# What is a bedingter Zahlungsbefehl?

A bedingter Zahlungsbefehl (conditional payment order) is a court order on a money claim, issued without a hearing. It shows that someone is asserting a claim against you, but it is not yet a judgment.

[Check deadline for free](https://app.catius.app/at/en/?doc=zahlungsbefehl)

## How to recognise a Zahlungsbefehl

The heading reads literally "Bedingter Zahlungsbefehl". The sender is a Bezirksgericht (district court) or a Landesgericht (regional court), with a Geschäftszahl (case number, GZ), for example 12 C 345/26k. The Zahlungsbefehl reproduces the content of the claim: the claimant, the claim broken down by items, interest, costs. A signature is usually missing because the document was generated automatically. That is normal. With a Bezirksgericht, a form for the Einspruch (objection) is enclosed.

## What a Zahlungsbefehl is not

It is not a judgment. The court has not examined whether the claim is justified; it has only processed the claimant's application formally. A letter headed "Zahlungsauftrag" is something different: the bill of exchange procedure (Wechselmandatsverfahren), for which other rules apply.

> **Your four week deadline runs from service (Zustellung), not from the printed date.** Details and a worked example are on the page [Zahlungsbefehl deadline](/at/en/frist/).

## Your options

- Pay, if in your view the claim is justified: within 14 days.
- File an Einspruch, against the whole claim or expressly against part of it only, if you disagree.
- Do nothing: the Zahlungsbefehl then becomes final and enforceable after four weeks, for example through attachment of your wages or bank account.

## How Catius Documents helps

We take down your details from the Zahlungsbefehl and, if you decide to, prepare an [Einspruch](/at/en/einspruch/) for the Bezirksgericht. The price is 9 EUR including VAT, one time.

[Create the Einspruch - 9 EUR](https://app.catius.app/at/en/?doc=zahlungsbefehl)