Debt Recovery in the UAE (2026): Demand Letters, Payment Orders, Bounced Cheques, Court and Arbitration

How you recover a debt in the UAE depends on the proof you hold. If you have a signed contract, an accepted invoice or other written proof of a fixed sum, serve a formal notice to pay and then apply for a payment order, which the judge must decide within three business days. A cheque returned for lack of funds goes straight to the execution judge, as if it were a judgment. A disputed debt needs a full claim in court, or arbitration if your contract says so.

This guide sets out each route under the law in force in October 2026: Federal Decree-Law No. 42 of 2022 (the Civil Procedures Law), Federal Decree-Law No. 50 of 2022 (the Commercial Transactions Law) and Federal Decree-Law No. 25 of 2025 (the new Civil Transactions Law, in force since 1 June 2026).

Which debt recovery route fits your case

Step 1: The notice to pay (demand letter)

The payment order procedure requires a prior demand. Under Article 144(1) of the Civil Procedures Law, the creditor must serve a notice to pay giving the debtor at least five days, using one of the methods of service the law recognises. The amount in the notice cannot be lower than the amount you later claim.

State the amount, list the supporting documents and set a deadline. Keep proof of service, and keep any reply admitting the debt: an acknowledgment interrupts the limitation period (Civil Transactions Law, Article 439), and a signed acknowledgment of a short-period debt extends the time limit to 15 years (Article 433(2)).

Step 2: The payment order

The payment order (“writ of debt” in the official English translation) is governed by Articles 143 to 150 of the Civil Procedures Law. It is a court order to pay, issued without a hearing. You qualify if the debt is:

• established in writing, on paper or electronically;
• due now, not subject to a future date or condition; and
• a fixed sum of money, or a specific movable item (Article 143(1)).

The law sets no minimum or maximum amount. Bills of exchange and promissory notes qualify. Cheques are excluded, because a returned cheque is already an execution instrument (Article 143(2)).

1. Serve the notice to pay and wait at least five days.
2. File the petition, with proof of the debt and of service of the notice, at the court of the debtor’s domicile or of the place where the contract was or should be performed (Article 144).
3. The judge grants or rejects it within three business days (Articles 144(4) and 145).
4. Serve the order on the debtor within three months, or it becomes void (Article 146).

You can claim interest or damages and ask for precautionary measures at the same time (Article 143(3)). Article 148 applies the rules on expedited enforcement to payment orders, so you can enforce the order straight away, without a guarantee unless the order requires one, even while the debtor’s challenge is pending. The debtor can ask the court hearing its challenge to stay enforcement (Articles 148, 215 and 221). If the judge refuses the order, you can still bring an ordinary claim.

Challenging a payment order

Article 147 sets two tracks, depending on the amount:

• Up to AED 50,000: a grievance within 15 days (from service for the debtor, from issue for the creditor). The judge’s decision is final.
• Above AED 50,000: an appeal within the 30-day appeal period (Article 161), with the grounds filed at the same time. The Court of Appeal decides in chambers, within a week of service of the appeal.

Bounced cheques: civil execution, and what is still a crime

Since 2 January 2022, a cheque that bounces for lack of funds is no longer a crime in itself, and the Commercial Transactions Law of 2022 kept that position. Under its Article 667, a cheque the bank has marked as unpaid for insufficient or no balance is an “executive document”. You file it with the execution judge and enforce it, in whole or in part, without suing first.

• Present the cheque within six months of its date (Article 649). The bank must pay any available balance unless you refuse partial payment, and mark the cheque for the rest (Article 648(2)).
• These remain crimes, punishable by six months to two years’ imprisonment and/or a fine: telling the bank not to pay outside the cases the law allows, closing the account, withdrawing the balance, deliberately freezing the account, or signing so the cheque cannot be cashed (Article 675).
• A criminal case does not stop execution of the cheque (Article 682). It ends if the debtor pays or settles before a final judgment (Article 684).
• Execution follows the Civil Procedures Law (Article 667(2)): the debtor is served and has seven days to pay, and can raise an execution dispute before the execution judge, for example by arguing that the cheque was given only as security. Keep the contract that shows why it was issued.

