Subpoena serve: The official start of your lawsuit

Serving a summons is the official handing over of the summons by a sworn judicial officer to your debtor. The law is very clear on this: only a bailiff may do this. Only after this step does your lawsuit run formally and you have a solid legal foundation.

Service is made through what is known as a bailiff's writ. This is an official document in which the bailiff records when, where and to whom the summons was issued. In 2026, this is still the way to complete legal security. After service, your debtor can no longer say, "I didn't know anything about it."

When you engage Credifin to serve your subpoena, we take the work and worry out of your hands. We work with a tight and clear process so that your proceedings are not unnecessarily delayed.

• Checking deadlines: We first check whether we meet the legal subpoena deadline. This prevents your case from being stranded on a form error.
• Nationwide Coverage: Our bailiffs serve subpoenas throughout the Netherlands, regardless of where your debtor lives or is located.
• Personal delivery: We always try to deliver the summons in person. If no one is present, we will leave the document in a sealed envelope according to legal regulations.
• Court registration: After service, we make sure that the original writ is filed with the court on time. This way you can be sure that your case will be on the roll.

You will always receive clear feedback from us, so you know exactly where your case stands. If you want to know more about the extrajudicial steps first, check out our page on out-of-court debt collection.

What does serving a subpoena cost? At Credifin, we work completely transparently. The costs for serving a writ of summons are laid down by law in the BTAG (Besluit tarieven ambtshandelingen gerechtsdeurwaarders). These are fixed rates determined by the government, so you never pay too much.

Are you curious about the exact amounts for 2026? On a separate page we have clearly listed all the current rates for you.

View the current BTAG rates for 2026 here

Remember: although you initially advance the costs of service, we recover them directly from the opposing party. In most cases, the court issues a litigation cost order. This means that the debtor must pay not only your invoice, but also the costs of the bailiff's efforts. This includes costs such as court fees.

Thus, getting your justice often ends up costing you little or even nothing at all.

A small error in service can have major consequences. Sometimes an entire procedure has to be repeated just because, for example, there is a mistake in the name of the limited liability company or because it was served at an old address. That costs you time, money and energy.

Our bailiffs are your last check before the case really begins. Just before we go to the debtor, we do an extra check in the Basic Registration of Persons and in the Trade Register. This way we can be sure that we are addressing the right person or company.

Through this diligence, you avoid unnecessary risks and start your lawsuit strong and convincing. You focus on your substantive story, we take care of the perfect legal start. If you want to know what happens next, read more about the legal proceedings.