Does someone owe you money and you don’t want to go through the whole classic court procedure right away? Even in 2026, a payment order can be a quick way to obtain an enforceable court decision on a monetary claim. But it only works if you meet the legal requirements and have a well-founded claim.
Quick overview
An order for payment is a summary judgment pursuant to Sections 172 to 174 of Act No. 99/1963 Coll., Code of Civil Procedure. The court may issue it without a hearing and without hearing the defendant if you claim in the action a right to payment of a sum of money and the claim arises from the facts you state in the action. The defendant then has 15 days from the date of service to pay or file a defence. If the defendant does not file a defence, the order for payment has the effect of a final judgment.
A payment order is particularly useful when you want to recover a monetary claim and you have sufficient documents from which the claim is clearly legible. Typically it is an unpaid invoice, loan, rent due or other debt that you can support with a contract, purchase order, acknowledgement of debt, correspondence or accounting documents.
According to Section 172(1) of the Code of Civil Procedure (CCP), the court may issue a payment order only if the claim asserts a right to payment of a sum of money and the asserted right arises from the facts alleged by the claimant. The law therefore does not make it a condition that you must have “certainly won”, but that the claim is already sufficiently proven from the application and the accompanying allegations.
In practice, an order for payment tends to be appropriate where the dispute is about unwillingness to pay rather than complex proof. Conversely, in cases where you expect a substantial dispute of fact, it is often realistic for the court not to issue an order for payment and to order a hearing straight away.
The law also provides for explicit obstacles. An order for payment cannot be issued if
This follows directly from Article 172(2) of the Civil Procedure Code. It is also important that the court may or may not issue a payment order. There is no legal entitlement to it just because you apply for it. If the court does not issue the order for payment, it will continue with the ordinary proceedings and order a hearing.
This is also good to bear in mind when planning costs and time. An order for payment can shorten the proceedings, but it is not an automatic guarantee of a quick result in every case.
Tip: If you are considering filing a pre-suit notice, read how to proceed.
The basis is an application for payment of a sum of money in which you request the court to issue an order for payment, or the court may issue an order for payment even without an express request from the claimant. Section 172(1) of the Civil Procedure Code allows this directly.
The application must contain the general pleading requirements of Section 42(4) of the Civil Procedure Code and the pleading requirements of Section 79(1) of the Civil Procedure Code. In practice, it must therefore be clear in particular:
The documentary application must be submitted with the necessary number of copies so that one copy remains with the court and each party receives one copy, if necessary. This rule follows from section 42(4) of the Civil Procedure Code. Therefore, the older simplified “double copy” instructions may not fit all situations.
The action shall be brought before the court having subject matter and territorial jurisdiction. In the first instance, under section 9(1) of the Civil Procedure Code, the district courts are generally competent, but local jurisdiction must be assessed on a case-by-case basis. In the case of entrepreneurs or companies, it is therefore not always possible to proceed mechanically from the registered office address alone.
The most common mistake we encounter in our law practice is simple: the plaintiff attaches an invoice but does not attach a contract, order, handover report or other document showing why the debt was incurred in the first place. The invoice alone is often not sufficient.
There is a court fee associated with filing a lawsuit. In ordinary proceedings, the court fee is governed by Act No. 549/1991 Coll., on court fees. In the case of an electronic payment order, a special rate applies: up to CZK 10,000 it is CZK 400, above CZK 10,000 up to CZK 20,000 it is CZK 800 and above CZK 20,000 it is 4% of the amount sued. If the court does not issue the electronic order for payment and proceeds with the proceedings, the fee is charged up to the normal amount.
The application for a payment order must be precisely prepared, as the proceedings are summary and there is no possibility of supplementing the application. Therefore, there is no harm in consulting and preparing everything with a lawyer. We will take care of a careful analysis of the case and the preparation of the application.
Tip: We have described the court system in our article.
If the court issues the order for payment, it will order the defendant to pay the claim and the costs of the proceedings within 15 days of service or to file a statement of opposition with the court that issued the order for payment within the same time limit. This is provided for in Article 172(1) of the Civil Procedure Code.
