Ask your gemeente (municipality) for free debt help
Ask your gemeente for free schuldhulpverlening (debt help). A first interview must take place within 4 weeks, or 3 working days for eviction, a utility cut-off or health-insurance termination. If you continue, a written plan or refusal must follow within the local period, at most 8 weeks after that interview. Your options include a voluntary settlement and court restructuring.
This guide covers debt help for adults living in the Netherlands, including people with business debts. You can ask for help while you can still pay some bills.
Applying for municipal debt help
Apply to your own gemeente. The Wet gemeentelijke schuldhulpverlening (External site, opens in a new tab) (Wgs, Municipal Debt Help Act) covers residents registered in its Basisregistratie Personen (BRP, Personal Records Database). Foreign nationals also need a qualifying lawful-residence status under the Act.
The gemeente assesses your individual case. It may refuse help after earlier debt help. Fraud that financially harmed a public authority can also be grounds for refusal after a final criminal conviction or a final punitive administrative sanction. If you are unregistered or unsure about your residence status, ask the gemeente and get legal advice. The Act allows help outside the normal resident rule in exceptional cases.
To request help and prepare for the first interview:
- Contact your gemeente to request schuldhulpverlening.
- Report the date of any threatened eviction, disconnection, health-insurance termination, summons or seizure.
- Send the relevant letters through the municipal form or by email.
- Save the confirmation of your request.
- Prepare an overview of every creditor, balance, payment deadline, income source and asset, including disputed debts.
The first-interview deadline is shorter for an urgent threat. The written-decision period starts after your first interview. Ask the gemeente to confirm its local decision period and your exact decision date.
You can scroll wide tables sideways.
| What happens | Deadline | What starts the clock or changes the rule |
|---|---|---|
| First interview after your oral or written request | Within 4 weeks | Your request to the gemeente |
| First interview after an early-warning report, if you accept help | Within 4 weeks | The gemeente receiving the report, rather than the date you accept |
| First interview in a threatening situation | Within 3 working days | Forced eviction; gas, electricity, district heating or water cut-off; health-insurance cancellation or termination |
| Written plan or refusal after the first interview | Local period, at most 8 weeks | The first interview; supply missing financial information promptly |
After the first interview, the gemeente gives a formal decision: a plan van aanpak (plan of approach) or a refusal. It may omit this decision if you say at that interview that you want no further debt help. A plan may include conditions. It must protect at least your beslagvrije voet (protected minimum income). Ending municipal debt help also requires a formal decision.
Objections, complaints and late decisions
Use the route that matches the problem:
- A written offer, refusal or decision ending help that you disagree with: lodge bezwaar (an objection) with the gemeente. Follow the instructions in the decision. The normal objection period is 6 weeks.
- Problems with how the service is carried out: complain to the gemeente first. If that does not resolve it, contact its municipal ombudsman. If your gemeente uses the Nationale ombudsman (External site, opens in a new tab) (National Ombudsman), contact that service.
- No decision after the legal period: check whether the gemeente lawfully extended or paused the period. If it has expired, send an ingebrekestelling (formal notice of default). The gemeente then has 2 weeks to decide. Court action and a penalty may be possible after that. Get legal help before filing.
Early-warning letters
An early-warning letter from the gemeente offers help with payment arrears. Residential landlords, drinking-water companies, energy suppliers and health insurers can send specified arrears reports after their own attempts to collect payment. The gemeente must then offer contact. You may refuse help. If you accept, the first-interview rule applies. A provider’s reminder can still demand payment.
Before reporting rent arrears, a landlord must send a written reminder and try personal contact. It must explain ways to prevent or clear arrears, point you to debt help and offer to share your details. An explicit objection from you blocks reporting. A report may still be possible if you do not object or the landlord cannot reach you.
Services from municipal debt help
Municipal debt help is free. The gemeente may use a social team, credit bank or specialist provider. It remains responsible when another organisation delivers the service.
