Your card is declined, or you see that your balance has been blocked. Before you do anything else, answer four questions. They determine what is possible and what you can still stop.
- Which type of attachment has been made? Enforcement or prejudgment. That is stated in the writ of attachment.
- By whom? Which creditor, through which bailiff, and on the basis of which enforceable title.
- On which account? A current, savings or business account, and in whose name. Also whether it is a joint (and/or) account.
- On which date? The date of attachment governs all the time limits below, and determines which balance has been caught.
Have you not received a writ of attachment? Request it from the bailiff straight away. Without that document you cannot check anything.
Which kind of bank attachment is in place?
| Enforcement attachment | Prejudgment attachment | |
|---|---|---|
| Purpose | Collecting an established claim | Providing security, in anticipation of proceedings |
| What is required | An enforceable title: a court judgment, a notarial deed or a writ of execution | Leave from the interim relief judge (Article 700 of the Dutch Code of Civil Procedure, Rv), granted after a summary examination |
| Is the money paid over? | Yes — after the declaration the bank pays out to the bailiff | No. The money is held, not paid out, until there is an enforceable title |
| Are you heard beforehand? | Proceedings have already taken place | No — leave is in principle granted without hearing you |
| Main action | Not applicable | The court sets a period within which the claim in the main action must be brought |
A prejudgment attachment can therefore be made before any judgment. That surprises many people. The money is then frozen, but does not yet go to the creditor. If proceedings never followed, or the claim is dismissed, the attachment lapses and the attaching party may be liable for the loss you suffered as a result.
The protected bank balance is not the same as the protected earnings rate
This distinction is the most common mistake, and it costs people money.
| Protected earnings rate | Protected bank balance | |
|---|---|---|
| What it applies to | Attachment of wages, benefits or pension: a periodic payment | Attachment of funds held in a bank account |
| Legal basis | Article 475c ff. of the Dutch Code of Civil Procedure (Rv), with the calculation in Article 475da Rv | Article 475a(5) Rv |
| How it works | A monthly amount is left free, which you have to live on | The attachment is valid only in so far as the balance exceeds the amounts in Article 475da(1) for a period of one month |
| Who it applies to | Natural persons | Natural persons only |
The amounts. Under Article 475da(1) Rv the protected earnings rate amounts to no more than € 2,208.48 for a single person, € 2,543.75 for a single parent, € 2,905.79 for married couples without children and € 3,179.68 for married couples with one or more children. Reference date: the statutory text as in force on 10 September 2026. These amounts are indexed periodically, so always check them again at the moment the attachment is made.
Pay close attention to the wording of Article 475a(5) Rv: the attachment is valid only in so far as it exceeds those amounts for a period of one month. Moreover, the maximum in paragraph 1 is an upper limit; the actual protected earnings rate is calculated using the formula in Article 475da(2) Rv and may come out lower. So do not work with the maximum figure as though it were fixed.
Do you live outside the Netherlands? If, according to the Personal Records Database (BRP), you have no residential address in the Netherlands and no fixed place of residence outside it either, then under Article 475a(6) Rv only half of those amounts applies.
Who is the account holder? That makes a difference
- Natural person. The protected bank balance under Article 475a(5) Rv applies. Under Article 475(1)(f) Rv the writ of attachment must state the amount to which it relates.
- Sole proprietorship or general partnership (vof). The entrepreneur is a natural person and is liable with their private assets. On a business account held in that natural person’s name, the protection of Article 475a(5) Rv may come into play. If your business runs through that account, an attachment hits you twice over: privately and commercially.
- Legal entity (private or public limited company, foundation, association). There is no protected bank balance. The company’s account can be caught in full. For the debts of the legal entity your private account cannot in principle simply be attached, unless you are personally liable or have personally given a guarantee.
- Joint (and/or) account. In principle the attachment catches the whole balance. If part of it demonstrably belongs to the other account holder, that person has to say so and substantiate it; it does not happen by itself.
Sequence and time limits
There is one single line from attachment to payment over. Verify each step separately in your own file.
- The attachment. The bailiff attaches funds held by the bank by means of a writ of attachment (Article 475 Rv). That writ contains, among other things, an order to the bank to retain what is owed, the name of the creditor, the enforceable title and the amount of the claim. From that moment your balance is blocked to the extent the attachment reaches.
- Service on you: within eight days. Under Article 475i(1) Rv the attaching party is required to have the writ of attachment served on you within eight days of the attachment being made. If that does not happen, the interim relief judge can lift the attachment on your application. So always check that date.
- Third-party declaration: after two weeks, or after four. Once two weeks have passed since the attachment was made, the bank is obliged to declare what the attachment has caught (Article 476a(1) Rv). If you ask the bank in writing within two weeks of the attachment, the declaration is not made until four weeks have passed. That request therefore buys you extra time to obtain a correction or an arrangement before the money drains away.
- Payment over. After the declaration the bank is obliged under Article 477 Rv to pay the sums owed according to that declaration to the bailiff, up to the amount for which the attachment was made, plus the enforcement costs. With a prejudgment attachment this does not happen: the money stays held.
- Reporting circumstances: within four weeks. If, within four weeks of receiving the bailiff’s notification, you report circumstances that increase the protected earnings rate, they are taken into account as from the moment of attachment (Article 475i(3) Rv). That retroactive effect is precisely why you should not wait.
