Merlevede, Emmanuel: creditor guide
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This company's procedure and your next step, the trustee or liquidator, the dates and what they mean, and the directors' other companies.
The procedures at a glance
- Bankruptcy The business stops. You file your claim with the trustee through RegSol, within the judgment's deadline. Your steps
- Judicial reorganisation The business seeks a fresh start under court protection. For now you cannot collect. Your steps
- Interim administrator The court appoints someone beside or instead of the management. Your claim remains payable. Your steps
Bankruptcy
The enterprise court declares the company bankrupt and appoints a trustee, a lawyer who sells the assets and pays the creditors as far as the money goes. A supervising judge oversees the procedure. Nobody pays you automatically. You have to file your claim yourself.
- Stop delivering on credit. Agree with the trustee on anything you still deliver after the judgment.
- Gather your documents. Think of invoices, purchase orders, the contract, delivery notes and reminders.
- File your claim in RegSol. This is done at regsol.be, the Central Solvency Register. You do it yourself with eID or itsme, or through your lawyer. State principal, interest and costs separately, and any preferential right or security you hold.
- Reclaim goods sold under retention of title. This has to happen before the first verification report, and the goods must still be there.
- Sort out the VAT. In a bankruptcy the VAT on unpaid invoices can be recovered under conditions. Your accountant knows how.
- Follow the file. The verification report (admitted or disputed) and the trustee's reports appear in RegSol. The court decides a disputed claim.
Deadlines
The judgment sets the last day to file your claim, by law at most thirty days after the judgment. It also sets the day the trustee files the first verification report, the list of admitted and disputed claims. Both dates are in the publication of the judgment in the Belgian Official Gazette and in RegSol. A late claim is still possible until a year after the judgment. Its costs are then yours, and distributions already made stay made.
Order of payment
The trustee first pays the costs of the procedure and the debts the trustee took on. Then come the creditors with a preferential right or security, such as the tax authorities, social security, the employees or a bank with a pledge or mortgage. Only then come the ordinary creditors, among themselves in proportion to their claims. Often little or nothing is left for them. A bankruptcy usually takes years.
Judicial reorganisation
The company asks the court for protection to restructure. During the moratorium you cannot attach or enforce for debts from before the opening. Your claim still exists. The judgment states when the moratorium ends, and the court can extend it. There are three tracks:
- Amicable settlement
- The company negotiates with some creditors. The agreement binds only those who sign it.
- Collective agreement
- The company files a plan (deferral, partial write-off) and creditors vote on it at a hearing. If a majority approves and the court confirms it, it also binds those who voted against.
- Transfer under court supervision
- A court officer sells the business or part of it. Creditors are paid from the proceeds, according to their ranking.
- Stop collecting old debts. No attachment or enforcement is possible while the moratorium runs.
- Check your amount. The company has to tell you the amount it lists you for. If it is wrong, dispute it in writing.
- Vote on the plan. In a collective agreement you vote at the hearing the judgment sets, or by proxy.
- Deliver only on clear terms. What you deliver after the opening is not covered by the moratorium.
- Read the file in RegSol. The plan and the documents of the procedure are there.
Interim administrator
The court can appoint an interim administrator when serious failings of the management threaten the continuity of the business. The company carries on, and this is not an insolvency procedure. Your claim remains payable and you collect it as usual. It is a reason, though, to review your credit limit and payment terms, and to follow the company.
Follow-up
Follow the company on Checked (the Follow button on its page) and you are alerted to every new judgment: an extension, the approval or the closure of a reorganisation, and the closure or reversal of a bankruptcy. What reaches you by e-mail is set under Alerts.
Frequently asked questions
How do I file a claim in a bankruptcy?
Electronically in RegSol (regsol.be), the Central Solvency Register. You sign in with eID or itsme, find the bankruptcy by the enterprise number and enter principal, interest, costs and any preferential right, with your documents attached. A lawyer can do it for you.
Until when can I file my claim?
Until the date the judgment sets, by law at most thirty days after the judgment. That date is in the publication in the Belgian Official Gazette and in RegSol. A late claim is still possible until a year after the judgment, but the costs are then yours.
What is the verification report?
The list the trustee files in RegSol with the claims he admits and the ones he disputes. The trustee puts a disputed claim before the court.
Will I get my money back?
That depends on what the trustee raises and on your ranking. The costs of the procedure and the creditors with a preferential right or security come first. Ordinary creditors share what remains, which is often little.
What does a judicial reorganisation change for me?
While the moratorium runs you cannot attach or enforce for debts from before the opening. Your claim still exists and is paid under the agreement or from the proceeds of a transfer.
How do I know when the bankruptcy is closed?
Follow the company on Checked and you are alerted the morning after the Belgian Official Gazette publishes the closure or reversal. In RegSol you follow the trustee's reports.