Depending on your situation, help can include these services:
- Budget advice, help with forms, social work and a plan to stop new arrears.
- Budgetbeheer (budget management): a provider receives your income and pays agreed fixed costs. Ask how the remaining money is paid to you.
- A minnelijke schuldregeling (Msnp, voluntary debt settlement), through schuldbemiddeling (debt mediation) or a saneringskrediet (debt-settlement loan).
- Aftercare to help you keep the new budget stable.
- A court request for a temporary Wgs cooling-off period, where necessary for debt help.
Budgetbeheer may be voluntary. The gemeente can also make cooperation a condition in your plan. Ask which bills the provider will pay, how much household money you receive and how the arrangement can end.
A Wgs cooling-off period needs a court order. The gemeente asks the court, which checks necessity and the other legal conditions. The period can last at most 6 months. Creditors temporarily lose specified rights to recover or reclaim your assets. You must use the pause to stabilise your finances and set money aside for repayment.
This municipal cooling-off period differs from urgent temporary protection linked to the Wet schuldsanering natuurlijke personen (Wsnp, statutory debt restructuring for individuals). The court options below explain that route.
Voluntary payment plans and settlements
For a debt you can repay, propose an ordinary payment plan to the creditor. Show what you can afford while paying current rent, energy, food and health insurance. The creditor can refuse your proposal.
For debts you cannot manage, the gemeente can prepare an Msnp settlement with all creditors. With schuldbemiddeling, you keep a vrij te laten bedrag (vtlb, living allowance). Normally, you pay income above the vtlb into the settlement, and creditors receive their agreed share. A fund can expressly set a different purpose for its payment. For example, money given only to pay one particular debt must be used for that debt.
With a saneringskrediet, a credit bank pays creditors the agreed amount. You then repay one loan, which may include interest.
Debt counsellors are asked to propose an 18-month repayment period for new Msnp settlements, including schuldbemiddeling. Your agreement and circumstances determine the actual period.
All participating creditors must agree to a voluntary settlement. Creditors currently have no general statutory response deadline for the proposal. The proposed Wet schuldregelen (Debt Settlement Act) would add rules. Its consultation closed on 17 August 2026. The official legislative calendar (External site, opens in a new tab) still lists the proposal in preparation on 4 October 2026.
Court options when creditors refuse
A failed voluntary settlement can lead to a court request. Rechtspraak (External site, opens in a new tab) (Dutch courts) explains these three options. The judge decides whether your request meets the conditions.
You can scroll wide tables sideways.
| Court option | Purpose | Condition |
|---|---|---|
| Dwangakkoord (court-imposed settlement) | Require creditors to join an Msnp settlement if their refusal is unreasonable | Filed with a Wsnp request; some failed settlements do not qualify |
| Voorlopige voorziening Wsnp (temporary court protection) | Seek urgent protection against threatened eviction or a utility cut-off | Linked to a Wsnp application; contact your debt counsellor about the threat |
| Wsnp | Enter statutory debt restructuring if the voluntary route failed or was impossible | The court checks the admission conditions |
Prepare the Wsnp request with your debt counsellor for the rechtbank (district court). You need a statement explaining why voluntary settlement failed or was impossible, plus evidence of debts, income and assets. The statement comes from the municipality or another legally authorised issuer. Ask your counsellor who can issue it in your case.
You sign the request. A spouse or registered partner must co-sign. A curator (court-appointed guardian) must co-sign if curatele (full legal guardianship) applies. A lawyer is optional for this first request.
The court checks more than the size of the debt. You normally need to meet all the applicable conditions below. The following paragraph explains an exception.
- You can no longer pay your debts, and the voluntary settlement attempt failed or was impossible.
- You acted in good faith when debts arose or remained unpaid during the previous 3 years. The court also checks your efforts to pay. Fines, fraud and irresponsible borrowing need individual assessment.
- Debts from a final conviction for a misdrijf (criminal offence, excluding minor offences) normally block admission if the conviction became final within 5 years before your application. The judge may use a longer period.
