Legal help · Updated 8 Oct 2026 · ~11 min read

Statute of Limitations Netherlands 2026: How Long You Have to Claim

Your old employer still owes you three months’ pay, or your landlord kept your deposit two years ago. This guide explains the statute of limitations in the Netherlands: how long you have to claim, which deadlines are much shorter, and how one written letter can restart the clock.

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What is the statute of…Verjaring or vervaltermijn: which…

Rules from the Dutch Civil Code, Rechtspraak and Rijksoverheid · Checked 8 October 2026

Short answer

In the Netherlands, most money claims expire after 5 years under verjaring (limitation). Claims to enforce a contract, plus wages, rent and interest, run for 5 years from the day after payment was due (Civil Code articles 3:307 and 3:308). If no special rule applies, the general term is 20 years (article 3:306). Some deadlines are much shorter. A court request to challenge a dismissal must be filed within 2 months after the contract ended, and a letter cannot pause that deadline. For a normal limitation period, a written letter that clearly reserves your right to payment restarts the clock.

Key facts (2026)

  • If the law says nothing else, a claim expires after 20 years (article 3:306 BW).
  • A claim to enforce a contract obligation expires 5 years after the start of the day following the day it became due (article 3:307 BW).
  • Claims for interest, rent and anything payable yearly or more often expire after 5 years (article 3:308 BW).
  • A court request to annul a dismissal or claim fair compensation must be filed within 2 months after the employment contract ended (article 7:686a(4) BW).
  • Transitievergoeding (statutory severance) request: within 3 months after the contract ended (article 7:686a(4) BW).
  • Your landlord must repay the deposit within 14 days after the tenancy ends. If they deduct costs, you get the rest within 30 days (Rijksoverheid).
  • After an interruption, the new limitation period equals the original one, but is never longer than 5 years (article 3:319 BW).

This is general information about Dutch law, not legal advice for your situation. Rules change; figures are for 2026. No rights can be derived from this text.

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What is the statute of limitations in the Netherlands?

The statute of limitations (verjaring) is the period after which you can no longer enforce a claim in court: 20 years under article 3:306 BW unless the law says otherwise, and 5 years for most contract, wage and rent claims.

Most limits are in Book 3 of the Civil Code (Burgerlijk Wetboek, BW). The 20-year rule is the starting point, but the law often sets a shorter term. The 5-year rules cover most everyday money claims: unpaid invoices, wages and rent.

Limitation does not wipe out the debt itself. The debt survives as a “natural obligation”: the law withholds the power to enforce it, but it still exists (article 6:3 BW). So if the debtor pays a time-barred debt voluntarily, they pay a debt that still exists. What you lose is the power to enforce it.

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Verjaring or vervaltermijn: which kind of deadline do you have?

Under article 3:317 BW a written letter can interrupt a limitation period (verjaring), but the 2-month and 3-month dismissal deadlines in article 7:686a BW are strict time limits (vervaltermijnen) that no letter pauses.

Mixing them up is an easy mistake. Dutch employment law has several strict time limits for going to court after a dismissal, set out in article 7:686a paragraph 4 BW (official text). A letter, negotiations or a complaint do not pause them. The only extension is a legal one. Since 1 January 2019 the Algemene termijnenwet applies to these deadlines, so one that ends on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday moves to the next day that is not (Advocate General at the Hoge Raad, ECLI:NL:PHR:2020:859). The court does not have to apply the 2-month deadline on its own initiative. Once the employer relies on it, the court works out the exact end date itself (Hoge Raad 21 May 2021, ECLI:NL:HR:2021:747).

Verjaring (limitation)Vervaltermijn (strict time limit)
Typical length5 or 20 yearsWeeks or months
Can a letter restart it?Yes, see stuitingNo
Who raises it?The other side must raise it (article 3:322 BW)The other side; once raised, the court works out the end date itself (Hoge Raad)
ExampleUnpaid wagesChallenging a dismissal

So emailing your former employer does not buy you time to challenge a dismissal. Our guide to the 2-month deadline to challenge a dismissal explains how that deadline is counted.

Table

How long do you have for common claims?

Articles 3:307 and 3:308 BW give 5 years for most contract, wage and rent claims, but consumer, dismissal and holiday-leave deadlines are much shorter, as the table shows.

