Limitation periods in Belgian civil and labour law
The last day to act, by kind of claim, with the effect of a formal notice.
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A claim due on 15 March 2026: time-barred after Saturday 15 March 2036.
Sources
Rules verified on 05/10/2026
- Old Civil Code, arts. 2219 to 2283 (limitation)
- Law of 3 July 1978 on employment contracts, art. 15
A tool to assist lawyers. The lawyer remains responsible for the calculation and for checking the applicable rule.
How it works
How the calculation works
Choose the kind of claim and its starting date. The period runs from the day after that date, ending on the day before the same date in the final year.
- Personal action, contractual claim: 10 years from the date the claim fell due (old Civil Code, art. 2262bis, § 1, al. 1).
- Extra-contractual liability: 5 years from the day after the injured person learned of the damage, or its aggravation, and of the liable person; at the latest 20 years from the day after the harmful fact (art. 2262bis, § 1, al. 2 and 3).
- Periodic payments: 5 years from each due date: rent, maintenance arrears, interest, energy and electronic communications bills (art. 2277).
- One year: goods sold by merchants to non-merchants, school fees, bailiffs' fees (art. 2272).
- Lawyers: 5 years after the end of the mission, for fees and for liability (art. 2276bis).
- Healthcare providers: 2 years from the end of the month of the care (art. 2277bis).
- Consumer sale: 1 year from the discovery of the defect, for contracts concluded from 1 June 2022 to 31 August 2027 (art. 1649quater).
- Employment contract: 1 year after the end of the contract, or 5 years after the fact, never beyond one year after the end (law of 3 July 1978, art. 15).
- Enforcing a judgment: 10 years.
Where two limits apply, the earliest date governs. With a formal notice under art. 2244, § 2, the tool computes the new one-year period, never shorter than the original one. Sent after the period has run out, the notice interrupts nothing.
Legal basis
Limitation is still governed by arts. 2219 to 2283 of the old Civil Code: Book 10 of the new Civil Code has not been adopted. Art. 15 of the law of 3 July 1978 applies alongside. For a last day on a day off: Civil Code art. 1.7 and the explanatory memorandum of Book 1 (Chamber document DOC 55 1805/001, p. 18).
Points to watch
- Interruption. A summons, an order to pay (commandement), a summary payment demand or a seizure interrupts the period (art. 2244, § 1); a summons does so until the final decision. So does the debtor's acknowledgment (art. 2248).
- Formal notice. Only once, by the creditor's lawyer, a bailiff or a union delegate, never by a collection agency. By registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt, to a debtor domiciled or established in Belgium, with the eight statutory mentions.
- Suspension. The period does not run against minors (art. 2252), between spouses (art. 2253) or during a collaborative law process (Judicial Code, art. 1741).
- Presumption of payment. For the one-year periods (art. 2272), the creditor may ask the debtor to swear to payment (art. 2275); a settled account, a written acknowledgment or a summons stops them (art. 2274).
- Offence. A claim that also rests on an offence, such as unpaid wages, is not time-barred before the public prosecution (preliminary title of the Code of Criminal Procedure, art. 26).
- 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).
- Weekend. A limitation period ending on a Saturday, Sunday or legal holiday is not extended to the next working day (explanatory memorandum of Book 1, DOC 55 1805/001, p. 18; old arts. 2260 and 2261). The date shown is not moved: act before it.
- Book 7. For contracts concluded from 1 September 2027, Book 7 of the Civil Code (law of 22 July 2026, Belgian Official Gazette of 23 September 2026) sets new periods (sale, lease, services). It repeals arts. 1648 and 1649quater and takes rents out of art. 2277. Since 3 October 2026, a buyer who chooses repair gets the guarantee period extended once by one year (art. 1649quater, § 1).
What the tool does not do
- It does not decide the starting point, a question of fact.
- It does not compute the effect of an interruption or a suspension.
- It does not cover real actions, experts, hidden defects, product liability or criminal limitation.
The rules were checked on 5 October 2026. The tool assists the lawyer, who remains responsible for the calculation and for checking the applicable rule.
Updated on 5 October 2026
Frequently asked questions
What is the limitation period for a contractual claim in Belgium?
10 years from the date the claim fell due (old Civil Code, art. 2262bis, § 1, al. 1). Some claims are barred sooner: 5 years for periodic payments such as rent and interest (art. 2277), 1 year for goods sold by merchants to non-merchants, school fees or bailiffs' fees (art. 2272).
Example: a claim that fell due on Sunday 15 March 2026 is barred after Saturday 15 March 2036. A limitation period is not extended to the next working day: act by Friday 14 March 2036.
What is the limitation period for extra-contractual liability?
5 years from the day after the injured person learned of the damage, or its aggravation, and of the identity of the liable person. In any case, 20 years from the day after the harmful fact (old Civil Code, art. 2262bis, § 1, al. 2 and 3). The earliest date applies.
Example: damage and liable person known on Saturday 20 June 2026, last day Friday 20 June 2031.
Does a lawyer's formal notice interrupt limitation?
Yes, on the conditions of art. 2244, § 2 of the old Civil Code:
- sent by the creditor's lawyer, a bailiff or a union delegate, never by a collection agency;
- 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 mentions required by law.
It interrupts the period when sent and starts a new period of one year (or of the statutory period, if shorter), which never ends before the original one. It works only once.
What is the limitation period for lawyers' fees?
5 years after the end of the mission (old Civil Code, art. 2276bis, § 2). A professional liability claim against the lawyer is also barred 5 years after the end of the mission (§ 1).
When are claims under an employment contract time-barred?
1 year after the end of the contract, or 5 years after the fact giving rise to the claim, never beyond one year after the end of the contract (law of 3 July 1978, art. 15).
Example: contract ended on 30 September 2026, fact of 15 January 2022. The 5-year period ends on 15 January 2027, before 30 September 2027: that is the last day.
If the claim also rests on an offence, such as unpaid wages, it is not time-barred before the public prosecution (preliminary title of the Code of Criminal Procedure, art. 26).
Does the last day move if it falls on a weekend?
No. Civil Code art. 1.7, in force since 2023, moves only the last day of a time limit for a performance or a communication. 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 (DOC 55 1805/001, p. 18); old arts. 2260 and 2261 still apply. The tool shows the date unmoved: act before it.
Has the new Civil Code changed the limitation periods?
Mostly not yet. Book 10 "Prescription" has not been adopted: arts. 2219 to 2283 of the old Civil Code still apply. Book 7 (special contracts), published in the Moniteur belge on 23 September 2026, sets new periods for contracts concluded from 1 September 2027. It repeals arts. 1648 and 1649quater and takes rents out of art. 2277. Older contracts stay under the old rules. Since 3 October 2026, a buyer who chooses repair gets the guarantee period extended once by one year (art. 1649quater, § 1).