- If addiction or psychosocial problems apply, you can generally only be admitted if a care provider confirms at least 1 year of control.
- You can follow the Wsnp duties and will try to earn as much as possible.
The law allows an exception to the good-faith and criminal-debt conditions if you have brought the causes of the debts under control. Ask your counsellor which evidence the court needs.
Life during and after court restructuring
The standard Wsnp period is 18 months for people admitted from 1 July 2023. In special circumstances, the court can extend it to at most 5 years. A Wsnp-bewindvoerder (debt restructuring administrator) supervises your case and reports to a rechter-commissaris (supervising judge).
This role differs from budgetbeheer and beschermingsbewind (court-ordered management of your assets). During Wsnp, you must follow these duties:
- Give the Wsnp-bewindvoerder all relevant information, both when asked and on your own initiative.
- Do not create new debts.
- Meet the work, job-search and effort duties that apply to you.
- Earn as much as reasonably possible and pay income above the vtlb into the debt restructuring account.
If you meet the duties, the court may grant a schone lei (clean slate). Debts covered by it can no longer be enforced. Keep the judgment. New debts and debts outside the Wsnp remain payable.
These debts and financial records may remain after a clean slate:
- A study debt to DUO (External site, opens in a new tab) (Dienst Uitvoering Onderwijs, Dutch education service) that was not yet repayable. DUO arrears and fines that existed at Wsnp entry can be covered.
- Claims from CJIB (External site, opens in a new tab) (Centraal Justitieel Incassobureau, Central Judicial Collection Agency), except traffic fines covered by the clean slate.
- The mortgage, if you were allowed to stay in your owner-occupied home during Wsnp.
- A record of previously registered debts at BKR (External site, opens in a new tab) (Bureau Krediet Registratie, credit registration agency). It remains visible for 5 years after the clean slate.
Money received later but belonging to the Wsnp period goes to the Wsnp-bewindvoerder. This includes a tax refund for that period or an inheritance from someone who died during it. The court can revoke a clean slate if a breach of your duties harmed creditors. Concealing money is one example.
Write to the rechter-commissaris about a complaint concerning your Wsnp case. Conduct complaints use a separate route: first complain to the administrator’s organisation. You may then complain to the Raad voor Rechtsbijstand (External site, opens in a new tab) (Legal Aid Board). If your administrator is a lawyer, use the lawyer’s professional complaints route. These routes differ from municipal debt-help complaints.
Budget management and court-appointed administrators
The arrangement determines who controls your money and how it can end. Check the name on your agreement or court order against the roles below.
You can scroll wide tables sideways.
| Arrangement | Who sets it up | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Budgetbeheer | The gemeente or its provider | Receives income and pays agreed bills. The agreement or conditions in your debt-help plan state what the provider may do and how the arrangement can end. |
| Beschermingsbewind | The kantonrechter (subdistrict court judge) | A bewindvoerder (assets administrator) manages the assets in the order; you need permission to deal with them |
| Wsnp-bewind (Wsnp administration) | The rechtbank in the Wsnp judgment | Supervises your duties and debt restructuring assets under a rechter-commissaris |
You can request beschermingsbewind when you cannot manage your finances, including because of problem debts or overspending. You, a partner, certain family members and several care or legal representatives can apply. A lawyer is optional.
Curatele covers both financial and personal legal decisions. Mentorschap (court-appointed personal-care support) covers personal care decisions only.
Energy and health-insurance arrears
For gas or electricity, the supplier must send at least 3 written reminders for an unpaid bill, each allowing at least 14 days to pay. Each reminder must offer contact to arrange payment. The supplier must try to contact you personally and explain debt help. If you ask, or during personal contact, it must offer a reasonable, suitable payment plan.
The supplier cannot end your contract for arrears while one of these protections applies:
- You keep an agreed payment plan.
- The supplier is handling your formal complaint about the unpaid bill, or a related dispute is pending with a dispute body it belongs to.
