Lawyers for Recovering Loans Between Individuals in Spain

You lent money to a relative, a friend or a business partner, the date came and it has not been repaid. Often there is no contract, just a bank transfer, a few messages and a promise. That loan can be claimed. The Spanish Civil Code does not require any particular form for a loan to exist; it requires proof.

We work the case in that order. First the evidence that it was a loan and not a gift, then the formal demand that puts the borrower in default and stops the limitation period, and only then the procedure: settlement, order for payment, trial or direct enforcement, depending on the document you hold. Since April 2025 there is also a mandatory preliminary step, an attempt to settle, without which the court will not admit the claim.

We act for private individuals and families throughout Spain, including international clients who lent money to someone living here, and for shareholders and directors who lent money to their company or to another partner, where evidence and tax treatment require extra care. We also defend borrowers when the claim they receive does not hold up.

Situations we handle

Loan with a contract or acknowledgement of debt

There is a document signed by the borrower. It is the easiest case to prove and opens the order for payment procedure, with no ceiling on the amount: twenty days to pay or object.

How the order for payment works

Loan without a contract

Transfers with a reference, messages, emails, partial repayments. The law does not require a signed paper. It requires proof that the money was handed over to be repaid.

Cash handed over

The hardest evidence to rebuild. Withdrawal statements, witnesses, messages and the borrower's later conduct, which often acknowledges the debt without realising it.

«It was a gift»

The most common defence. The dispute shifts to who has to prove what, and the answer lies in Article 217 of the Civil Procedure Act and in how the parties behaved.

Loans between family members

Between parents and children, siblings or partners. It is claimed like any other loan, and the contract filed with the tax office on form 600 is usually the best proof that it was a loan.

How to document a family loan

Broken repayment agreement

The borrower acknowledged the debt and signed a repayment schedule they are not keeping. Depending on how it was signed, enforcement may be available without a prior trial.

The borrower has died

The debt does not disappear; it passes to the estate. It is claimed from the heirs who accepted the inheritance, within the limits of acceptance under benefit of inventory.

Inheriting debt in Spain

Defending the borrower

You are being asked to repay a loan that never existed, that you already repaid, that is time-barred or that carries abusive interest. We review the claim and prepare the objection.

How a loan is claimed, step by step

The order matters as much as the content. A badly drafted demand, or a claim filed without the mandatory settlement attempt, costs months. This is the procedure in force in 2026.

Gathering proof of the loan

Two things must be proved: that the money was handed over, and that it was handed over to be repaid. Any means of evidence is admissible under Article 299 of the Spanish Civil Procedure Act: a contract, transfers with their reference, messages asking for or promising repayment, partial repayments, witnesses. A private document is full proof if the borrower does not challenge its authenticity.
Formal demand for payment

A certified-content burofax or a notarial demand. From that moment the borrower is in default under Article 1100 of the Spanish Civil Code, interest starts to run and the limitation period is interrupted. If no repayment date was agreed, do it as early as possible: it is the first act that records that the money is being demanded.
Attempting a settlement, now mandatory

Since 3 April 2025, using an appropriate dispute resolution method is a condition for admissibility of any civil claim, under Article 5 of Organic Law 1/2025. Negotiation between the parties' lawyers counts if it is documented, as does a confidential binding offer. You can also start an out-of-court negotiation online that records the proposal and the reply. The request to negotiate interrupts the limitation period, and if the borrower does not answer within thirty days the way to court is open.
Choosing the procedure

With a document signed by the borrower, the order for payment procedure (proceso monitorio), for any amount. Without one, small claims proceedings (juicio verbal) up to fifteen thousand euros and ordinary proceedings above that, under Articles 249 and 250 of the Civil Procedure Act. If the loan or the acknowledgement of debt was signed before a notary, enforcement can be requested directly, with no prior trial.
The court's demand: twenty days

In the order for payment procedure, the court clerk orders the borrower to pay or to object in writing within twenty days. If they do nothing, a decree is issued and enforcement follows, and the debt can no longer be disputed. If they object, the case continues as small claims or ordinary proceedings depending on the amount.
Trial and judgment

This is decided on the evidence gathered at the start. The borrower's usual defences are four: it was a gift, it was already repaid, the claim is time-barred, or the interest is usurious. Each has a different answer, and it should be prepared before filing, not at the hearing.
Enforcement and attachment

With the judgment or the decree, enforcement is requested. The court can attach bank accounts, wages within the statutory limits, vehicles and property, and can investigate the borrower's assets through banks and registries if the creditor does not know them. From the judgment onwards, the debt bears statutory interest plus two points.

