Instalments: the signature that turns 5 years into 10
Signing an instalment agreement sets something in motion that appears on no form: the limitation period does not merely restart — under Swiss law it becomes ten years. For a tradesman's invoice, a doctor's bill or unpaid wages that is twice as long as before. Here are 4 templates in Word and PDF, and next to them the calculation nobody else makes.
📄 Template Word & PDF: 4 templates to fill in
Four situations, four templates — each as a fillable Word file and a printable PDF, in four languages. The text in the generator and the text in the file are the same one: what you see here is what you download. If it is not about instalments but the end of a contract, the notices of termination are ready.
🧰 Instalment generator: situation → completed document
Fill in the fields, check the preview, download as Word or PDF. Nothing is stored or transmitted.
The standard: both sign, the claim is acknowledged, the instalments are fixed.
Instalment payment agreement between [Creditor name], [Street, postcode, town] — the Creditor and [First name Last name], [Street, postcode, town] — the Debtor 1. Claim The Debtor acknowledges owing the Creditor a claim arising from [Invoice no. …] in the amount of CHF [Amount]. 2. Instalments The claim is settled in [Number] instalments of CHF [Instalment amount] each. The first instalment falls due on [DD.MM.YYYY], the remaining ones on the [e.g. last day of month] of the following months. 3. Payment Payments are made to account [CH00 0000 0000 0000 0000 0], quoting the reference [Invoice no. …]. 4. Default If an instalment remains unpaid for more than 30 days, the entire remaining balance becomes due immediately without further reminder. 5. Effect on the limitation period This agreement acknowledges the claim within the meaning of Art. 135 no. 1 CO. Signing restarts the limitation period; because the claim is acknowledged in a written instrument, the new period is ten years under Art. 137 para. 2 CO. [Place], [DD.MM.YYYY] Creditor _____________________________ Debtor _____________________________
The Word file is fillable — replace the fields in square brackets · The PDF is A4, one page, ready to print
⚖️ ConvivaPlus templates, not legal advice. For large amounts or ongoing debt enforcement, a recognised debt counselling service is the right first call.
Ready to copy, no sign-up and no cost.
Open the template as PDF⏳ Limitation and instalments: what the signature triggers
The same applies to any debt acknowledgement, even without an instalment plan. The statute puts it in a subordinate clause. Art. 135 no. 1 CO provides that the limitation period is interrupted when the debtor acknowledges the claim — and it names interest payments and part payments as examples of such an acknowledgement. An instalment is therefore not a separate ground; it counts because it amounts to acknowledgement.
Art. 137 CO then distinguishes how the acknowledgement was made. Paragraph 1: a new period begins with the interruption. Paragraph 2: where the claim is acknowledged in a written instrument, the new period is always ten years. A signed instalment agreement is such an instrument. A bank transfer without paper is not.
⛔ Note on the English wording: the official fedlex translation renders «Ausstellung einer Urkunde» as «public deed». Art. 137 para. 2 does not require a public deed — a written acknowledgement is enough. That is why the paragraph above describes the rule instead of quoting it.
Take a tradesman's invoice from 2023 — base period of five years (Art. 128 no. 3 CO):
🕰️ Limitation Clock: your date, your period
The ConvivaPlus Limitation Clock runs both paths side by side: when the claim would have lapsed without any action — and when it lapses after the acknowledgement. Everything is calculated in the browser; nothing is transmitted.
🕰️ ConvivaPlus Limitation Clock
Enter the due date and the acknowledgement — the clock shows both expiry dates.
⚖️ A calculation aid, not legal advice. The statutory text prevails.
How the ConvivaPlus Limitation Clock calculates: base period from the due date (Art. 127 or 128 CO) against the new period from the acknowledgement — ten years for a written acknowledgement (Art. 137 para. 2), otherwise the base period again (Art. 137 para. 1). ⛔ Not taken into account: suspension and impediment (Art. 134), special periods outside the CO, and the waiver under Art. 141. The clock orders the rule; it decides no individual case.
📋 Which period applies to your claim
The ConvivaPlus Limitation Register orders the claims the statute names expressly. The list is not a selection but a closed set: Art. 128 CO enumerates the five-year claims in three numbers, and everything not listed there lapses after ten years under Art. 127. The last column shows what a signature makes of it: it comes from the ConvivaPlus analysis of the two provisions and appears in that form in no statute.