- The debt is included in an ongoing debt-help process, or you send proof that you have applied and are waiting for the municipal decision.
- You send a certificate from a doctor who is not treating the person at risk. It must show that disconnection would cause very serious health risks for you or someone in your household. Protection lasts while that risk remains.
For debt-help protection, act within 4 weeks of a reminder: have the debt included in the process or send proof of your application to the supplier. The law also allows a longer period if it is reasonable. The supplier must also wait at least 4 weeks after first sharing your details with a debt-help service.
If the contract has already ended, send proof of your debt-help application, inclusion of the debt or the medical risk as soon as possible. If you provide this proof within a reasonable period, the supplier must offer a new contract on the same or similar terms.
After the supplier ends the contract, the network operator can physically disconnect the gas or electricity. If your letter says “einde levering” (end of supply), contact the supplier and the gemeente about the stated date.
After at least 6 months of unpaid health-insurance premiums, the insurer can register you with CAK (External site, opens in a new tab) (public healthcare administration office). The 2026 bestuursrechtelijke premie (administrative premium) is €172.70 a month. It does not reduce your old debt to the insurer.
The premium may be withheld from salary, benefits or pension. Otherwise, you receive payment requests through CJIB. If CJIB collects part or all of the premium, your zorgtoeslag (healthcare benefit) goes towards that payment. Check the collection route in your CAK letter.
Basic insurance continues, but supplementary cover may end. Premium arrears prevent you from switching basic insurer. Arrears from the eigen risico (healthcare deductible) alone do not prevent switching.
The insurer ends CAK registration after the premium debt is paid, an accepted payment arrangement applies or a qualifying debt-help arrangement is in place. Wait for the CAK’s stop notice before changing payments. Ask your insurer and gemeente which route applies to your case.
Debt collectors and bailiffs
The sender determines what a collection letter can require. An incassobureau (debt collection agency) and a gerechtsdeurwaarder (court bailiff) have different powers. Check the sender and any date for a hearing or payment.
You can scroll wide tables sideways.
| Sender | What it can do | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Incassobureau | Send payment demands, contact you and propose a payment plan for the creditor | Cannot serve a dagvaarding (court summons) or seize income, accounts, possessions or a home |
| Gerechtsdeurwaarder before judgment | Collect a debt and serve official documents, including a dagvaarding | A summons alone gives no authority to seize |
| Gerechtsdeurwaarder with an enforceable basis | Seize income, benefits, a bank account or assets | Needs an enforceable basis, such as a court judgment, dwangbevel (enforceable administrative order) or notariële akte (notarial deed); protected amounts and essential goods still apply |
A collection letter can lead to court proceedings. A bailiff’s document may already set a hearing or payment deadline. Get legal help as soon as you receive a document you do not understand.
A collector acting for another creditor or collecting a purchased debt must be registered when collecting from an individual living in the Netherlands. Check the Register incassodienstverlening (External site, opens in a new tab) (debt collection services register). Lawyers and authorised bailiffs use their own professional registers instead.
Since 1 October 2026, you need not pay an unregistered or suspended collector. Its collection fees are not due, including fees from a later collector handling the same claim. Statutory interest stops increasing from the date of its written payment demand. The original debt remains due to the creditor. The Wet kwaliteit incassodienstverlening (Wki, Debt Collection Services Quality Act) sets these protections. Get legal advice about how to settle that debt.
Consumer collection fees
Before charging incassokosten (collection fees) on a consumer debt, the creditor must send a payment reminder. It must give you 14 days to pay and state the fee that will follow. The 2026 maximum scale applies to the original debt in bands:
You can scroll wide tables sideways.
| Part of the original debt | Maximum fee over that part |
|---|---|
| First €2,500 | 15% |
| Next €2,500 | 10% |
| Next €5,000 | 5% |
| Next €190,000 | 1% |
| Above €200,000 | 0.5%, subject to the total fee cap |
The usual minimum fee is €40 and the total maximum is €6,775. For instalments of at most €266.67 under the same contract, a lower rule applies.
