Limitation periods in Belgian civil and labour law

The rule in brief

• Limitation (prescription / verjaring) is still governed by arts. 2219 to 2283 of the old Civil Code: Book 10 "Prescription" of the new Civil Code has not been adopted.
• 10 years for personal actions, including contractual claims (art. 2262bis, § 1, al. 1).
• 5 years for extra-contractual liability, from the day after the injured person knew of the damage and of the liable person, with an absolute limit of 20 years from the day after the harmful fact (art. 2262bis, § 1, al. 2 and 3).
• Shorter periods: 5 years for periodic payments (art. 2277), 1 year for some trade debts (art. 2272), 1 year after the end of an employment contract (law of 3 July 1978, art. 15).
• A summons, an order to pay, a seizure or the debtor's acknowledgment interrupts the period; a formal notice by a lawyer or a bailiff can add one new year, once (art. 2244, § 2).
• A last day on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday is not extended: act before it.

The limitation period calculator gives the last day for each kind of claim, with the effect of a formal notice.

The periods

Periodic payments include annuities, maintenance arrears, the extraordinary expenses of art. 203bis, § 3, rents (for leases concluded before 1 September 2027), interest, anything payable yearly or more often, and energy and electronic communications bills. The one-year periods of art. 2272 rest on a presumption of payment: the creditor may ask the debtor to swear that it paid (art. 2275), and a settled account, a written acknowledgment or a summons stops them (art. 2274).

For an employment contract, notice paid in instalments (art. 39bis) is barred one year after the last instalment (art. 15, al. 2). A claim that also rests on an offence, such as unpaid wages, follows the civil rules but is never time-barred before the public prosecution (preliminary title of the Code of Criminal Procedure, art. 26).

Counting the period

The period runs from the day after the starting date and ends on the same date in the final year ("de quantième à veille de quantième"). Under arts. 2260 and 2261 of the old Civil Code, limitation counts in days, not hours, and is complete when the last day has elapsed. The starting point is a question of fact; for a contractual claim, legal writers take the due date.

A last day on a weekend or public holiday is not extended. Art. 1.7, § 4 of the Civil Code (in force since 1 January 2023) moves only the last day of a time limit "for a performance or a communication", and the explanatory memorandum of Book 1 states that a limitation period expiring on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday is not extended to the next working day; arts. 2260 and 2261 remain in force. In labour and social law, art. 1.7 does not apply at all (law of 26 December 2022). A contractual clause may provide otherwise (art. 1.7, § 7). Act by the last working day before.

The procedural extensions for the judicial vacation (art. 50, al. 2, Judicial Code) or a party abroad (art. 55) do not apply. For procedural time limits, see the guide on computing procedural deadlines and the procedural deadline calculator.

Interruption

• Summons, order to pay, summary payment demand, seizure (art. 2244, § 1). A summons interrupts until the final decision. A summons before an incompetent judge still interrupts (art. 2246); a claim that is rejected interrupts nothing (art. 2247). An act void for language reasons still interrupts (law of 15 June 1935, art. 40, al. 2).
• Acknowledgment by the debtor (art. 2248).
• Joint debtors. Interruption against one interrupts against all (Civil Code art. 5.163).
• An ordinary formal notice neither interrupts nor suspends (Civil Code art. 5.215).

The formal notice of art. 2244, § 2

Since the law of 23 May 2013, a formal notice interrupts the period on these conditions:

• sent by the creditor's lawyer, a bailiff or a union or organisation delegate under art. 728, § 3, Judicial Code; never by a debt collection agency (Constitutional Court, judgment 181/2014);
• by registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt, to a debtor domiciled or established in Belgium, at an address checked against an administrative document less than one month old;
• with the eight statutory mentions, including the interruptive effect and the author's signature.

It takes effect when sent and starts a new period of one year, which never ends before the original period. It works only once. If the statutory period is shorter than one year, the new period equals that period. Sent after the period has run out, it interrupts nothing.

