CIVIL COURT — JUDICIAL DEBT COLLECTION
Judicial Recovery of Debts in Guatemala
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Before suing, evaluate:
  • Do you have an executive title? Promissory note, bill of exchange, cheque, public deed — executive lawsuit
  • Does the debtor have assets to attach? Without assets, winning the lawsuit does not guarantee collection
  • Is it worth it for the amount? Compare the lawyer fees under the fee schedule with the debt
  • Is the title still enforceable? Executive force ends after 5 years (10 with pledge or mortgage)
Court fee: none · Debtor's deadline to oppose: 5 days · Verified: November 2026

The civil debt collection lawsuit is the judicial route to recover money owed to you — unpaid clients, loans, bounced cheques, commercial debts. The route depends on the document you hold: with an executive title (promissory note, bill of exchange, cheque, public deed) you use the executive lawsuit; a final judgment, a mortgage or pledge credit is enforced through the vía de apremio; without a title, you have to prove the debt in an ordinary trial. In every case, check before suing whether the debtor has assets that can be attached — without them, you do not collect even if you win.

Quick summary: With an executive title, the judge orders the debtor served and assets attached and gives the debtor 5 days to oppose (CPCYM Art. 329). There is no court fee to file (Judicial Branch Law Art. 57); the losing party is ordered to reimburse costs (CPCYM Art. 573). Lawyer fees are by agreement but not below the legal schedule: 10% up to Q50,000 + 5% above for an execution in first instance (Decree 111-96, Art. 8). The debtor does NOT go to jail for a civil debt — the remedy is attachment of assets, salary or accounts.

Information verified November 2026.

Correction, 24 September 2026. Filing a lawsuit carries no court fee: “La justicia es gratuita e igual para todos, salvo lo relacionado con las costas judiciales” (justice is free and equal for all, except court costs; Judicial Branch Law Art. 57); and unpaid child support leads to attachment and, with a final judgment or agreement, a criminal complaint for negación de asistencia económica (Penal Code Art. 242). An earlier version listed court taxes of 1-2% of the claim value and an apremio corporal until payment.

What type of lawsuit applies?

Document you haveJudicial routeLegal basis
Promissory note, bill of exchange, factura cambiariaExecutive lawsuit, no recognition of signature needed (protest only where legally required)Commerce Code Art. 630
Cheque not paidExecutive lawsuit (+ possible estafa mediante cheque)Commerce Code Art. 630; Penal Code Art. 268
Testimonio of a public deedExecutive lawsuitCPCYM Art. 327, 1st
Private document recognized before a judge, or with notarial legalization of signatureExecutive lawsuitCPCYM Art. 327, 3rd
Notarial record of the balance in legally kept booksExecutive lawsuitCPCYM Art. 327, 5th
Final judgment, arbitral awardVía de apremio (enforcement)CPCYM Art. 294
Mortgage or pledge credit; settlement in a public deedVía de apremioCPCYM Art. 294
Only witnesses / verbal promiseOrdinary trial—

Requirements

  • Identification of the plaintiff (creditor), and proof of representation if acting through an agent
  • Original executive title; for what a promissory note must contain, see promissory note (pagaré) in Guatemala
  • Debtor’s name and domicile — for a credit instrument, the domicile shown on the instrument counts (Commerce Code Art. 630)
  • A liquid and payable amount: the judge only issues the execution order if the amount claimed is liquid and payable (CPCYM Art. 329)
  • Protest record, only where protest is legally required (Commerce Code Art. 630; CPCYM Art. 327, 4th)
  • A lawyer: parties must appear assisted by a registered lawyer, except in ínfima cuantía matters (CPCYM Art. 50)

Step by step (Executive Lawsuit)