For each new reminder, look back 6 months at earlier instalments under the same contract that were not paid on time after a reminder. Instalments above €266.67 also count. For an instalment of at most €266.67, the maximum fee is €40 if none count, and €20 otherwise.
A reminder covering several instalments may include an instalment that qualifies for the lower rule. In that case, the highest fee for a single included instalment applies.
For example, a €3,500 consumer debt in 2026 has a maximum fee of €475: 15% of the first €2,500 (€375), plus 10% of the remaining €1,000 (€100). The creditor may charge less. This example assumes a valid reminder and no exception for repeated instalments or an unregistered collector.
Bills from the same creditor that can be included in one reminder are combined for the calculation, subject to the repeated-instalment exception. A later new debt can generate a new fee. Interest may also apply. Separate reminder, administration and handling fees cannot be added on top of collection fees.
Btw (value-added tax) can be added only if the creditor uses a taxable collection service and cannot reclaim that tax. The creditor must expressly state in the payment reminder that it cannot reclaim that tax and that the collection fee is increased by that tax percentage. Dispute an incorrect amount in writing.
Your protected income after seizure
Your beslagvrije voet protects part of your salary, benefit or pension when income is seized or offset. Money already in a bank account has a separate beslagvrij bedrag (protected bank-account amount). Ask the bailiff which protection appears on your letter.
For income seizure, check these rules and records:
- The seizing party must send an overview showing the beslagvrije voet and the income, household and housing data used.
- At least 5% of net income goes to creditors, even at a low income.
- Check the data and calculation at Uw beslagvrije voet (External site, opens in a new tab) (official protected-income information service). Contact the seizing party as soon as possible, preferably within 4 weeks, if the figure is wrong.
- Changes in income, housing or household can alter the amount. An increase is not automatic. A recalculation is automatic for someone receiving bijstand (social assistance).
Common problems
A missed municipal deadline
Check whether the first interview or the formal decision is late. Remind the gemeente in writing with your request date and the relevant Wgs deadline. If the decision period has expired, ask Het Juridisch Loket about an ingebrekestelling. A late interview is not a refusal. Keep acting on an eviction or cut-off letter while you wait.
A creditor’s refusal of the settlement
One refusal can block a voluntary settlement. Ask your counsellor whether a dwangakkoord is suitable and whether you meet the Wsnp admission conditions.
NVVK requires settlement proposals to give creditors with the same legal priority the same percentage of their debts. Extra payments to one old creditor can break that rule and damage the proposal. Discuss any extra payment with your counsellor first.
Debts owed by your partner
Whether you must pay your partner’s debts depends on your marriage or registered-partnership date and property arrangements. In a full community of property created before 1 January 2018, your partner’s debts and assets can fall into that community.
From 1 January 2018, the default is limited community of property. Earlier private property and debts normally stay private. Earlier joint debts and many debts created during the marriage or registered partnership can be shared. Huwelijkse voorwaarden (marriage property agreements) can change the result. Keep proof of who owns each asset and get advice about your case.
Debts from self-employment
Ask the gemeente about business debt help as well as personal debt help. The Besluit bijstandverlening zelfstandigen (External site, opens in a new tab) (Bbz, social assistance scheme for self-employed people) may provide temporary income support or business capital, often as a loan. Eligibility and the form of support depend on your situation, assets and business.
An eenmanszaak (sole trader) owner, VOF (vennootschap onder firma, general partnership) partner or managing CV (commanditaire vennootschap, limited partnership) partner can apply for Wsnp. A BV (besloten vennootschap, private limited company) cannot.
During Wsnp, a business normally closes. The rechter-commissaris can allow you to keep running the business under conditions. Court guidance normally expects a credible forecast that the business will bring in more net income than employment or benefits. The supervising judge sets the conditions, including financial controls and risk management. Check the effects with your counsellor before deregistering at KVK (External site, opens in a new tab) (Kamer van Koophandel, Chamber of Commerce). The ZZP (self-employed without staff) guide covers tax and business basics.
