c.p.c.) is the fastest and most effective enforcement instrument. The creditor’s lawyer may apply to the president of the court for authorisation to search for attachable assets through the court bailiff (ufficiale giudiziario), who has direct telematic access to the Revenue Agency databases and the financial accounts register (Art. 492-bis c.p.c.). Once the debtor’s bank is identified, the attachment order is served directly on the institution, which is required to freeze the available funds immediately.

Attachment of Third-Party Receivables

Where the debtor has receivables from third parties (clients who owe it money), the creditor may attach those receivables by serving the attachment order directly on the third-party debtor (Art. 543 c.p.c.). This is particularly effective against businesses with a customer base.

Real Property Attachment

Real property attachment (pignoramento immobiliare, Art. 555 c.p.c.) is the most complex and lengthy procedure, concluding with a forced sale at judicial auction. Timelines are long — two to five years in major cities — but for high-value debts it may be the only effective route.

For a full guide to purchasing property at Italian judicial auction: Buying Property at Auction in Italy: Guide for Foreign Buyers.

Limitation Periods: Deadlines That Cannot Be Missed

• Commercial contract debts (sale of goods, services): 10 years (Art. 2946 c.c.).
• Periodic supply contracts: 5 years (Art. 2948 c.c.).
• Bills of exchange or cheques: 3 years from the due date (Art. 94 of the Bills of Exchange Act).

The limitation period is interrupted by any act of acknowledgement of the debt by the debtor (including an email promising payment), by a formal notice sent by registered letter or certified email, or by the filing of the application. Each interrupting act triggers a fresh limitation period of the same duration.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long do I have to serve the order once it has been issued?

60 days for debtors based in Italy (Art. 644 c.p.c.). 90 days for service abroad. Failure to serve within the applicable period causes the order to lapse — it must be applied for again.

The debtor has paid after receiving the provisionally enforceable order. Can they still oppose it?

Yes. Payment made pursuant to a provisionally enforceable order does not constitute an acknowledgement of the debt and does not preclude opposition (Cass. civ. no. 15281/2024). A debtor who pays to avoid attachment may still lodge an opposition and seek restitution of the sums paid if the opposition proceedings succeed.

The debtor has opposed the order. Do I now have to start ordinary proceedings?

Yes — the opposition automatically converts the proceedings into ordinary civil proceedings. In those proceedings, the creditor retains the substantive position of claimant and must prove the constituent facts of the claim, while the debtor must prove any facts that extinguish or modify it (Cass. SS.UU. no. 13533/2001). If the order was issued with a provisional enforceability clause, the creditor may continue enforcement during the proceedings, unless the court suspends it for serious grounds (Art. 649 c.p.c.).

Can I manage the entire procedure from abroad?

Yes. The foreign creditor does not need to be physically present in Italy at any stage. The Italian lawyer manages everything under a special power of attorney, which can be executed before a notary in the creditor’s country (with apostille) or before the competent Italian consul.

Conclusion

The decreto ingiuntivo, used with complete and well-organised documentation, is the most effective instrument available to a foreign creditor holding a claim against an Italian counterpart. Its speed, low cost, and the possibility of immediate enforcement through the provisional enforceability clause make it the first-choice option for any documented commercial debt.

The key to success is preparation: gathering all the documentation before filing, providing sworn translations even where they are not strictly required as a matter of validity, and — where the debtor shows signs of financial difficulty — accelerating the proceedings to obtain the declaration of enforceability under Art. 647 c.p.c. before any insolvency proceedings are opened.

For a comprehensive overview of the debt recovery tools available to foreign creditors in Italy: How to Recover an Unpaid Debt in Italy: Complete Legal Guide and How to Recover a Debt in Italy: A Brief Introduction.

For assistance with injunction order proceedings or debt recovery against Italian debtors, Studio Legale Giorgianni is available. Further information is available in the Debt Collection Italy section and on our Italian Lawyer hub page.