The procedure is based on Act L of 2009, and it is carried out by public notaries, through the national electronical system of the Hungarian Chamber of Civil Law Notaries (MOKK).

Within the framework of this procedure, it is possible to enforce an overdue monetary claim if its value does not exceed thirty million forints and the parties have a  place of residence (registered office) in Hungary, and the claim does not arise from employment. If the claim does not exceed three million forints, only this procedure can be used to initiate a court proceeding.

It is important to examine both sides, seeing what exactly the difference is between if someone wants to initiate such a procedure against someone else and what happens if someone wants to enforce a claim against us?

When initiating the procedure, an application on a form must be submitted to the Hungarian National Chamber of Notaries. Private individuals may do this electronically or on paper, but in case of legal entities, the electronic procedure through Government Portal (Cégkapu) is mandatory.

The application shall include the details of the debtor, the amount claimed and the legal basis for the claim. This submission is followed by a formal examination and the issuance of the payment order.

The fee for initiating the procedure is 3% of the amount of the claim, but at least 12,000 HUF and at most 300,000 HUF.

If we received a payment order as a debtor, we have 15 days from receipt to acknowledge the claim and pay the debt or, if we disagree with its contents, to file an objection with the public notary in charge.

If we file an objection, the procedure will turn into a lawsuit, and the claimant must file a statement of claim with the competent court if they wish to enforce the claim. If we do not respond within the deadline, the payment order will become final and enforceable.

It is important to highlight that even if we don’t take over the payment order, it will be considered delivered after the deadline set by law, so it will ultimately become legally binding and enforceable. Based on this, it can be stated that refusing to receive a payment order is never the right solution.

Although at first glance this procedure does not seem complicated, it may be worth contacting a lawyer, both as the claimant and the debtor, who will be happy to answer any questions you may have.

Presented by Dr. Judit Szegő attorney-at law in Hungary

For more details you can contact:

Dr. Szegő Judit Law Office
1026 Budapest, Pasaréti út 12. I/2.

Phone: +36-1-7863-156
Mobile: +36-30-9-896-046

Email: jszego@szegolaw.com
Web: www.drszegojudit.hu