Offers of paid debt relief
Municipal debt help is free. Paid debt mediation is restricted. The government has warned about unauthorised companies charging for it. You still need a statement from a legally authorised issuer for a Wsnp request. Before signing or cancelling, ask the gemeente or Het Juridisch Loket to check the provider, service, total cost and cancellation terms. The proposed Wet schuldregelen rules are not yet in force.
Help to request today
If a letter threatens eviction, disconnection or health-insurance termination, give its date to the gemeente when you request help. For a summons or seizure, seek legal advice as well. Keep opening letters while your request is being assessed.
Keep paying current rent, energy, water, food and health insurance where possible. Discuss payments to old creditors with your counsellor. For free, anonymous first advice, call Geldfit (External site, opens in a new tab) (money-help service) on 0800-8115. Contact Het Juridisch Loket about a legal deadline or dispute.
Toeslagen (benefits) can help with current costs. Check huurtoeslag (rent benefit) and zorgtoeslag through the overview below. Municipal taxes may qualify for kwijtschelding (tax remission). DUO inburgering (civic integration) loan rules are separate.
Continue with the page that matches your next question:
Official Sources
- Wet gemeentelijke schuldhulpverlening (version of 1 July 2026) (External site, opens in a new tab) - the current rules on municipal debt help, residents and lawful residence, early-warning offers, first-interview deadlines, formal decisions, conditions and the court-ordered cooling-off period
- Rijksoverheid (Dutch government): Waar moet ik schuldhulpverlening aanvragen? (External site, opens in a new tab) - where to apply, the 4-week, 8-week and emergency deadlines, possible refusals, the voluntary and court routes, and the difference between objection and a complaint
- Rijksoverheid: Wat doet de gemeente om mij te helpen bij schulden? (External site, opens in a new tab) - free municipal services, budgetbeheer, schuldbemiddeling, saneringskrediet and the court-ordered cooling-off period of up to 6 months
- Rijksoverheid: Gemeenten kunnen sneller signaleren van schulden (External site, opens in a new tab) - early-warning reports by residential landlords, drinking-water companies, energy suppliers and health insurers, and the municipality's duty to offer contact
- Rijksoverheid: Betalingsachterstand huurder melden bij gemeente (External site, opens in a new tab) - the reminder, contact and information steps a landlord must take before reporting rent arrears, and the effect of a tenant's objection
- Rijksoverheid: Hoe tref ik een betalingsregeling met mijn schuldeisers? (External site, opens in a new tab) - ordinary payment arrangements, voluntary creditor agreement, municipal help and settlement loans through a credit bank
- NVVK: Saneringskredieten en sociale leningen (debt-settlement loans and social loans) (External site, opens in a new tab) - the current sector standard of an 18-month saneringskrediet and why that product may not suit every case
- Rechtspraak: Aanvragen wettelijke schuldsanering (Wsnp) (External site, opens in a new tab) - Wsnp admission, application documents, natural-person business forms, court options, duties and the 8-day lawyer-filed appeal
- Rechtspraak: Wettelijke schuldsanering (Wsnp) (External site, opens in a new tab) - 18-month Wsnp period, extensions up to 5 years, clean-slate exceptions, 5-year BKR retention after the clean slate and administrator complaints
- Rijksoverheid: Wat kan ik doen als de overheid te laat beslist? (External site, opens in a new tab) - the formal notice of default when a government decision deadline has expired, a possible penalty and court action for failure to decide
- Rijksoverheid: Verschillen tussen curatele, bewind en mentorschap (External site, opens in a new tab) - what beschermingsbewind covers, the administrator's authority and the differences from curatele and mentorschap
- Rijksoverheid: Curatele, beschermingsbewind of mentorschap aanvragen (External site, opens in a new tab) - who may apply to the kantonrechter, the court process and the fact that a lawyer is not required