ClaimTime limitTypeSource
Any claim with no special rule20 yearsVerjaringarticle 3:306 BW
Performance of a contract (pay, deliver, do)5 years from the day after it became dueVerjaringarticle 3:307 BW
Wages, rent, interest (periodic payments)5 years, counted for each payment separatelyVerjaringarticle 3:308 BW
Money paid by mistake (wrong account, overpayment)5 years from knowing about the claim and who received it; 20 years at mostVerjaringarticle 3:309 BW
Damages5 years from knowing about the damage and who is liable; in any case 20 years after the event (no 20-year cap for personal injury or death; 30 years for some environmental damage)Verjaringarticle 3:310 BW
Deposit refund from landlordA 2018 ruling applied the 5-year contract rule; when the 5 years start in your case is less clear-cutVerjaringarticle 3:307 BW, example ruling
Defective product bought as a consumerNotify promptly (within 2 months of discovery is always in time); claim expires 2 years after notifyingComplaint duty + verjaringarticle 7:23 BW
Shop’s claim for the price against a consumer2 yearsVerjaringarticle 7:28 BW
Enforcing a court judgment you already have20 years from the day after the judgment; 5 years for amounts payable yearly or more oftenVerjaringarticle 3:324 BW
Annul a dismissal, ask for fair compensation2 months after the contract endedVervaltermijnarticle 7:686a BW
Transitievergoeding not paid3 months after the contract endedVervaltermijnarticle 7:686a BW
Statutory / extra holiday daysStatutory days lapse 6 months after the end of the calendar year in which you built them up, unless you could not reasonably take them (article 7:640a). A claim to holiday expires 5 years after the end of the calendar year in which it arose (article 7:642)Expiry / verjaringarticle 7:640a BW, article 7:642 BW

Wage claims. Article 3:308 BW covers everything payable yearly or more often, and monthly salary is a periodic payment. For rent, wages and alimony, each payment date starts its own limitation period. In practice, March 2022’s salary expires earlier than April 2022’s. For the steps to take, see employer not paying wages.

Deposits. The repayment deadlines are clear: 14 days after the tenancy ends, or 30 days if costs are deducted (article 7:261b BW). After that date the landlord is late. In a 2018 ruling the Amsterdam subdistrict court treated a deposit refund as a contract claim under the 5-year rule of article 3:307 BW, and let the period start only once the former tenant asked for the money back. The fixed repayment deadlines only came into the law on 1 July 2023, so do not count on that start date: claim early. Read landlord not returning your deposit for the escalation steps.

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When does the limitation clock start?

Under article 3:307 BW the 5 years for a contract claim start on the day after the claim became payable, not on the day you noticed the problem.

Payable means the date in your contract, payslip or invoice. For mistaken payments the clock depends on knowledge: it starts once you know about the claim and who received the money, with a 20-year maximum (article 3:309 BW).

Dismissal deadlines run from the end of the contract. The period starts on the first day after the last day of employment. It ends at the end of the day with the same number two months later, or on the last day of that month if it is shorter (Hoge Raad 21 May 2021, ECLI:NL:HR:2021:747; for the 3-month transitievergoeding term, ECLI:NL:HR:2021:188). If your contract ended on 15 March, the last day is 15 May. If that day is a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday, the deadline moves to the next working day.

Stuiting

How do you interrupt the limitation period with a letter?

Under article 3:317 BW, a written demand or a written message that unequivocally reserves your right to performance interrupts the limitation period of a claim to enforce an obligation, such as a payment claim.

“De verjaring van een rechtsvordering tot nakoming van een verbintenis wordt gestuit door een schriftelijke aanmaning of door een schriftelijke mededeling waarin de schuldeiser zich ondubbelzinnig zijn recht op nakoming voorbehoudt.”

Our translation: “The limitation of a claim for performance of an obligation is interrupted by a written demand or by a written message in which the creditor unequivocally reserves the right to performance.” From Civil Code, article 3:317, paragraph 1, checked 8 October 2026.

Interrupting is called stuiting. For other claims the rule is stricter: a written demand only counts if it is followed within six months by formal legal steps (article 3:317 paragraph 2). Which group your claim belongs to can be technical.

The debtor can also interrupt the period themselves by acknowledging the debt (article 3:318 BW).

What the letter should contain (in your own words):

  1. Who you are, and who owes you.
  2. What is owed, with amounts and dates (for example, “salary for March to May 2024”).
  3. A clear sentence saying you reserve your right to payment in full. Vague wording (“let’s discuss”) may not count.
  4. The date, and a request to pay by a set date.

