You received a warning from the Execution Office (enforcement proceedings): what to do, and by when

You received a warning from the Execution Office: how much time do you have?

Under section 7 of the Execution Law, once a file has been opened against you, the Execution Office serves a warning on you. From the day of service you have 20 days to pay the debt, to pay according to the payment instruction attached, or to file an application for a payment order. If you cannot pay, you must appear for a means examination within 21 days, or on another date written in the warning, with the documents it lists. As a rule, no proceedings are taken against you before the period in the warning has passed.

By type of file: 20, 21 or 30 days

The warning states the type of file. It determines what you can do and by when:

A person who filed an objection to a bill or an “I have paid” claim does not have to appear for a means examination within the 21 days; if the application was rejected, the period is counted from the day of the rejection (section 67(a1)(2)).

How to count. The day of service itself is not counted, and Saturdays and holidays are counted, unless they are the last days of the period. A Friday that is the last day is treated as a recess day. In an objection to a cheque or to a claim for a fixed sum, the recess days of the Execution Offices are not counted: Sukkot (14–22 Tishrei), Passover (14–21 Nisan), Memorial Day, and the summer from 21 July to 5 September.

Option 1: pay, or reach an arrangement with the creditor

If you paid the whole debt, the file is closed 30 days after the Execution Office notified the creditor. If you reached a payment arrangement directly with the creditor, the creditor must notify the Execution Office, and the proceedings are stayed as long as the creditor has not notified that you breached it. You may also report to the Execution Office the payments you made under the arrangement.

Option 2: an application for a payment order

If you cannot pay everything now, you file with the Execution Registrar, within the 20 days, an application to pay in instalments according to your ability. You attach to the application:

• a reasoned declaration of your financial situation: assets, income and debts, yours, your spouse’s, your minor children’s and those of your adult children who live with you, with documents;
• a waiver of confidentiality, which allows the Execution Office to receive information from bodies such as the National Insurance Institute (Bituach Leumi) and the banks.

Without these two, the application is not accepted. Until the Registrar decides, you pay the amount you offered. A payment order spreads the debt over up to 3 years when the debt is up to NIS 100,000, and up to 4 years when it is higher; the Registrar may extend this by up to 3 more years. A person who asks to spread a debt of up to NIS 20,000 over more than two years, a debt of NIS 20,000 to NIS 100,000 over more than three years, or a higher debt over more than four years, may be declared a “debtor of limited means”, and restrictions may then be imposed on them.

Option 3: an objection, only for a cheque, a bill or a claim for a fixed sum

In a cheque or promissory note file, and in a file of a claim for a fixed sum, you can file an objection within 30 days of service of the warning. The objection is supported by an affidavit setting out the facts and the reasons, with the documents you rely on. Filing the objection is exempt from a court fee.

Once an objection is filed, enforcement is stayed and the file is transferred to the court. There you will be able to defend yourself only if the court gives you “leave to defend”; it decides on the basis of the objection and the cross-examination of the person who made the affidavit, and may make the leave conditional on security. In a judgment file this objection does not exist: the law provides it only for bills and for a claim for a fixed sum.

Missed the deadline? You can ask for an extension of time even after the 30 days; the application is transferred to the court, and in the meantime the Registrar gives directions on the interest. A cheque or a debt that has become time-barred is an argument you raise in the objection: limitation is not examined automatically.

Option 4: an “I have paid” claim: you already paid, or you no longer owe

If you paid the debt, in full or in part, or you no longer have to comply with the judgment, you file with the Registrar an “application on an ‘I have paid’ claim”. You must prove the claim, for example with transfer confirmations. The Registrar decides whether, and to what extent, you still owe, and for special reasons may stay enforcement in the meantime, usually against security.

What happens if you do nothing

• A debtor who did not comply with the warning and did not ask for a payment order is considered “a debtor with means who evades payment”, unless they gave a reasonable explanation. The same applies to a person who did not appear for a means examination.
• After six months from full service of the warning and a debt above NIS 2,500, or after a year and a debt above NIS 500, restrictions may be imposed on you: a stay of exit from Israel, a passport restriction, a restriction as a specially restricted customer at the bank, a credit card restriction, and a ban on founding a company. The restriction takes effect 30 days after a warning notice, unless you paid or appeared and convinced the Registrar that you are not evading payment.
• These restrictions are possible only if the warning was served on you by full service, or you appeared before the Registrar. A person who files an application in the file is treated as having received full service on the day of filing. An order staying exit from Israel under section 14, for debts of NIS 50,000 and more, does not depend on this condition.

And if there is nothing to pay with, not even in instalments

If you cannot repay the debt even over the periods of a payment order, you file a notice about this with the Registrar (section 7A2). An individual whose total debts do not exceed NIS 176,923.12 (in 2026; sections 103(b) and 186 of the Insolvency and Economic Rehabilitation Law, 5778-2018 (חוק חדלות פירעון ושיקום כלכלי, התשע״ח-2018)) conducts the insolvency proceeding before the Execution Registrar; above that amount, the application is filed with the Commissioner of Insolvency Proceedings (section 103(a)). Individual insolvency: the proceeding up to the discharge.

The “discharge in enforcement proceedings” track still mentioned in old sources applies only to people who filed an application by September 2019.

State of emergency

When a notice of a “special state of emergency” is published, the Execution Offices usually do not carry out attachments and restrictions, except in urgent cases with the Registrar’s approval. When the notice also applies regulation 4, the days during its validity are not counted in the deadlines for actions in the file (regulation 4 of the Courts and Execution Offices Regulations (Rules of Procedure in a Special State of Emergency), 5751-1991 (תקנות בתי המשפט ולשכות ההוצאה לפועל (סדרי דין במצב חירום מיוחד), התשנ״א-1991)). Check on the website of the Israel Enforcement and Collection Authority whether such a notice was published, and until when.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between 20 and 30 days in the warning?

20 days are for payment or for an application for a payment order, in every file (section 7). 30 days are for an objection, and it is possible only in a file of a cheque, a promissory note or a claim for a fixed sum (sections 81A, 81A1).

Can you file an objection to a judgment file?

No. An objection at the Execution Office is possible only for a cheque, a promissory note and a claim for a fixed sum. In a judgment file you can pay, ask for a payment order or claim that you paid (an “I have paid” claim).

I refused to accept the warning or to sign it. Does it count?

Yes. A person who refused to accept the warning or to sign the delivery confirmation is treated as having received it by full service (section 7(d)). A person who files an application in the file is also treated as having received full service on the day of filing (section 7(c1)). Restrictions under Chapter F1, such as a passport or credit card restriction, require full service or an appearance before the Registrar (section 7(c)).

What must be attached to an application for a payment order?

A reasoned declaration of the assets, income and debts of you, your spouse, your minor children and your adult children who live with you, with documents, and a waiver of confidentiality. Without them, the application is not accepted.

I missed the 30 days for an objection. Is it over?

Not necessarily. You can file an application for an extension of time even after the 30 days; it is transferred to the court, which may extend the time and, at your request and for special reasons, stay the proceedings in the meantime.

When may my departure from Israel be delayed?

Only under the conditions in the law. An order staying exit is not given when the total debts in all the files are below NIS 50,000, and it is canceled at your request when the total falls below NIS 40,000 (except for maintenance). A restriction as an “evader” also requires a minimum period and amount, and takes effect 30 days after a warning notice.