When does the Mahnbescheid deadline start?
The most common mistake: people look at the date printed on the Mahnbescheid. What actually matters is the day the letter was served on you (Zustellung).
The two week deadline starts on the day the Mahnbescheid is served on you, not on the date printed on it. There are often several days between when the document is issued and when it is actually served.
How to count the two weeks
The day of service itself does not count. The deadline ends two weeks later, on the day of the week that matches the day you were served. If the last day falls on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday, the deadline moves to the next working day.
Our calculation counts only the public holidays that apply nationwide. An extra holiday in one federal state can only push the last day further back, never forward: the date shown here is therefore never too late.
If you no longer know the date of service
- The person who serves the letter records the date of service on the envelope (§ 180 ZPO, § 182 Abs. 2 Nr. 6 und 7 ZPO). Look for this entry, not the postmark. If the letter was served by being placed in your letterbox, the date it was placed there counts, not the date you took it out or read it.
- Contact the Mahngericht, quoting the case number (Geschäftsnummer), to ask for the date of service and a copy of the certificate of service (Zustellungsurkunde) (§ 299 ZPO). If the case has already been transferred to another court, contact that court.
- A properly completed certificate of service (Zustellungsurkunde) provides full proof of the date of service recorded in it (§ 182 Abs. 1 Satz 2, § 418 Abs. 1 ZPO). If you dispute that date, you must prove that the record is incorrect (§ 418 Abs. 2 ZPO). Simply saying that you received the letter later is not enough.
- Do not wait for the court's reply before filing your Widerspruch. The time limit continues to run even if you do not know the date of service.
Already past the deadline?
If the court has not yet issued a Vollstreckungsbescheid, you can still file a Widerspruch (§ 694 Abs. 1 ZPO). Act without delay. If a Vollstreckungsbescheid has already been issued, a late Widerspruch is treated as an Einspruch (§ 694 Abs. 2 ZPO). For the Einspruch to be admissible, its separate time limit must also be met. Check immediately whether a Vollstreckungsbescheid has been served on you and, if so, when.
How Catius Documents works out your deadline
You tell us the date of service, we calculate your deadline and show it to you before you pay anything.