Send it so you can prove it arrived. A statement addressed to a person only has effect once it has reached that person (article 3:37 paragraph 3 BW). Registered post plus email, with both receipts kept, gives you a paper trail.

What happens next. After the interruption, a new limitation period starts the next day. It is the same length as the original but no longer than five years. It never ends earlier than the original period would have (article 3:319 BW). You can repeat this, but each new letter must arrive before the current period ends.

Remember: a letter does nothing for a vervaltermijn. For a dismissal challenge, only filing at the court in time counts.

Missed

What happens if you miss the deadline?

Under article 3:322 BW a court may not apply a time bar on its own initiative, so an expired claim fails only if the other side relies on it, and then the court dismisses it.

If a strict time limit (vervaltermijn) has passed and the employer relies on it, the court will declare the request inadmissible. Even one day late is too late. Whether any exception fits a particular situation is a question for a lawyer, not this page.

Deadline close, or not sure which type you have? This is the point where a lawyer’s check is worth it. See the box at the end of this page.

Keep reading

Related guides

Employment

Challenge a dismissal: the 2-month deadline explained

 Employment

Employer not paying wages: steps and the statutory increase

 Housing

Landlord not returning your deposit: steps that work

 Employment

Transitievergoeding berekenen (statutory severance calculator)

 Employment

Settlement agreement Netherlands: sign or negotiate?

 Employment

Back to the employment law hub

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

What is the statute of limitations in the Netherlands?

Most claims expire after 5 years. That covers contract claims, wages, rent and interest, counted from the day after payment was due (Civil Code articles 3:307 and 3:308). If no special rule applies, the general limit is 20 years (article 3:306). Some deadlines are much shorter, such as 2 months to challenge a dismissal in court. You can restart a normal limitation period with a clear written demand.

How long can I claim unpaid wages in the Netherlands?

Wages are periodic payments, so the 5-year rule of article 3:308 applies. Each salary payment has its own limitation period, starting the day after it was due. This means older months expire first. A written demand that clearly reserves your right to payment restarts the period for the months it covers. If your contract or CAO mentions its own deadline for claims, have a lawyer check it.

Can I stop the limitation clock by sending an email?

For a normal limitation period, a written demand or a written message that clearly reserves your right restarts the clock (article 3:317). The statute does not mention email, and the message only works once it reaches the debtor (article 3:37), so you must be able to prove it arrived. Many people send registered post as well. A letter does not stop a strict time limit (vervaltermijn), such as the 2-month deadline to challenge a dismissal.

Is the 2-month dismissal deadline the same as verjaring?

No. It is a vervaltermijn, a strict time limit for filing a request at the subdistrict court. It runs from the day after your contract ended. Letters, negotiations or a complaint to your employer do not pause it. If the deadline passes and the employer relies on it, the court will not consider the request. A normal limitation period works differently, because a letter can restart it.

How long can I wait before claiming a withheld deposit?

Your landlord must repay the deposit within 14 days after the tenancy ends. If they deduct costs, they must repay the rest within 30 days with a specification. After that, the landlord is late. A 2018 court ruling treated the refund as a contract claim with a 5-year limitation period, but when those 5 years start is less clear-cut. Sending a dated written demand early protects your position.

Does the new period after interruption last another 20 years?

No. After an interruption, the new period is as long as the original but never longer than 5 years (article 3:319). It also never ends earlier than the original period would have. So interrupting a 20-year claim early does not shorten it, and interrupting a 5-year claim gives you a fresh 5 years. You can interrupt again before each new period ends.

What if a debt collector chases me for a very old debt?

Limitation does not apply automatically: the debtor has to rely on it. Check when the payment was due and whether the creditor sent written demands since then, because each valid demand restarts the clock. Acknowledging the debt before the period ends can also restart it (article 3:318). A time-barred debt still exists as a “natural obligation”, so a voluntary payment is valid.

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Official sources, checked 8 October 2026

Final notes and legal disclaimer

  • This article provides general information and is not tailored to your personal circumstances.
  • It does not cover all situations, exceptions, or recent legal changes.
  • Reading this article does not create a lawyer-client relationship with findlawyer.nl or any associated entity.
  • No guarantee is given that this information is complete, accurate, or up to date.
  • No rights can be derived from this article.
  • For decisions about a limitation period, or your specific situation, always consult a qualified professional.

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