Debt recovery in Morocco: the steps to getting paid
An invoice delivered and never settled, money lent to someone close, a deposit that never came back: the debt exists, everyone knows about it, and it is not being paid. Here are the steps in order — what counts as proof, what puts the other party in default in the eyes of the law, and what opens up if they still do not pay.
Updated 23 September 2026
General information, not legal advice. Every situation differs — check yours with a professional before acting.
Start with the file: what proves the debt
Before you demand anything, gather what establishes two things: that the sum is owed, and exactly how much. Those are the two points the other party will defend on, and the first things a judge will look at.
A debt does not need a notarised deed to exist. What matters is being able to show it in writing. Above a certain amount the Dahir of Obligations and Contracts no longer admits proof by witnesses: with nothing on paper, the argument becomes considerably harder.
- An acknowledgement of debt, signed and dated
- A contract, a purchase order, an accepted quote
- An invoice, with proof of delivery or of the work done
- A transfer, a cheque, a receipt, a bank statement
- Messages in which the other party admits owing the sum
The message that works as an acknowledgement
A WhatsApp in which the other party writes “I owe you 20,000 dirhams, I'll pay you next month” usually carries more weight than the memory of a promise. Don't delete it, and don't change phones without backing it up.
The amicable stage: ask, but ask in writing
Plenty of debts are settled without a court, and a good share are settled before any formal notice. Nothing obliges you to start with a solemn document — but nothing justifies doing all of it by phone either.
Write it down. A message or an email naming the sum, the date it fell due and what you expect: short, free, and it dates your demand.
Above all, try to get a written answer. Anything in writing where the other party acknowledges the debt — or a part payment — confirms the claim and may, depending on the case, interrupt prescription. A payment plan agreed in writing beats a verbal arrangement nobody can reconstruct six months later.
- The exact amount, not “what you owe me”
- The due date, or the date of the loan
- A clear request: pay, and by when
- A tone that still works if a judge reads the file
The formal notice: where the debt changes status
This is the pivot. While you are chasing, you are asking a favour. With a formal notice you put the other party in default in the legal sense: the Dahir of Obligations and Contracts provides that a debtor is in default once they have been given notice (article 254), and that the notice must be in writing with a certain date (articles 255 and 256).
Three effects, all of them useful to a creditor:
- It puts the other party in default: the consequences of the delay start running, and interest on late payment, where it is due, generally runs only from that point
- It interrupts prescription: the DOC provides that a demand, judicial or extrajudicial, carrying a certain date and putting the debtor in default, interrupts the period
- It becomes the central exhibit: faced with a claim for payment, a court looks for it first
For a debt, the sensitive part is the figure
The guide on the formal notice covers what the document must contain. For a debt, add the arithmetic: principal, instalments, payments already received. A sum that is not broken down is a sum that can be argued with.
A letter you send yourself, or service by a commissaire judiciaire?
Both carry a certain date. What separates them is proof that the other party actually received the document — and with a debt, that is exactly what gets contested.
An unclaimed registered letter leaves the door open: “I received nothing”, “I had moved”. A commissaire judiciaire travels to the address, hands the document over and draws up a record of service that stands as proof; if the person refuses to take it, the refusal is recorded and matters continue. The profession is organised by law 81.03, and service of documents falls under the Code of Civil Procedure.
A small sum between people who are still talking: a registered letter is often enough. An old debt, a party who has stopped answering, an amount that will justify proceedings: service is what turns your assertion into evidence.
If they still do not pay: what opens up next
Once the deadline passes without payment, the file can go to the competent court — the court of first instance, or the commercial court where the dispute is commercial. The notice and the record of service are its first exhibits.
The Code of Civil Procedure also provides a shorter route, the injonction de payer (أمر بالأداء). It requires a money claim evidenced in writing and above a minimum amount set by the code; it is applied for to the president of the court, who rules on the application without a prior hearing. The order is then served on the other party, who has a remedy against it — at which point the matter returns to an ordinary adversarial procedure.
None of these routes guarantees payment. A judgment is not money: it still has to be enforced, and enforcement depends on what the other party actually has. One more reason not to let a debt age.
Prescription: time is not on your side
A debt cannot be claimed forever. Once the prescription period has run, the debt still exists but the claim is no longer admissible — the other party need only raise the period.
The Dahir of Obligations and Contracts sets a general period for actions arising from an obligation, and shorter periods for particular debts: sums due periodically, such as rent or interest, certain professional claims, and commercial obligations, which follow rules of their own. Depending on the nature of your debt, the period that applies to you may therefore be much shorter than the one you read elsewhere.
Two things stop the clock: a demand with a certain date that puts the other party in default, and an acknowledgement of the debt by the other party themselves. That is the practical reason not to wait — every year that passes moves you closer to the limit, and nobody will warn you.
Check it, don't assume it
The period depends on the nature of the debt: a loan between individuals, an invoice between businesses, rent, professional fees. If your debt is already several years old, have this checked before you spend anything.
What it costs, and what Indari does
A registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt costs a few tens of dirhams. Service by a commissaire judiciaire costs more, and this is what you are paying for: a document handed over in person and a record that stands as proof. What comes after — a lawyer, proceedings, enforcement — has its own cost, worth weighing against the amount claimed before you commit.
Indari prepares the notice in Arabic from the details confirmed with you by phone, and a commissaire judiciaire signs and serves it anywhere in Morocco. The other party then has 7 days to comply. Standard 790 MAD, Express 990 MAD, a fixed price known in advance; the request is filed online, including from abroad.
What we do stops there, deliberately: preparing the document and having it served, for any dispute — a debt, an invoice, rent, a deposit, a commitment not kept. We do not promise recovery, because nobody can promise it.
Frequently asked questions
- I have no signed acknowledgement, only messages. Can I still act?
- Yes, and messages in which the other party admits owing the sum genuinely count. What is hard is a debt with no written trace at all: above a certain amount the DOC no longer admits proof by witnesses. Gather what you have before you demand anything, and try to get something in writing.
- How long do I have to claim a debt in Morocco?
- It depends on the nature of the debt. The DOC sets a general period for actions arising from an obligation and shorter periods for certain debts, notably those payable periodically and commercial claims. A formal notice with a certain date interrupts the period; waiting does not.
- Is an unpaid invoice enough to prove the debt?
- It establishes the amount, not always the delivery. Attach what shows the work was done or the goods received: a signed delivery note, approval messages, sign-off on the work. That is where the argument is won or lost.
- Can I claim interest on the late payment?
- Interest for late payment, where it is due, generally runs only from the formal notice, not from the original due date. That is a reason not to put the notice off. What it amounts to depends on the contract and on the law: have it calculated with a professional.
- Do I need a lawyer to send a formal notice?
- No — a formal notice is not court proceedings. A lawyer becomes useful when the matter goes to court, or when the debt is old or complicated. Indari prepares the notice from templates and the details you confirm; drafting legal documents remains a lawyer's work.
- What if the other party genuinely has no money?
- A formal notice does not create solvency, and neither does a judgment. It is still worth something: it fixes the debt, it interrupts prescription, and it leaves you a file ready for the day the situation changes. But it is fairer to say so before you spend anything.
- I live abroad — can I do all of this remotely?
- Yes. The request is filed online, the details are confirmed by phone, and the commissaire judiciaire travels within Morocco, to the other party's city.