The deadlines and figures that decide the case

5years

to claim a loan between private individuals

Art. 1964.2 Civil Code

20days

for the borrower to pay or object to the order for payment

Art. 815.1 Civil Procedure Act

15,000€

threshold between small claims and ordinary proceedings

Arts. 249.2 and 250.2 Civil Procedure Act

30days

without a reply to the settlement proposal and the way to court is open

Art. 7 Organic Law 1/2025

Figures verified against the consolidated texts published in the Spanish Official Gazette (BOE) in September 2026. The limitation period is interrupted by every documented out-of-court demand and by every acknowledgement of the debt by the borrower, and starts again from zero.

Loan or gift: who has to prove what

A money loan is defined in Articles 1740 and 1753 of the Spanish Civil Code: one party hands over money and the other is bound to return the same amount. No written contract is required. What is required is proof, and handing over the money is not proof in itself, because a transfer may be a loan, a payment or a gift.

The allocation rule is in Article 217 of the Civil Procedure Act. The claimant must prove the loan, that is, the delivery and the obligation to repay. Whoever alleges it was a gift must prove the gift. And a verbal gift of money is only valid if the money is handed over at the same time; otherwise Article 632 of the Civil Code requires it to be in writing, acceptance included.

The reference on the transfer («loan», «I will pay you back in...») carries more weight than any later statement
A partial repayment, however small, is an act acknowledging the debt
Messages asking for the money in which the borrower does not deny owing it are admissible evidence
A contract filed with the tax office on form 600 fixes the date and content of the loan before a third party

Interest: only if agreed, and never abusive

Without an express agreement no interest is due, under Article 1755 of the Civil Code. That does not mean the money earns nothing. From the moment the borrower is in default, the agreed interest accrues or, failing that, the statutory interest rate, and from the judgment onwards the statutory rate plus two points.

Conversely, interest that is notably above the normal rate and disproportionate to the circumstances makes the loan void under the Spanish Usury Act of 23 July 1908, which remains in force. The consequence is that the borrower repays only the principal and recovers any interest overpaid. That is why, when we defend the borrower, interest is the first thing we review.

No written interest clause means only statutory interest from the formal demand
Agreed interest must be in writing and proportionate
Interest received is taxed for the lender as investment income
An interest-free loan between relatives is still filed with the tax office, even though it is exempt

The tax side of a family loan

The prior settlement attempt is mandatory, and often the fastest route

Since 3 April 2025 no civil claim can be filed without first attempting a negotiated solution, and the attempt must be documented. If it is not, the court will not admit the claim. The law accepts many forms: mediation, conciliation, a confidential binding offer, or negotiation conducted directly between the parties or between their lawyers, as long as there is a record of it.

In a loan between individuals this has an added advantage. The personal relationship often means the borrower prefers a repayment schedule to a trial, and the agreement reached can be notarised and enforced directly if it is broken. While the relationship still allows it, one option is to send a settlement proposal through an online negotiation platform, which records both the attempt and the reply.

The request to negotiate interrupts the limitation period from the moment the attempt to deliver it is recorded
Thirty days without a reply or a meeting, and the way to court is open
A confidential binding offer requires a lawyer above two thousand euros
A party who refuses to take part without good cause may be denied costs even if they win

Acknowledgement of debt and repayment agreement: the document that changes the route

When the borrower admits what they owe, get it signed. A private acknowledgement of debt, once legally recognised, has the same value between the parties as a notarial deed, under Article 1225 of the Civil Code. It interrupts the limitation period, which starts again from zero, and it is the document that opens the order for payment procedure.

If it is also signed before a notary, the creditor no longer needs a trial. A copy of the notarial deed is an enforceable title under Article 517 of the Civil Procedure Act, and attachment follows directly on default. Drafting this document well costs little and saves the whole procedure.