Urgent list of documents
Gather these immediately; without them nobody can assess whether the attachment is correct.
- The writ of attachment and the date it was served on you
- The enforceable title: the judgment, notarial deed or writ of execution on which the attachment is based
- The breakdown of the claim: principal, interest, collection costs and enforcement costs shown separately
- Your bank statements around the date of attachment, showing the balance on that day
- Evidence of your income: payslips, benefit statements, pension overview
- Your housing and family situation: an extract from the Personal Records Database, details of your partner and children
- Fixed monthly costs that may justify an increase in the protected earnings rate, with evidence
- For a joint (and/or) account: evidence of which part of the balance belongs to whom
- All correspondence with the bailiff and the creditor
Correction, arrangement or lifting
1. Request a correction of the protection or the balance
Write to the bailiff straight away. Use these elements:
Subject: request to correct the protected earnings rate and protected bank balance, file number [number]
"On [date] you attached funds held by [bank] in my account [IBAN]. I request that you correctly apply the protected bank balance referred to in Article 475a(5) Rv and release the amount above it. My household situation is [single / single parent / married without children / married with children]; enclosed you will find [an extract from the Personal Records Database, payslips, a rent statement and health insurance premium]. In so far as my periodic income has also been attached, I hereby report to you, under Article 475i(3) Rv, the following circumstances that increase the protected earnings rate: [description with evidence]. I request that you process these with retroactive effect to the date of attachment. I further request an itemised statement of principal, interest, collection costs and enforcement costs."
Send this by e-mail with a read receipt and keep a copy. In addition, ask the bank in writing, within two weeks of the attachment, to make its declaration only after four weeks.
2. Check the claim itself
Is the amount correct? There is often more in it than just the principal. Recalculate the collection costs against the statutory scale; how that works is set out in our article on unjustifiably high collection costs. If part of it has already been paid, or the principal is still in dispute, report that in writing.
3. Payment arrangement
A bailiff is not obliged to agree an arrangement, but in practice it often happens if you make a realistic proposal and support it with your income and outgoings. Record every agreement in writing and ask for confirmation that the attachment will be lifted or held in abeyance.
4. Apply to have the attachment lifted
Lifting may be appropriate where:
- the writ was not served on you within eight days (Article 475i(1) Rv);
- an account has been attached that may not be attached, or the protected balance has not been respected;
- in the case of a prejudgment attachment the claim is unsound, or the claim in the main action was not brought in time;
- the attachment is unnecessary because other security exists, or works out disproportionately harshly.
You apply for lifting to the interim relief judge. Because the matter is usually urgent, this is normally done in summary proceedings; how those proceedings work is explained in our article on summary proceedings.
If the attachment concerns a business and there is also a tenancy issue, for instance because the landlord is seeking rescission, then also read our article on rent arrears and rescission of a commercial lease.
What not to do
- Doing nothing. The four-week period for reporting circumstances, with retroactive effect to the date of attachment, runs out quickly.
- Transferring your money to another account after you hear about the attachment. Payments made in defiance of an attachment are ineffective and it can seriously damage your position.
- Acknowledging a debt or signing an arrangement without having seen the breakdown.
- Assuming the attachment will simply expire. With an enforcement attachment, payment over follows shortly after the declaration.
Is there an attachment and is a deadline running? Contact us without obligation and keep the writ of attachment and your bank statements to hand.
Frequently asked questions
Is the protected bank balance the same as the protected earnings rate?
No, they are two different rules. The protected earnings rate applies to the attachment of a periodic payment such as wages, benefits or a pension: a monthly amount is then left free. The protected bank balance under Article 475a(5) Rv applies to the attachment of funds held in a bank account: the attachment is valid only in so far as the balance exceeds the amounts in Article 475da(1) Rv for a period of one month. Both apply only to natural persons. If both your wages and your account have been attached, you have to check each of them separately.
Can a bank attachment also be made before a judgment?
Yes. That is called a prejudgment attachment and it requires leave from the interim relief judge (Article 700 Rv). The judge decides after a summary examination and, in principle, without hearing you, and sets the amount for which leave is granted. An important difference from an enforcement attachment: with a prejudgment attachment the money is only held and is not paid out to the creditor. The judge also sets a period within which the claim in the main action must be brought. If those proceedings do not follow, or the claim is dismissed, the attachment lapses and the attaching party may be liable for your loss.
Within what time limit must I respond?
Three clocks are running. The attaching party must have the writ served on you within eight days of the attachment; if that does not happen, the interim relief judge can lift the attachment (Article 475i(1) Rv). If you ask the bank in writing within two weeks of the attachment for a postponement, it makes its declaration only after four weeks instead of two (Article 476a(1) Rv), which gives you extra time. And if within four weeks of the bailiff’s notification you report circumstances that increase the protected earnings rate, they are taken into account as from the moment of attachment (Article 475i(3) Rv).
Does the protected balance also apply to my company or foundation?
No. The protected bank balance under Article 475a(5) Rv applies only to funds that a natural person holds with a bank. For a legal entity, such as a private or public limited company, a foundation or an association, that protection does not exist and the account can be caught in full. With a sole proprietorship or general partnership it is different: the entrepreneur is a natural person, so the protection may come into play on an account held in their name. For the debts of a legal entity your private account cannot in principle simply be attached, unless you are personally liable or have given a guarantee.