| Claim | Base period | Provision | After signing |
|---|---|---|---|
Rent unpaid monthly rent | 5 | OR Art. 128 Ziff. 1 | 10 ↑↑ |
Farm rent and leases lease of land or premises | 5 | OR Art. 128 Ziff. 1 | 10 ↑↑ |
Interest on capital interest on a loan | 5 | OR Art. 128 Ziff. 1 | 10 ↑↑ |
Other periodic payments recurring contributions | 5 | OR Art. 128 Ziff. 1 | 10 ↑↑ |
Supply of foodstuffs supplier's invoice | 5 | OR Art. 128 Ziff. 2 | 10 ↑↑ |
Board and innkeepers' debts restaurant bill | 5 | OR Art. 128 Ziff. 2 | 10 ↑↑ |
Work of tradesmen invoice from the painter or plumber | 5 | OR Art. 128 Ziff. 3 | 10 ↑↑ |
Retail sale of goods shop invoice | 5 | OR Art. 128 Ziff. 3 | 10 ↑↑ |
Medical treatment doctor's or dentist's bill | 5 | OR Art. 128 Ziff. 3 | 10 ↑↑ |
Professional work of lawyers and notaries lawyer's fee | 5 | OR Art. 128 Ziff. 3 | 10 ↑↑ |
Claims from employment unpaid wages | 5 | OR Art. 128 Ziff. 3 | 10 ↑↑ |
All other claims loan repayment, purchase price, damages | 10 | OR Art. 127 | 10 = |
⛔ Whether a specific invoice falls under Art. 128 CO is, in a dispute, a question of law. «Work of tradesmen» and «retail sale of goods» are statutory concepts, not industry labels. The register orders the cases the statute names; it decides no individual case.
💰 How high instalments should be
With a fixed due date, every missed instalment is default at once, without a single reminder. Under CO Art. 102 para. 2, where a specific due date was agreed, the debtor is in default as soon as that day has passed, and from then on owes default interest of five per cent a year under Art. 104 (There is no official English version of the Code of Obligations; wording paraphrased by ConvivaPlus.) So set the instalment at a level you can pay even in your worst month. No amount is fixed by law — it is negotiated. Three figures decide whether a proposal is accepted:
🚫 The creditor refuses — what then
The creditor may refuse not only your plan but even a single part payment. Under CO Art. 69 para. 1, a creditor need not accept a part payment when the whole debt is established and due (There is no official English version of the Code of Obligations; wording paraphrased by ConvivaPlus.) A refusal is therefore not a breach of the law but the moment the path changes, and the next step is usually the payment reminder:
⚖️ Enforcement already running: are instalments still possible
Yes — and responsibility shifts. Under Art. 123 para. 1 DEBA, if the debtor shows credibly that the debt can be settled in instalments and undertakes to pay regular, appropriate instalments to the enforcement office, the official may postpone realisation by up to twelve months once the first instalment has been paid. For first-class claims the postponement is six months at most (para. 2). Enforcement often rests on a debt acknowledgement, the same instrument that extends the limitation period.
⚠️ Common mistakes with instalments
Your first instalment may not pay off a single franc of the actual debt. Under CO Art. 85 para. 1, a part payment can only be credited to the capital insofar as the debtor is not behind with interest or costs (There is no official English version of the Code of Obligations; wording paraphrased by ConvivaPlus.) Interest and costs first, then capital. Four mistakes keep recurring — and three cost money or time:
The payment plan by e-mail. It is valid, but it is not a written instrument within the meaning of Art. 137 para. 2 CO — and before a court it weighs less than a signed sheet. A creditor who wants certainty has it signed; a debtor who does not want to grant ten years should know that this is exactly what they are doing.
No acceleration clause. Without clause 4 of the template, a missed instalment makes only that instalment due — the creditor would have to claim each one separately. With the clause the entire balance falls due.
Forgetting the reference. A payment with no link to the invoice may be credited against another open claim: without your declaration, the debt the creditor names in the receipt counts, and without a receipt the debt that fell due first (CO Arts. 86 and 87). The template therefore carries the reference twice: in the payment clause and in the receipt.
Negotiating with the creditor after enforcement has started. Once enforcement is running, the proposal goes to the office (Art. 123 DEBA), not the creditor. A side arrangement does not bind the office.
An instalment is paid in francs. A signature is paid in years.
🧭 Four steps to a signed agreement
From the open amount to a document both sides hold:
For a claim recorded in a certificate of loss there is a feature almost nobody knows: under Art. 149 para. 4 DEBA the debtor cannot be required to pay interest on the claim recorded in that certificate. An instalment plan on such a claim therefore does not grow — what is repaid stays repaid. Where repayment happens within the family, the advance on inheritance is worth a look.
Did you know a signature extends the limitation period to ten years?
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Frequent questions about paying by instalments
The questions people ask before signing.
People also ask
Related questions from our magazine
A third reminder is not a legal requirement — default is what counts. The template and the stages are in the reminder guide.
A document in which the debtor acknowledges owing a claim. It has its own effect in enforcement and extends the limitation period to ten years.
With a written contract: amount, repayment, interest and default all belong in it.
All information without guarantee. Found an error? → support@conviva-plus.ch
A signed instalment agreement is an acknowledgement in a written instrument — the limitation period is ten years thereafter (Art. 137 para. 2 CO).
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ConvivaPlus Editor · Law & Housing
Writes about tenancy, contract and everyday law – legal texts turned into vetted templates.
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