Amount, origin of the debt, due date and repayment schedule, signed and dated
An acceleration clause if an instalment is missed
Default interest agreed in writing and proportionate
Before a notary when the amount justifies it: direct enforcement without a prior trial

4.9/5 117 Google reviews
+50 years of family tradition
Barcelona and online throughout Spain
5 languages ES · CA · EN · FR · IT

Frequently asked questions

Can I claim a loan without a contract?

Yes. The Spanish Civil Code requires no particular form for a money loan, so it exists even if nothing was ever signed. What has to be proved is that the money was handed over and that it was handed over to be repaid, and any evidence serves: transfers with their reference, messages, emails, partial repayments, witnesses.

The preparatory work consists of organising that evidence and spotting its gaps before the borrower does. The more informal the loan, the more that work matters.

The borrower says it was a gift. What happens?

It is the most common defence, and saying so is not enough. Under Article 217 of the Civil Procedure Act, the claimant proves the loan and whoever alleges a gift must prove the gift. A verbal gift of money is only valid if the money was handed over at the same time; otherwise it must be in writing.

In practice the parties' conduct decides: whether the borrower repaid anything, asked for more time, or failed to deny the debt when it was claimed. All of that weighs more than each side's word at the hearing.

How long do I have to claim a loan?

Five years from the date repayment could be demanded, under Article 1964.2 of the Civil Code. The period is interrupted by every documented out-of-court demand, by the request for prior negotiation and by any acknowledgement of the debt by the borrower, and starts again from zero.

Loans made before 7 October 2015 are governed by a transitional rule in Law 42/2015. Unless the limitation period was interrupted, those debts are now time-barred. If your loan is old, it is worth reviewing what demands you made and whether you can prove them.

Can I charge interest if we never agreed on it?

Interest on the loan itself, no. Article 1755 of the Civil Code only allows it if it was expressly agreed. Default interest, yes. From the moment the borrower is in default, which happens with the formal demand for payment, they owe the statutory interest rate. And from the judgment against them, the statutory rate plus two points.

That is why the formal demand should be sent early. Every month without a demand is a month of interest that will never be claimed.

Do I have to try to settle before suing?

Yes, since 3 April 2025. Article 5 of Organic Law 1/2025 makes it a condition for admissibility in civil proceedings, and a loan claim is not among the exceptions. Without proof of the attempt, the claim is not admitted.

The law accepts very different ways of meeting the requirement, including negotiation between lawyers. Only the confidential binding offer requires a lawyer, and only above two thousand euros. In a loan between acquaintances that attempt resolves the matter more often than people expect.

Which court procedure applies to my case?

It depends on the document you hold and on the amount. With a document signed by the borrower, the order for payment procedure, for any amount: the court orders them to pay or object within twenty days. Without a document, small claims proceedings up to fifteen thousand euros and ordinary proceedings above that.

If the loan or the acknowledgement of debt was signed before a notary, no trial is needed. The deed is an enforceable title and attachment is requested directly. The competent court is, as a rule, that of the borrower's domicile.

What if the borrower has no assets?

The judgment or the order for payment decree allow enforcement to be requested, and the court can investigate the borrower's assets through banks, public bodies and registries if you do not know them. Bank accounts, wages above the minimum wage on the statutory scale, vehicles and property can be attached.

If there is nothing today, the debt does not disappear. There are five years from the judgment becoming final to request enforcement, and once opened it continues until payment. Before filing, we assess with you whether it is worth doing now or whether to secure the debt first with a signed acknowledgement.

How much does it cost to claim a loan?

It depends on the procedure, the amount, whether there is an objection and whether enforcement is needed. We do not publish a flat fee because a single price for different cases can only be wrong in one direction or the other. What we do before you instruct us is tell you whether your evidence is sufficient, which procedure applies and give you a written quote.

If the court rules in your favour, the general rule is that the borrower pays the costs, under Article 394 of the Civil Procedure Act. The initial order for payment application does not require a lawyer or court agent, although it should be well prepared, because a miscalculated figure stalls it.

I lent money to a relative. Does claiming it have tax consequences?

Claiming does not create a new tax, but it brings to light how the loan was documented. A loan between relatives filed with the Spanish tax office on form 600, even though exempt, is the best proof that it was a loan and not a gift, and fixes its date and amount before a third party.

If it was never filed, the claim is still possible, but the tax position of both parties should be reviewed first. We explain this in our guide on family loans and gifts, and we review it with you before taking the first step.