Debts and enforcement proceedings: what to do, and in what order — for debtors and businesses

The short answer

An enforcement proceedings file at the Execution Office (hotzaa lapoal) starts with a warning. Under section 7 of the Execution Law, 5727-1967 (חוק ההוצאה לפועל, התשכ״ז-1967), the debtor has 20 days to pay or to apply for a payment order; with a cheque or a claim for a fixed sum, there are 30 days to object (sections 81A, 81A1). A business can file a cheque, or a fixed debt in writing of up to NIS 75,000, directly with the Execution Office, and since 1 January 2025 shekel interest and late charges are added to a debt that was not paid on time.

This page is a translation. If it differs from the Hebrew page, the Hebrew version governs. You can call, write or meet with us in English or Hebrew. We reply within one business day.

This guide is a general information guide. The office does not handle insolvency or enforcement proceedings (Execution Office).

For a business collecting a debt from a customer, a lot is already decided in the contract: the payment date, the interest on late payment and the evidence in writing: legal support with commercial contracts.

What the law provides

The legal framework in this area rests on the following laws and regulations. The links lead to the original legislation (in Hebrew); the binding text is the one published in Sefer HaHukim.

Legislation index: all the sections the site discusses

Index of sections on the site: Wage Protection Law, 5718-1958 · Prescription Law, 5718-1958.

You received a warning from the Execution Office? The first three deadlines

Before collection begins, the Execution Office serves a warning on the debtor, and as a rule no proceeding is taken before the period in it has passed. The deadline depends on the type of file:

Table: the deadlines in the warning under the Execution Law
What you need to do	Within	Applies to	Section
Pay, pay under a payment instruction, or apply for a payment order	20 days from service of the warning	Every file	Section 7(a)
Appear for a means examination, if you cannot pay	21 days from service of the warning, or another date stated in the warning	Every file	Sections 7(a1), 67(a1)
File an objection with an affidavit	30 days from service of the warning	A cheque, a promissory note and a claim for a fixed sum	Sections 81A(c1), 81A1(d)

A person who did not act within the deadlines, and gave no reasonable explanation, is considered “a debtor with means who evades payment”. The restrictions under Chapter F1 of the Law, such as a passport restriction, a stay of exit from Israel as an “evader” and a credit card restriction, are possible only after the warning was served on you by full service or you appeared before the Registrar (section 7(c)). A stay of exit order under section 14 is a separate proceeding, and its conditions are in the section “Stay of exit from Israel and restrictions” below. You received a warning: what to do, and by when.

What may be attached, and what is protected

Salary: part of the monthly salary, equal to the income support benefit for your family composition, is protected from attachment, and no more than 80% of the net salary. The protection also applies to a salary paid into the bank account, for a month from the day of payment.
National Insurance Institute (Bituach Leumi) benefits: are protected from attachment, also for 30 days after they are paid into the bank.
At home: food for 30 days, furniture, clothes, beds, medical equipment, kitchen utensils, mobile phones and personal computers of the family are not attached, as long as they are not used for a business.
A residential apartment: it can be sold only after it has been proven that you and your family will have a reasonable place to live or alternative housing.
Maintenance: for a maintenance (alimony and child support) debt, the protections for the salary and for National Insurance Institute benefits do not apply (section 8(b) of the Wage Protection Law; section 303(a) of the National Insurance Law [Consolidated Version], 5755-1995; section 50(b)).

An attachment served on the bank’s head office applies to all branches, at the latest three business days after service. Your bank account was attached: what is protected.