When you need a full claim in court

If the debtor disputes the work, the goods or the figure, expect the payment order to be refused and file an ordinary claim. In Dubai, a claim of up to AED 500,000 (other than a substantive dispute with a bank or other licensed financial institution) must first be registered with the Centre for Amicable Settlement of Disputes, which proposes conciliation. If that fails, the judge supervising the Centre decides the claim or refers it to the court (Dubai Law No. 18 of 2021 as amended by Law No. 9 of 2025, Articles 5 and 28; Dubai Courts Resolution No. 4 of 2025). The court may appoint an expert. Claims up to AED 1,000,000 can be assigned to tribunals that decide in a single hearing, with the first hearing within 15 days of filing (Article 29(2)). First-instance judgments up to AED 50,000 can be appealed only on narrow grounds (Articles 29 and 160), and appeal judgments up to AED 500,000 cannot go to cassation (Article 159). For fees, translation and expert deposits, see our guide to budgeting a Dubai Courts case.

Settlement, conciliation and arbitration

A settlement should set out amounts, dates and what happens if an instalment is missed. In Dubai, a settlement reached through the Centre for Amicable Settlement of Disputes and approved by the conciliator has the force of an execution writ once the executory formula is affixed (Dubai Law No. 9 of 2025, amending Law No. 18 of 2021). If the debtor defaults, you go straight to execution.

If the contract refers disputes to arbitration, for example at DIAC, arbitration is your route, because the debtor can have a court claim dismissed if it objects before making any defence on the merits. The same objection can be raised against a payment order petition, which the law treats as a claim. The award is enforced through the courts, and because the UAE is party to the New York Convention it can also be enforced in most countries where the debtor has assets. Our arbitration team acts in DIAC, ICC and ad hoc cases.

DIFC Small Claims Tribunal

The Small Claims Tribunal hears claims within the DIFC Courts’ jurisdiction of up to AED 500,000, or up to AED 1,000,000 if all parties agree in writing (Rules of the DIFC Courts, Rule 53.2). A private consultation aimed at settlement comes first, and parties appear without lawyers unless the judge allows them. It fits only where the DIFC Courts have jurisdiction: typically because the debtor is a DIFC entity, the contract was concluded or performed wholly or partly in the DIFC, or the contract clearly chooses the DIFC Courts.

Enforcement: bank accounts, assets and travel bans

A payment order, judgment, returned cheque or approved settlement is enforced by the execution judge. The debtor is served and given seven days to pay (Article 233). After that, the judge can order enquiries into the debtor’s assets, attach bank accounts and money owed by third parties, and seize and sell vehicles, shares and property. If the debtor appears to be hiding assets or preparing to leave, the judge can attach assets or ban travel before service (Article 234). Our guide to execution of Dubai Courts judgments covers the stages.

Travel bans and detention

A travel ban is a civil precautionary order. Under Article 324 of the Civil Procedures Law, a creditor can request one even before filing a claim if the debt is at least AED 10,000, there are serious reasons to fear the debtor will leave, and the debt is fixed and due. A debt that is not yet fixed also qualifies if it rests on written evidence and the creditor gives a guarantee against loss to the debtor. The creditor must prove within eight days that the claim has been filed, or the ban lapses (Article 325(5)). The debtor can lift it by depositing the amount in court or providing a bank guarantee. Against a company, the court can make the order against its legal representative or the person personally responsible for the non-payment, after an investigation (Article 322).

The execution judge can also detain a debtor who does not pay and cannot prove inability to pay (Article 319). Detention is barred for debts under AED 1,000, for debtors under 18 or over 70, and where the debtor offers a bank guarantee or attachable assets (Article 321). Each order lasts up to one month and can be renewed, normally for no more than six consecutive months, with a total cap of 36 months.