Suspension

The period does not run against minors (art. 2252), between spouses (art. 2253; legal cohabitants are not covered) or during a collaborative law process (Judicial Code, art. 1741). Mediation (Judicial Code, arts. 1730 and 1731) may also suspend it; its details were not verified. Short periods run against minors (art. 2278). The tool does not compute interruptions or suspensions.

Worked examples

A contractual claim

A claim falls due on Sunday 15 March 2026. Day 1 is Monday 16 March 2026; the last day is Saturday 15 March 2036, and the claim is barred from 16 March 2036. The date does not move to Monday 17 March 2036: act by Friday 14 March.

Extra-contractual liability

The harmful fact occurs on Monday 15 June 2026; the injured person learns of the damage and of the liable person on Saturday 20 June 2026.

• 5 years from knowledge: Friday 20 June 2031.
• 20 years from the fact: Friday 15 June 2046.
• The earliest governs: 20 June 2031. Had the victim learned of the damage only on 10 January 2044, the 20-year limit would still end the claim on 15 June 2046.

An employment contract

The contract ended on Wednesday 30 September 2026; the fact giving rise to the claim dates from Saturday 15 January 2022. One year after the end gives Thursday 30 September 2027; five years after the fact gives Friday 15 January 2027. The earlier date governs: 15 January 2027.

A formal notice in time

• A personal claim fell due on 20 November 2016: the last day is Friday 20 November 2026. A lawyer's formal notice sent on Monday 5 October 2026 starts a new year: last day Tuesday 5 October 2027. Sent on Monday 23 November 2026, it would come too late.
• Goods sold to a consumer, price due on Thursday 15 January 2026 (art. 2272): last day Friday 15 January 2027. A formal notice sent on Monday 14 December 2026 moves it to Tuesday 14 December 2027.

Each date above comes from the limitation period calculator.

Changes and other rules

• Book 7 (special contracts; law of 22 July 2026, Belgian Official Gazette of 23 September 2026) sets new periods for sale, leases and services for contracts concluded from 1 September 2027, and repeals arts. 1648 and 1649quater (and arts. 2270 and 2273); older contracts stay under the old rules. Since 3 October 2026, a consumer who chooses repair gets the guarantee period extended once by one year (art. 1649quater, § 1); the one-year action from discovery is unchanged.
• Book 6 (in force since 1 January 2025) keeps art. 2262bis for extra-contractual claims. Product liability (art. 6.52), real actions (30 years, art. 2262), experts and hidden defects are outside the tool.
• Judge's own motion. Since 1 October 2024, the judge may raise limitation of a money debt claimed by a business from a consumer (art. 2223).
• Criminal limitation is excluded from the tool and from this guide.

The tool assists the lawyer, who remains responsible for the calculation and for checking the applicable rule.

Sources

• Old Civil Code, arts. 2223, 2244, 2246 to 2248, 2252, 2253, 2260, 2261, 2262, 2262bis, 2272, 2274, 2275, 2276bis, 2277, 2277bis, 2278 and 1649quater; law of 23 May 2013 (art. 2244, § 2). Verified on 4 October 2026.
• Civil Code, Book 1, art. 1.7, and Book 5, arts. 5.163 and 5.215 (laws of 28 April 2022); Book 1 bill, DOC 55 1805/001, p. 18; law of 26 December 2022. Verified on 5 October 2026.
• Law of 3 July 1978 on employment contracts, art. 15. Verified on 4 October 2026.
• Preliminary title of the Code of Criminal Procedure, art. 26; Judicial Code, arts. 728, § 3, 1730, 1731 and 1741: Judicial Code on Justel. Verified on 4 October 2026.
• Constitutional Court, judgment 75/2026 (old arts. 2223, 2272 and 2275 still applied), judgment 116/2025 (art. 2262bis) and judgment 181/2014. Verified on 4 October 2026.
• Book 7 of the Civil Code, law of 22 July 2026: Chamber document 56 0743/009; FPS Justice, Civil Code reform. Verified on 5 October 2026.