Several files, and nothing to pay with: a payment order, consolidation of files, insolvency

Payment order: you apply within 20 days, with a statement of your financial situation, documents and a waiver of confidentiality. The order spreads the debt over up to 3 years (a debt of up to NIS 100,000) or up to 4 years (above NIS 100,000), and it can be extended by up to 3 more years.
Consolidation of files: a person with several files against them may apply to consolidate all of them. When the application is filed, the Registrar issues a stay of exit order, and the proceedings in the files continue until a consolidation order is given.
When even installments are not possible: a debtor who cannot repay within these periods files 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 this amount, the application is filed with the Commissioner of Insolvency Proceedings. Individual insolvency: the proceeding up to the discharge. What happens to the files and the attachments on the day an order to open proceedings is given: Stay of proceedings in insolvency. How much you will pay each month and how the amount is set: Monthly payment in insolvency.

The “discharge in enforcement proceedings” track that used to be in the Law applies only to people who applied for it by September 2019.

Stay of exit from Israel and restrictions

The Execution Registrar does not issue a stay of exit order when the total judgment debts in all the files are less than NIS 50,000, and cancels it at your request when the total falls below NIS 40,000. These amounts do not apply to a maintenance debt (section 14(e)(3)). Restrictions such as a passport restriction or a credit card restriction are imposed only on a debtor found to be an “evader”, after a minimum period of time and a minimum amount, and they take effect 30 days after a warning notice.

You are the business: a customer is not paying, three tracks

Table: collection tracks for a business under the Execution Law and the Courts Law
The track	When it fits	The ceiling	What the customer can do
Enforcing a cheque or a promissory note at the Execution Office	You hold a bounced cheque or a promissory note	No ceiling in the law	An objection within 30 days; the file then moves to the court
A claim for a fixed sum at the Execution Office	A debt of a known amount, under an express contract or undertaking, with evidence in writing	₪75,000 on the day of filing	An objection within 30 days
A claim in court	There is a real dispute, or there is no written document	Magistrates’ Court: up to ₪2,500,000; Small Claims Court: individuals only, up to ₪39,900 in 2026	Statement of defense

Before a claim for a fixed sum, you must send the customer a warning by registered mail with delivery confirmation, and file the application after 30 days and no later than a year. In 2026 the opening fee at the Execution Office, in the regular track, is 1.25% for a cheque and 1% for a claim for a fixed sum, not less than NIS 189 and NIS 109 respectively.

“Summary procedure” has not existed in the Civil Procedure Regulations since 1 January 2021. What remains that is similar to it: a customer who objected to a cheque or to a claim for a fixed sum must obtain “leave to defend” from the court. An ordinary claim of up to NIS 75,000 is heard in an expedited proceeding (formerly called “expedited procedure”). A customer is not paying: how to collect a debt · A cheque bounced: what to do · A warning letter before legal action.

Interest on a debt since 2025: shekel interest and late charges

From 1 January 2025, the Adjudication of Interest and Linkage Law, 5721-1961 (חוק פסיקת ריבית והצמדה, התשכ״א-1961) allows the court to award shekel interest or linkage differentials on an amount; the definition “linkage differentials and interest” was deleted from the Law. Once a date for payment has been set and the amount has not been paid, shekel interest is added under the Law, and from the end of three months from the due date also late charges, every three months. Similar rules apply in a cheque file or a claim for a fixed sum at the Execution Office. A supplier who was not paid on time by a business customer can also receive shekel interest and late charges under the Payments to Suppliers Law, 5777-2017 (חוק מוסר תשלומים לספקים, התשע״ז-2017), under the conditions in the Law. Interest and linkage on an unpaid debt.

Limitation period: a debt, a cheque and a judgment

Table: limitation periods for a debt, a bill and a judgment
What	How long	Section
A monetary debt (contract, invoice)	7 years from the day on which the cause of action arose, usually the due date	Prescription Law, sections 5–6
Cheque or promissory note	7 years against the drawer, 2 years against an endorser	Bills of Exchange Ordinance, section 96
Judgment	The debtor may raise the limitation period after 25 years without any enforcement action	Prescription Law, section 21

A partial payment or a written admission of the debt starts the limitation count again. In a claim whose limitation period had not ended before 7 October 2023, the period from 7 October 2023 to 6 April 2024 is, as a rule, not counted (section 15A). The court does not examine the limitation period on its own initiative; the defendant must raise it at the first opportunity. An enforcement proceedings file in which the creditor took no step for two years may be closed, but the creditor may apply to reopen it. Prescription Law: the sections discussed on this site.

