Section 1: General provisions

The maintenance creditor may instruct any bailiff in his place of residence to serve the request for direct payment on the third party referred to in article L. 213-1. This notification must include the name and address of the debtor, the enforcement order, a breakdown of the sums due and a reminder of the provisions of article L. 213-2, failing which it is null and void. Within the following eight…

The demand for payment ceases to have effect if the creditor’s bailiff notifies the third party of its release by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt. It also ceases to have effect at the request of the debtor, on production of a certificate issued by a bailiff stating that a new judgment or agreement settling the effects of the divorce or legal separation by mutual consent has withdrawn the maintenance…

If a new agreement or decision changes the amount of maintenance or the methods of enforcing the obligation, the application for direct payment is automatically amended accordingly from the date of notification of the agreement or the amended decision to the third party under the conditions set out in the first and second paragraphs of article R. 213-1.

The third party debtor is required to notify the maintenance creditor within eight days of the termination or suspension of his obligation to the maintenance debtor, and in particular of the cessation or suspension of remuneration and of the closure of the debtor’s account or of insufficient funds in that account.

Failure by the third-party debtor required to make direct payment to pay the maintenance due to the creditor is punishable by the fines laid down for fifth-class offences.

An application for direct payment may be contested in court, without prejudice to the right to bring an action for revision of the maintenance allowance. Disputes relating to the direct payment procedure are brought before the enforcement judge in whose jurisdiction the debtor of the maintenance is domiciled. Disputes do not suspend the third party’s obligation to pay the sums owed to the maintenance creditor directly.

The costs of direct payment of maintenance are the responsibility of the debtor and no advance may be requested from the creditor for the implementation of the procedure. If the debtor cannot be found or if direct payment cannot be obtained, the bailiff’s fees are advanced by the Treasury in accordance with the procedures set out in article R. 93, 16° of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

A maintenance creditor who, in bad faith, makes use of the direct payment procedure may be liable to a civil fine of up to €10,000.

Before the court hearing a claim for maintenance, the debtor may agree to direct payment of the maintenance. In this case, the debtor indicates the third party debtor who will be responsible for payment. The extract of the judgment recording the parties’ agreement is notified to the third party debtor in accordance with the rules set out in the first and second paragraphs of article R. 213-1.

The divorce or legal separation agreement by mutual consent provided for in article 229-1 of the Civil Code may provide for maintenance to be paid directly. In this case, the maintenance debtor must specify the identity and contact details of the third-party debtor responsible for payment. The extract of the agreement recording the agreement of the parties is notified to the third party debtor in accordance with the rules set…