Debt in Monaco

Monaco has formal procedures for private debt, business debt, collection and insolvency. An official government brochure places Monaco among the very few states without public debt, and public finances include the Constitutionnel Reserve Fund. Private and business debt nevertheless remain relevant for households, merchants, artisans and companies. The Commission de surendettement des personnes physiques is Monaco's procedure for an individual's non-professional debt. Only the debtor can apply. The applicant generally needs good faith, a Monaco domicile of at least three years and debts that are already due or will become due. The declaration goes to the secretariat of the Département des Finances et de l'Économie and includes the applicant's signature, identity and address, family situation, income, assets, liabilities and each creditor. The Commission decides whether the case is admissible and informs the debtor and creditors. After admissibility, the Commission can prepare a plan within three months. Measures may include deferred or staged payments, debt reduction, interest reduction, and the creation, consolidation or replacement of guarantees. Budget support can also be included. The debtor has to cooperate and avoid actions that worsen insolvency. The procedure is confidential, but it does not automatically stop enforcement and does not guarantee a forced debt waiver; creditor agreement remains central. If the plan fails, the Commission can recommend an apurement plan. The founding rules reviewed here do not state fixed fees. The Direction de l'Action et de l'Aide Sociales (DASO) may provide one-time social assistance to a household in severe or precarious financial difficulty when household means are at or below the threshold set by ministerial order. A social worker submits the case to the DASO director. This assistance supports the household but does not cancel its debts. Since 30 September 2025, business conciliation has been available to a merchant or artisan facing a proven or imminent legal, economic or financial difficulty. The business applies to the President of the Tribunal de première instance (TPI), including an RCI extract, a list and payment schedule for receivables and debts, security and off-balance-sheet information, three years of annual accounts, and an overview of financing, liquidity and due liabilities. A conciliator normally has up to three months, with a reasoned extension of up to six months. The debtor pays the conciliator's fees. An amicable agreement may receive enforceable force or judicial homologation. For claims covered by the agreement, individual lawsuits and enforcement are suspended or prohibited during the agreement. Homologation can be challenged within ten days; if conciliation fails, it ends without an appeal against that failure. The TPI can establish cessation des paiements, meaning that a business can no longer meet due payments, after a debtor declaration, a creditor summons or on its own initiative. The resulting collective procedure may be règlement judiciaire or liquidation des biens. In a règlement judiciaire, concordat proposals are due within 15 days. A court may publish decisions and certain sanctions in the Journal de Monaco. Faillite personnelle and interdiction de gérer can follow fraud, manipulation of assets or accounts, gross incompetence or failure to report cessation des paiements within 15 days. Réhabilitation can follow full payment of capital, interest and costs or payment of concordat dividends. For a contractual monetary claim, a creditor can seek an injonction de payer from the Juge de paix regardless of the amount when the debtor has a known Monaco domicile or residence. The application is filed with the Greffe Général on unstamped paper with supporting documents. After service, the debtor has 15 clear days to file a contredit, normally in writing with the Greffe and, where required, a provision. Without a contredit, the order becomes enforceable and cannot be opposed or appealed; if it is not made enforceable within six months, it lapses. A saisie-exécution follows a commandement served at least one day before the seizure. A saisie-arrêt requires an enforceable title or judicial permission. Court, registry, huissier and provision costs vary by case, and no reliable flat fee is established here. Monaco's assistance judiciaire can be total or partial when income falls below the applicable threshold, including family adjustments. The application goes to the Greffe Général on plain paper with evidence of resources and assets and can cover court, stamp, registry, expert, translation, interpreter, insertion and witness costs. A French cross-border insolvency convention applies only to merchants and commercial companies. A foreign private insolvency decision has no automatic effect in Monaco and requires exequatur, meaning recognition by the competent Monegasque court.