What if the debtor has left the UAE?

You can still sue in the UAE where the obligation was performed, or was to be performed, in the UAE (Article 20), and enforce against assets left behind: bank balances, property, cars, company shares. An execution writ stays enforceable until 15 years pass without any execution step (Article 212(5)), so a debtor who wants to live or trade in the UAE again has a reason to settle. To reach assets abroad, you must enforce the UAE judgment or award in the debtor’s new country, under its rules and any treaty with the UAE. Spain and the UAE have no treaty on civil judgments, so in Spain a UAE judgment needs exequatur under Law 29/2015 on international legal cooperation in civil matters. An arbitral award is easier: Spain, the UAE and the main Latin American economies are all parties to the New York Convention. See also our note on enforcement of judgments in the UAE.

Time limits for recovering a debt

If your buyer uses the goods rather than resells them, plan on the shorter two-year period. These periods bar a claim only if the debtor denies the debt. A written acknowledgment or a court claim interrupts them (Civil Transactions Law, Articles 439 and 440). Filing a payment order petition counts as a court claim for this purpose (Civil Procedures Law, Article 144(5)). The new limitation rules apply to periods still running on 1 June 2026, with transitional rules where a period became shorter (Articles 6 and 7). Our article on the new UAE Civil Transactions Law explains them.

A worked example

A tile maker in Valencia supplies a Dubai fit-out contractor. The contractor signed the purchase order and delivery notes, promised payment twice by email, and never complained about the tiles. An AED 180,000 invoice is 90 days overdue. The supplier serves a notice to pay with a seven-day deadline, then files for a payment order. Because the amount exceeds AED 50,000, the contractor’s only challenge is an appeal within 30 days. The supplier then opens an execution file and asks for the contractor’s bank accounts to be attached. Had the contractor called the tiles defective, an ordinary claim would have been needed.

What to do now

1. Collect the contract, purchase orders, delivery notes, invoices, statements, any cheques, and emails or WhatsApp messages in which the debtor admits the debt.
2. Check the contract for an arbitration clause or a choice of the DIFC Courts.
3. Work out your limitation deadline from the table above.
4. If you hold a returned cheque, check the bank has marked the reason for non-payment on it.
5. Serve a notice to pay giving at least five days, by a recognised method.
6. If the debtor may leave or move money, ask at once about a travel ban or precautionary attachment.
7. Pick your route from the first table and budget for court fees, Arabic translation and enforcement.

Frequently asked questions

Is a bounced cheque still a criminal case in the UAE?
Not if it bounced only for lack of funds. That has been a civil matter since 2 January 2022, enforced through the execution judge. Stopping payment without lawful reason, closing the account or withdrawing the balance are still crimes (Article 675).

How long does a payment order take?
After a notice to pay of at least five days, the judge must decide within three business days of filing. The order must then be served within three months.

Can I get a travel ban against someone who owes me money?
Yes, if the debt is at least AED 10,000 and there are serious reasons to think the debtor will leave (Article 324). You must file your claim within eight days.

Can I recover a debt in Dubai without a lawyer?
In the DIFC Small Claims Tribunal, parties normally appear in person. In the Dubai Courts, filings are in Arabic and a defective notice to pay can sink a payment order, so most businesses use a licensed advocate.

How Rubert & Partners can help

We advise on the route, draft the notice to pay, negotiate settlements, and act in arbitration and mediation. We do not appear in the onshore UAE courts ourselves. When a case goes there, we prepare it and work with the licensed advocates who appear for you, from filing through to execution. We advise in English, Spanish, French and Arabic, and our Spanish Desk works with Spanish and Latin American companies selling into the UAE. Read about our commercial legal services in Dubai, or contact our team with your contract and invoices.

This article is general information, not legal advice.