State of emergency: when the proceedings stop

When the Minister of Justice publishes a notice of a “special state of emergency”, the Execution Offices do not open new files, with exceptions, and do not carry out attachments and restrictions, except in urgent cases and with a Registrar’s approval. If there is a state of emergency, check on the website of the Israel Enforcement and Collection Authority whether such a notice was published and until when.

Conflict of interest: why the first question is who the other party is

This cluster is written for both sides: for debtors and for businesses collecting a debt. A lawyer does not represent parties with conflicting interests in the same matter, does not act against a client in a matter they handled for that client or in a matter with a real connection to information received from that client, and does not represent another party in a matter in which a regular client of theirs is a party (the Professional Ethics Rules, rules 14 and 16). So when you contact us about a debt, we first check who the other party is.

A lawyer who is also a CPA does not handle as a lawyer a matter that they handled as a CPA, and vice versa. The explanation in this cluster is a legal explanation. The accounting and tax treatment of a debt that was not collected is not part of it.

The guides in this cluster

You are the debtor

You are the business

For both sides

When is it worth contacting a lawyer?

When the 30-day deadline for an objection is already running; when an account into which a salary or a benefit is paid has been attached; when there are several files against you and you are considering consolidation or insolvency; and on the business side, before sending a warning before a claim for a fixed sum, because it is a condition of the proceeding.

The guides in this area (14)

All the indexed guides on the site in this area. Each guide states the legislation it relies on.

FAQ

How long do I have after receiving a warning from the Execution Office?
20 days from service of the warning to pay or to apply for a payment order, and 21 days to appear for a means examination if you cannot pay (section 7). In a cheque file or a claim for a fixed sum, there are 30 days to file an objection (sections 81A, 81A1).

Can the whole salary be attached?
No. A part of the salary equal to the income support benefit for your family composition is protected, up to 80% of the net salary, and it is also protected in the bank account for a month from the day of payment (section 8 of the Wage Protection Law). This protection does not apply to a maintenance debt.

Can a business open a file at the Execution Office without a judgment?
Yes, in two cases: a cheque or a promissory note, and a claim for a fixed sum of up to NIS 75,000 with evidence in writing, after a warning by registered mail (sections 81A, 81A1). If the customer objects within 30 days, the file moves to the court.

Does “summary procedure” still exist?
No. The Civil Procedure Regulations, 5779-2018, which apply from 1 January 2021, do not include it. A customer who objected at the Execution Office to a cheque or to a claim for a fixed sum needs “leave to defend” from the court (regulation 20), and a claim of up to NIS 75,000 is heard in an expedited proceeding.

What interest is added to an unpaid debt?
Once a date for payment has been set and the amount has not been paid, shekel interest is added under the Adjudication of Interest and Linkage Law, and from the end of three months from the due date also late charges, every three months (sections 5, 5A). On the amount itself, the court may award shekel interest or linkage differentials (section 2). Interest set in a contract or in a special law applies instead.

How soon does a debt become time-barred?
As a rule, 7 years from the day on which the cause of action arose. For a cheque, 7 years against the drawer and 2 years against an endorser. A partial payment or a written admission starts the count again.

For collected answers in all practice areas, see the FAQ page, and for the map of services — all practice areas.

For short definitions of legal terms, with the section of the law, see the glossary of legal terms.

Calculators and self-checks in employment and consumer law: see the calculators and tools page.

A file at the Execution Office, or a customer who does not pay?

Yaron Meiri, Adv. & CPA — lawyer and CPA, an independent office in Kiryat Ono. Member of the Israel Bar Association and of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants in Israel.

Commercial contracts · Practice areas · FAQ

The content of this page is general information, is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Translated: 13 November 2026 · Hebrew version updated: 28 October 2026.