- Rijksoverheid: Kan mijn energieleverancier de levering afsluiten? (External site, opens in a new tab) - the reminders, contact attempt, payment-plan offer and protections against ending an energy contract
- Rijksoverheid: Wat gebeurt er als ik mijn zorgpremie niet betaal? (External site, opens in a new tab) - CAK registration after 6 months, withholding, continued basic coverage, switching restrictions and routes out of the scheme
- CAK: Regeling betalingsachterstand zorgpremie (scheme for overdue health-insurance premiums) (External site, opens in a new tab) - the 2026 administrative premium of €172.70, how it is collected and why it does not reduce the arrears owed to the insurer
- Rijksoverheid: Wanneer krijg ik te maken met een incassobureau? (External site, opens in a new tab) - the consumer reminder before collection fees and the powers an incassobureau does not have
- Rijksoverheid: Wanneer krijg ik te maken met een gerechtsdeurwaarder? (External site, opens in a new tab) - a bailiff's power to serve a summons and to seize with a court judgment or an enforceable administrative order
- Rijksoverheid: Hoeveel betaal ik voor incassokosten? (External site, opens in a new tab) - the statutory collection-fee bands, the €40 minimum, aggregation of bills and the limited value-added tax exception
- Besluit vergoeding voor buitengerechtelijke incassokosten (Decree on extrajudicial collection costs) (External site, opens in a new tab) - Collection-fee bands, €40 usual minimum, €6,775 cap, repeated-instalment exception and both express value-added tax declarations required in the consumer reminder
- Rijksoverheid: Hoe weet ik of mijn beslagvrije voet klopt? (External site, opens in a new tab) - the income-seizure calculation, the 5% minimum payment, the checking letter, the 4-week advice and the automatic recalculation exception for bijstand
- Rijksoverheid: Beslagvrij bedrag bij bankbeslag (External site, opens in a new tab) - the separate protected amount that applies when money in a bank account is seized
- Rijksoverheid: Heb ik ook schulden als mijn partner schulden heeft? (External site, opens in a new tab) - how the marriage or partnership date, community-of-property rules and proof affect liability for a partner's debts
- Ondernemersplein (government business information portal): Financiële problemen oplossen (External site, opens in a new tab) - municipal help for business money problems and the difference between voluntary and statutory routes for natural-person entrepreneurs
- Ondernemersplein: Bijstand voor zelfstandigen (Bbz) (External site, opens in a new tab) - possible temporary income support or business capital through the municipality and the different conditions for each situation
- Rijksoverheid: Sneller en beter hulp bij problematische schulden (External site, opens in a new tab) - current restrictions on unauthorised paid debt mediation and the proposed, not-yet-enacted Wet schuldregelen
- Rijksoverheid: Hoe kom ik van mijn schulden af? (External site, opens in a new tab) - free and anonymous help through Geldfit on 0800-8115 and referrals to the municipality and legal or social support
- Algemene wet bestuursrecht (General Administrative Law Act): decisions and objections (External site, opens in a new tab) - 6-week objection period, lawful suspension of decision periods and formal-default rules
- Faillissementswet (Bankruptcy Act): Wsnp rules (External site, opens in a new tab) - Authorised statement issuers, unreasonable-refusal test, admission exceptions and business continuation
- Burgerlijk Wetboek Boek 6 (Civil Code Book 6): Article 96 (External site, opens in a new tab) - Consumer reminder and aggregation rules, including repeated instalments under the same legal relationship
- Staatsblad (Bulletin of Acts and Decrees) 2024, 44: repeated-instalment collection fees (External site, opens in a new tab) - €266.67 threshold, six-month look-back, €40 and €20 fees and reminders covering several instalments
- Wet kwaliteit incassodienstverlening: current from 1 October 2026 (External site, opens in a new tab) - Registration scope, professional exceptions and Article 18 protections against unregistered or suspended collectors
- Rijksoverheid: Unregistered collectors from 1 October 2026 (External site, opens in a new tab) - New collection-fee and interest protection; the original debt remains payable
