Debt Collection in Israel: Recovering Money Owed on Checks, Court Judgments, and Other Documents
Our office regularly receives questions from creditors asking how to recover money owed to them — whether by private individuals, self-employed people (“Atzmaim”), or businesses that took out a loan or credit. As most people know, once a debtor stops paying, it becomes exponentially harder to collect from someone who isn’t willing to pay voluntarily. The good news: there are several proven, legal tools available in Israel today that can help you recover what you’re owed.
In our experience, a simple phone call from a lawyer is often enough to resolve a debt — statistically, this alone succeeds in roughly a third of cases. Beyond that, a lawyer with access to Israel’s Enforcement and Collection Authority (Hotza’a Lepoal) system can place holds (ikulim) on a debtor’s bank accounts across all banks directly from their office. Under certain conditions, it’s also possible to quickly obtain a court order restricting the debtor from leaving the country, among other tools. We have extensive experience in debt collection and are happy to help you recover what’s owed to you.
Why Do Checks Bounce?
In Israel, checks are still a common and widely used method of paying rent, since by law a check is treated as equivalent to cash. Even so, checks bounce for a variety of reasons — improper completion, an incorrect date, or simply insufficient funds in the account.
Under Israeli law, any bounced check can be submitted to the Enforcement and Collection Authority (Hotza’a Lepoal) for further proceedings and debt recovery against the debtor.
How to Collect a Debt Based on a Promissory Note (Shtar Chov)
Another common source of debt claims is a promissory note (Shtar Chov). In some situations, you may not even realize that a document you’re holding can be enforced directly through the Enforcement and Collection Authority. A similar category includes any contract that specifies an exact sum owed.
All of these documents share one key feature: each states a precise debt amount and a defined payment date. If you hold one or more of these documents against a debtor, you can file a claim for enforcement (Hotza’a Lepoal) without first going through a full court trial.
Even after you’ve taken your debtor to court and won the case, that unfortunately doesn’t mean the money will land in your account right away. Even after an unfavorable court ruling, debtors often continue looking for ways to avoid payment.
At that stage, you’ll need to submit the judgment to the Enforcement and Collection Authority for execution. In this article, we’ll walk through some of the most common — and effective — methods for collecting debts from borrowers.
How Can a Collection Lawyer’s Phone Call Help?
First and foremost, debt collection lawyers typically start by calling the debtor directly to recover certain types of debt. In our office, we begin by contacting the debtor to clarify and discuss repayment terms, since the success rate following a direct phone conversation is quite high. That said, it’s worth noting that a debtor usually won’t be able to transfer the full amount immediately.
During these calls, we negotiate the terms of an agreement, which is then drafted and signed in writing. If the debtor breaches that agreement, the creditor retains the full right to turn to the Enforcement and Collection Authority to pursue the matter further.
How Does the Enforcement and Collection Authority (Hotza’a Lepoal) Help Recover Debts?
This method of debt recovery is reliable, though somewhat different from what people expect. The Enforcement and Collection Authority — Israel’s enforcement office — only acts once you, the creditor, have submitted specific requests to place holds, restrictions, and other sanctions on the debtor.
Nearly all types of debt recovery follow this same framework, with two exceptions: child support (alimony) collection, and the small-claims fast-track process for debts under NIS 25,000.
What Enforcement Tools Are Available Against a Debtor?
The enforcement authorities have a range of sanctions available for non-payment, including: freezing a bank account, garnishing wages, seizing the debtor’s property and/or property held by third parties on the debtor’s behalf, issuing a stay-of-exit order preventing the debtor from leaving the country, blocking passport renewal, and more. We’re glad to help you choose and apply the right combination of these tools for your case.
What Is the Enforcement and Collection Authority (Hotza’a Lepoal), and What Does It Do?
Hotza’a Lepoal is Israel’s enforcement authority, responsible for the compulsory execution of court judgments as well as documents that carry the same legal weight as a judgment. Every magistrate’s court in Israel has an affiliated Enforcement and Collection Office (Lishkat Hotza’a Lepoal). This government system oversees the execution of court rulings — from timely debt repayment to eviction from illegally occupied property and other court orders.
Collecting on a bounced check is one of our most common services, and it doesn’t require going to court at all — the entire process is handled directly with the Enforcement and Collection Authority.
Which Documents Carry the Same Legal Weight as a Court Judgment?
To get government assistance in recovering your debt, you generally need a court judgment (psak din) stating that a specific individual or business is required to pay you a defined sum.
However, beyond an actual court judgment, Israel’s Execution Law of 1967 recognizes several other documents that carry the same legal force as a judgment — meaning they can serve as the basis for filing directly with the Enforcement and Collection Office, without a separate court trial.
These documents include:
– A check
– A promissory note (shtar chov)
– A lien/mortgage document (shtar mashkanta) over movable or real property
What Does the Judgment Enforcement Process Involve?
The first step is submitting a request for judgment enforcement (bakasha le’vitzua psak din) to the relevant government office. If the debt is based on a check, promissory note, or lien document instead of a judgment, you submit a request for enforcement of the document (bakasha le’vitzua shtar / bakasha le’mimush mashkon).
These requests must be filed on the office’s official form, together with a copy and the original of the judgment or equivalent document. A government fee is also required, payable at the Enforcement Office’s cashier — it comes to 1.25% of the total debt amount, though it cannot fall below the statutory minimum fee.
To actually recover the debt, the creditor and their lawyer need to actively file requests for enforcement measures against the debtor — and to keep doing so at every stage of the case.
Types of Enforcement Measures
– Freezing bank accounts
– Seizing and selling real estate belonging to the debtor or to third parties
– Seizing and selling a vehicle
– Garnishing wages
– Seizing money and securities held by the debtor or owed to the debtor by third parties
– Seizing and selling shares
– Detaining the debtor for up to 30 days (in child support debt cases)
– Issuing a stay-of-exit order preventing travel abroad
– Summoning the debtor for a financial means investigation (chakirat yecholet)
Should You Use a Debt Collection Lawyer, or Handle It Yourself?
If you already have the knowledge and experience needed in this field, hiring a lawyer isn’t strictly necessary. But if you don’t feel confident, or don’t have sufficient familiarity with the process, it’s usually better to work with a lawyer.
It’s also worth noting that many enforcement lawyers work on a percentage of the amount recovered, or collect a court-awarded fee added on top of the debt itself. In practice, this means using a lawyer often doesn’t cost you anything extra out of pocket, while saving you significant time and effort.
In recent years, lawyers have increasingly taken on collection cases for smaller debts too (as low as NIS 500–1,000), which is why many small shop and business owners now prefer to bring in a lawyer even for modest amounts.
How to Choose a Debt Collection Lawyer
Lawyers specialize in different fields, just like doctors or software engineers. That’s why we strongly recommend working with an experienced lawyer who focuses specifically on Hotza’a Lepoal proceedings. When choosing a collection lawyer, experience is the key factor — the more similar cases your lawyer has successfully handled, the better your chances of recovering what you’re legally owed.
If you still have questions after reading this, or you’ve decided you’d like the help of a debt collection lawyer, we’re glad to assist.
Leave us your details and we’ll get back to you within 24 hours — or better yet, call us today to schedule a meeting with a debt collection lawyer.
*This article does not constitute legal advice and covers only some aspects of the debt collection process involving checks, court judgments, and other documents in Israel.*