  1. Demand for payment — before suing you can send a collection letter. To put the debtor legally in default (mora), the Civil Code (Art. 1430) requires a judicial or notarial demand; a plain letter records the claim but does not replace that demand. Service of the lawsuit counts as the demand.
  2. Check ability to pay — real estate attachments are noted in the Property Registry (CPCYM Art. 308), so registered property is what the attachment can reach. If the debtor has nothing, consider whether suing is worthwhile.
  3. File the executive lawsuit in the civil court with jurisdiction over the debtor’s domicile (CPCYM Art. 12).
  4. Execution order and attachment — the judge reviews the title and, if sufficient and the amount is liquid and payable, issues the execution order: the debtor is formally required to pay and assets are attached, if appropriate. The debtor gets five days to oppose or raise defenses (CPCYM Art. 329).
  5. Salary attachment — ordered by instructing whoever pays the salary to withhold the attachable part (CPCYM Art. 307), within Labor Code Arts. 96-97 (minimum wage unattachable; up to 35% of a wage of Q300 or more).
  6. No opposition — once the term expires, the judge issues the sentencia de remate, declaring whether the execution proceeds (Art. 330).
  7. Opposition — the debtor must give reasons and offer evidence, and raise all defenses in the same filing; the creditor is heard for 2 days, and evidence is taken within 10 days if requested (Art. 331).
  8. Judgment — the judge rules on the opposition and defenses and declares whether to proceed to “trance y remate” (sale) of the attached assets and payment to the creditor (Art. 332).
  9. Extend the attachment if the assets are not enough to cover the debt and accessories (Art. 309).
  10. Appeal — only the order refusing the execution, the judgment and the order approving the settlement of accounts are appealable; the appeal court hears it within 5 days and decides within 3 (Art. 334).
  11. Later ordinary trial — the executive judgment is not res judicata: it can be modified in a later ordinary trial, which can only be brought after the executive judgment has been complied with; the right to that review lapses 3 months after the executive judgment becomes final or, where applicable, after the execution proceedings end (Art. 335).

Cost and time

ConceptAmountLegal basis
Court fee to fileNone; the losing party can be ordered to pay costsJudicial Branch Law Art. 57; CPCYM Art. 573-574
Lawyer fees (agreed)Free to agree, never below the scheduleDecree 111-96, Art. 1
Lawyer fees, execution, first instance (no agreement)10% up to Q50,000 + 5% on the excessDecree 111-96, Art. 8
Lawyer fees, second instanceHalf of the first-instance feeDecree 111-96, Art. 8
Small-claim executionQ500 to Q5,000Decree 111-96, Art. 8
Debtor’s term to oppose5 daysCPCYM Art. 329
Evidence period (if opposed)10 daysCPCYM Art. 331
AppealHearing within 5 days, decision within 3CPCYM Art. 334

Example: on a Q80,000 execution with no fee agreement, the first-instance fee under Art. 8 is 10% × Q50,000 + 5% × Q30,000 = Q5,000 + Q1,500 = Q6,500. The lawyer can also claim fees directly from the party condemned in costs (Decree 111-96, Art. 2).

Common mistakes

  • Suing without checking the debtor’s ability to pay — a judgment is useless if the debtor has no assets to attach.
  • Not documenting the debt — without an executive title, the debt has to be proved in an ordinary trial.
  • Waiting too long to sue — executive titles lose their executive force after 5 years if the obligation is simple and 10 if there is a pledge or mortgage (CPCYM Art. 296, 328). Direct actions on credit instruments prescribe 3 years from maturity (pagaré, letra de cambio, factura cambiaria; Commerce Code Art. 626), and cheque actions in 6 months, counted from presentment for the last holder (Art. 513).
  • Leaving the fee terms unwritten — without an agreement, fees follow the legal schedule (Decree 111-96, Art. 1).

Diaspora — collecting debt in Guatemala from the USA

If you live in the USA and a client or partner in Guatemala owes you money, you can sue through a lawyer in Guatemala:

  1. Grant a power of attorney before a Guatemalan consul who is a qualified notary (Notary Law Art. 6), authorizing a Guatemalan lawyer
  2. Send the documentation to the lawyer: the original executive title, the debtor’s details and the evidence of the debt
  3. The lawyer files the lawsuit in the court of the debtor’s domicile, not where you live (CPCYM Art. 12)
  4. Attachment and execution over the debtor’s assets in Guatemala

The executive lawsuit reaches assets in Guatemala. If the debtor lives in the USA and has no assets in Guatemala, ask a US lawyer about suing where the assets are.