The order for payment shall be served in the defendant’s own hands. Substitute service is excluded, except for service by data mailbox. If the order for payment is not served on even one of the defendants, the court shall annul it in its entirety. This is one of the most practically important things, because service is often the reason why summary proceedings “spill over” into traditional litigation.
Sometimes the order for payment is accompanied by a notice to make a statement pursuant to Section 114b of the Civil Procedure Code. The case law of the Supreme Court confirms that such a summons may be issued together with the payment order and is particularly important in case the defendant files a statement of opposition.
The defence against the order for payment is resistance. If the defendant lodges a statement of opposition in time, the order for payment is thereby set aside in its entirety and the court orders a hearing. The opposition may not be rejected simply because it is not reasoned. This is expressly provided for in Article 174(2) and (3) of the Civil Procedure Code.
Conversely, the court shall reject a late filed statement of opposition. It shall likewise reject a statement of opposition lodged by a person who is not entitled to do so. If the defendant does not lodge a statement of opposition at all, the order for payment shall have the effect of a final judgment.
This is a crucial point for creditors as well: once the order for payment has the effect of a final judgment and the debtor is still in default, you can proceed to enforcement, typically by execution.
The electronic order for payment is regulated by Section 174a of the CCP. The application is submitted on an electronic form published by the Ministry of Justice and the form is available via the eFiling Service of the Judiciary.
In addition to the general particulars, the application for an electronic payment order must also contain the date of birth of the natural person or the identification number of the legal entity or natural person conducting business. If the form suffers from defects for which it cannot proceed, the court shall reject the application by order and, unlike a regular action, Section 43 of the Civil Procedure Code on the invitation to remove defects does not apply here.
An electronic order for payment cannot be issued, inter alia, if the court continues the proceedings after the stay of the proceedings or if the fee payable at the time of filing the application has not been paid even within the additional period.
In practice, the electronic order for payment is particularly suitable for standardised, well-documented and recurring claims for money. Once the case becomes more factually complex or there is a problem with service, its advantage quickly diminishes.
The European order for payment is a specific cross-border instrument under Regulation (EC) No 1896/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council. In the Czech Civil Procedure Code it is followed by § 174b. It is used for cross-border uncontested pecuniary claims in civil and commercial matters.
The court will examine the application and, if the form is duly completed, should normally issue the European order for payment within 30 days. The defendant then has 30 days to lodge a statement of opposition. If he or she files a statement of opposition, the case will normally be transferred to ordinary civil proceedings, unless the applicant has excluded such a transfer or opted for a different procedure under EU rules.
However, the European order for payment is not suitable for ordinary purely Czech claims. It only makes sense if the dispute is truly cross-border.
One more remark is worthy of completeness of the legal picture. The CCP also knows about the bill of exchange and cheque order for payment under § 175. The latter is issued when the claimant produces in original a bill of exchange or cheque, the authenticity of which is not in doubt, and other necessary documents. The defendant again has 15 days, this time to pay or object.
In 2026, the order for payment is still a very useful tool for the recovery of monetary claims. The court can issue it without a hearing if the claim is sufficiently evident from the complaint and there are no statutory impediments under section 172 of the Civil Procedure Code. The defendant has 15 days to pay or file a statement of defence; if he fails to file a statement of defence, the order for payment has the effect of a final judgment.
The order for payment is most useful where the debt is well supported by documents and where you do not expect a complex dispute of fact. The most common practical problems tend to be poorly drafted complaints, missing evidence and service on the defendant.
It has 15 days from the delivery of the payment order. For the European order for payment, the time limit is 30 days.
No. In the case of an ordinary order for payment, the opposition cannot be rejected simply because it is not justified.
The court annuls it and the case proceeds in the normal proceedings. An exception to the substituted service rule is service by data mailbox.
Yes. The law does not exclude legal persons. In particular, it will not be issued if the defendant is a minor who has not acquired full legal capacity.
Often yes, because it has a special court fee rate. But it depends on the amount of the claim and whether the court actually issues the electronic payment order.
Not always. There is generally no mandatory representation. But for larger sums or more complex facts, legal aid makes practical sense.
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Ondřej is the attorney who came up with the idea of providing legal services online. He's been earning his living through legal services for more than 10 years. He especially likes to help clients who may have given up hope in solving their legal issues at work, for example with real estate transfers or copyright licenses.
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