§ 9. Debt collection notice and payment deadline — you must always get 14 days

§ 9 is the first and most important rule about the process in a debt collection case. It sets an absolute requirement: you are entitled to be notified in writing, and you are entitled to at least 14 days to pay, before debt collection can begin.

The section is not just a formality. It is designed to give you a real opportunity to pay, to find out whether the claim is correct, and to raise objections (innsigelser) — before the case escalates.

Let us go through each requirement:

The notice must come after the due date (forfall). A debt collection notice cannot be sent while the bill is still unpaid but within the deadline. You do not owe any debt collection fee for a notice that was sent too early. "After the due date" means after the original payment deadline on the invoice has run out.

The notice must be in writing. A phone call is not enough. The debt collection notice must be in writing — either on paper or electronically. Electronic communication is permitted under § 3a, provided it is sent in a secure way.

The notice must state that debt collection will be initiated. It is not enough to send a new invoice or an ordinary payment reminder (purring). The letter must explicitly say that debt collection will begin if you do not pay.

You must have at least 14 days to pay. The deadline is counted from the day the notice was sent — not the day you received it. In practice, you will usually have somewhat less than 14 days to actually respond, since the post can take a few days.

Payment is on time if the bank received the payment order before the deadline. The money does not need to have reached the recipient's account. It is enough that you gave the bank the order — for example pressed "pay" in your online bank or Vipps — before the deadline ran out.

What is the difference between a payment reminder and a debt collection notice?

This causes a lot of confusion. The two are not the same.

A payment reminder is an informal reminder to pay. It is common and lawful, but it does not give the right to start debt collection. The law sets no minimum deadline for payment reminders — the company decides for itself whether to send one or five, with a one-day or a 14-day deadline.

A debt collection notice is the formal document that starts the process regulated by law. It must explicitly give notice that debt collection will begin. It must give at least 14 days to pay. And it must be sent after the due date.

Many companies combine the payment reminder and the debt collection notice in one and the same letter. That is fine, as long as the letter meets the requirements for a debt collection notice.

Some letters call themselves "reminder 2" or "final reminder" and warn about debt collection. Is the deadline in the letter at least 14 days, and was the letter sent after the due date? Then it is a valid debt collection notice, whatever it calls itself.

Can they send a debt collection notice on the same day the bill is due?

No. The notice must come "after the claim's due date". This means the bill's original payment deadline must actually have run out. An invoice with a payment deadline of 15 April cannot be the basis for a debt collection notice on 15 April — that is too early. But 16 April is fine.

So the debt collection notice is always a step that comes after the original invoice and its deadline.

What happens if the debt collection company has not followed § 9?

Then the process has been unlawful. Specific consequences:

You do not have to pay the debt collection fee (inkassosalær). Under the fourth paragraph of § 17, compensation (erstatning) for the fee (vederlag) paid to a debt collector cannot be claimed if the rules in §§ 9 to 11 have been breached. This means the debt collection fee falls away — even if you owe the claim itself.

It is contrary to good debt collection practice (god inkassoskikk) under § 8. This gives you grounds to complain to the Debt Collection Complaints Board (Inkassoklagenemnda).

It is a criminal offence. Repeated or serious breaches of § 9 can be punished with fines or imprisonment under § 32.

The timeline in a lawful debt collection case

It is easy to lose track. This is what a correct process looks like, step by step:

A bill is sent with a due date (forfallsdato). The due date passes without payment. A debt collection notice is sent in writing. 14 days (minimum) run. The deadline runs out without payment. The debt collector can now take debt collection steps — but then a demand for payment (betalingsoppfordring) must be sent under § 10 with a new 14-day deadline.

So you can see that you are entitled to at least two rounds of 14-day deadlines (debt collection notice and demand for payment) before collection through the courts (rettslig inndriving) can begin.

Does this also apply when a company collects its own money?

Yes. § 8 makes it clear that the rules on good debt collection practice apply to all collection activity. And § 9 is part of the specific set of rules that apply "to occasional collection on behalf of others and to collection of one's own monetary claims". Your internet provider, electricity supplier or gym that collects its own claims is bound by § 9 in the same way as an external debt collection agency (inkassobyrå).

Have you received a letter from a debt collection company? Do this:

Check the due date on the original invoice. Check the date on the debt collection notice. Was it sent after the due date? Check the payment deadline in the debt collection notice. Is it at least 14 days from the date the letter was sent?

If something is wrong: write a short, factual letter to the debt collection company and describe what is not in order. Say that you will not pay the debt collection fee because the process has not been followed. Contact the Debt Collection Complaints Board or the Financial Supervisory Authority of Norway (Finanstilsynet) if you do not get a hearing.

And in any case: pay what you actually owe on the claim itself — that is your duty. It is the debt collection fee you can dispute (bestride) if the process is wrong.