- Justis (government screening authority): Register incassodienstverlening (External site, opens in a new tab) - Official register used to check a debt collection service
- Overheid.nl (Dutch government portal): Wetsvoorstel schuldregelen (Debt Settlement Bill) (External site, opens in a new tab) - Proposal still in preparation; consultation ended on 17 August 2026
- CAK: Paying through CJIB (External site, opens in a new tab) - Payment requests when withholding is unavailable and redirection of healthcare benefit
- CAK: Paying through salary or benefits (External site, opens in a new tab) - Income-withholding route and possible partial collection through CJIB
- ACM (Autoriteit Consument en Markt, Authority for Consumers and Markets): Problems with your energy bill (External site, opens in a new tab) - Supplier termination and physical disconnection by the network operator
- Rechtspraak: Recofa (insolvency judges’ consultation body) guidelines for debt restructuring (External site, opens in a new tab) - Business closure during Wsnp, with continuation allowed by the supervising judge
- Rechtspraak: Self-employment during Wsnp (External site, opens in a new tab) - Nonbinding guidance on credible expected business earnings, financial controls and conditions set by the supervising judge during Wsnp
- Nationale ombudsman: Municipal complaints (External site, opens in a new tab) - Complain to the municipality first; then use its own ombudsman or the National Ombudsman as applicable
- Uw beslagvrije voet (External site, opens in a new tab) - Protected income after seizure, checking the letter and reporting changes within 4 weeks
- Uw beslagvrije voet: income protection (External site, opens in a new tab) - Income seizure, offsetting tax refunds and enforceable notarial deeds as a basis for seizure
- Raad voor Rechtsbijstand: Wsnp administrator complaints (External site, opens in a new tab) - Case complaints to the supervising judge; conduct complaints first to the organisation; separate route for administrators who are lawyers
- Rijksoverheid: Municipal tax remission (External site, opens in a new tab) - Municipalities assess remission requests and decide which local taxes qualify
- Dienst Toeslagen (benefits authority): Benefit eligibility (External site, opens in a new tab) - Rent and healthcare benefits may help with current costs, subject to eligibility
- Energieregeling (Energy Regulation): current gas and electricity protections (External site, opens in a new tab) - Articles 2.44–2.47: written reminders, payment plans, complaints, debt-help timing and proof, independent medical certificates and a new contract after termination
- Rijksoverheid: Start date for shorter voluntary-settlement repayment periods (External site, opens in a new tab) - Government guidance to propose 18-month repayment periods for new voluntary settlements from 1 July 2023, including debt mediation, with individual agreements still determining the period
- Staatsblad 2007, 192: Wsnp admission conditions (External site, opens in a new tab) - Article 288: convictions for misdrijven, five years measured from finality before application, possible longer periods and the controlled-causes exception
- NVVK: Module Schuldregeling (Debt Settlement Module, January 2025) (External site, opens in a new tab) - Proportional treatment and legal-priority exceptions, 18-month settlement standard and fund-payment purpose exceptions to income above the vtlb
- Staatsblad 2012, 141: collection-fee and value-added tax rules (External site, opens in a new tab) - Article 2(3) and its notes: the consumer reminder must expressly declare both inability to reclaim value-added tax and the resulting fee increase
- Staatsblad 2012, 78: municipal debt-help refusal grounds (External site, opens in a new tab) - Wgs Article 3(3): fraud causing financial harm to a public authority and a final conviction or final punitive administrative sanction
- Energieregeling enactment: payment-plan offer conditions (External site, opens in a new tab) - Article 2.44 distinguishes contact offers in reminders from actual reasonable payment plans offered on request or during personal contact
- Rijksoverheid: Centraal Justitieel Incassobureau (External site, opens in a new tab) - Official identity and website of CJIB.