Measured outcome by court and division
Of 108,424 bankruptcies of legal entities across Belgium, 49% were closed within five years for insufficient assets and 28% after liquidation, 3% were withdrawn. After five years, 20% were still open. Half had ended after 26 months (a quarter after 15, three quarters after 51 months).
The measurement covers bankruptcies running between January 2015 and 2 October 2026. From January 2015 every quarter's closures were read in full.
Every court and division (29)
| Court, division | Cases | Insufficient assets | After liquidation | Withdrawn | Still open | Median duration | Middle half |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belgium | 108,424 | 49% | 28% | 3% | 20% | 26 months | 15 to 51 months |
| Dutch-language Enterprise Court of Brussels | 8,721 | 56% | 24% | 5% | 15% | 23 months | 13 to 43 months |
| Enterprise Court of Antwerp, Antwerp division | 15,587 | 55% | 22% | 4% | 19% | 26 months | 15 to 49 months |
| Enterprise Court of Antwerp, Hasselt division | 4,768 | 40% | 36% | 2% | 22% | 31 months | 17 to 55 months |
| Enterprise Court of Antwerp, Mechelen division | 2,694 | 53% | 27% | 2% | 18% | 26 months | 15 to 46 months |
| Enterprise Court of Antwerp, Tongeren division | 2,581 | 44% | 30% | 2% | 24% | 32 months | 16 to 58 months |
| Enterprise Court of Antwerp, Turnhout division | 3,559 | 44% | 38% | 2% | 15% | 24 months | 14 to 44 months |
| Enterprise Court of Eupen | 140 | 46% | 33% | 0% | 21% | 24 months | 13 to 50 months |
| Enterprise Court of Ghent, Bruges division | 2,654 | 41% | 34% | 1% | 25% | 34 months | 21 to 59 months |
| Enterprise Court of Ghent, Dendermonde division | 4,660 | 43% | 44% | 2% | 10% | 20 months | 10 to 36 months |
| Enterprise Court of Ghent, Ghent division | 5,462 | 39% | 29% | 2% | 30% | 37 months | 20 to 68 months |
| Enterprise Court of Ghent, Kortrijk division | 2,677 | 38% | 41% | 1% | 19% | 32 months | 21 to 52 months |
| Enterprise Court of Ghent, Ostend division | 1,069 | 48% | 29% | 1% | 23% | 30 months | 19 to 55 months |
| Enterprise Court of Ghent, Oudenaarde division | 1,017 | 38% | 30% | 1% | 31% | 38 months | 21 to 70 months |
| Enterprise Court of Ghent, Veurne division | 674 | 48% | 36% | 1% | 15% | 25 months | 18 to 44 months |
| Enterprise Court of Ghent, Ypres division | 393 | 32% | 32% | 0% | 35% | 44 months | 29 to 77 months |
| Enterprise Court of Hainaut, Charleroi division | 4,540 | 36% | 36% | 3% | 24% | 33 months | 19 to 59 months |
| Enterprise Court of Hainaut, Mons division1 | 2,360 | 45% | 34% | 3% | 19% | 28 months | 17 to 51 months |
| Enterprise Court of Hainaut, Tournai division1 | 1,431 | 38% | 35% | 3% | 24% | 34 months | 19 to 59 months |
| Enterprise Court of Leuven | 2,849 | 41% | 39% | 1% | 18% | 25 months | 14 to 47 months |
| Enterprise Court of Liège, Arlon division | 218 | 57% | 22% | 2% | 19% | 23 months | 11 to 51 months |
| Enterprise Court of Liège, Dinant division | 611 | 40% | 30% | 0% | 30% | 37 months | 21 to 71 months |
| Enterprise Court of Liège, Huy division | 612 | 33% | 38% | 1% | 28% | 37 months | 20 to 65 months |
| Enterprise Court of Liège, Liège division | 7,358 | 45% | 35% | 2% | 18% | 25 months | 14 to 47 months |
| Enterprise Court of Liège, Marche-en-Famenne division | 175 | 50% | 28% | 0% | 22% | 32 months | 22 to 54 months |
| Enterprise Court of Liège, Namur division | 2,569 | 38% | 34% | 3% | 25% | 30 months | 16 to 60 months |
| Enterprise Court of Liège, Neufchâteau division | 764 | 37% | 34% | 2% | 27% | 34 months | 18 to 64 months |
| Enterprise Court of Liège, Verviers division | 596 | 43% | 33% | 1% | 23% | 25 months | 12 to 56 months |
| Enterprise Court of Walloon Brabant | 4,739 | 43% | 33% | 2% | 21% | 32 months | 19 to 55 months |
| French-language Enterprise Court of Brussels | 22,892 | 60% | 18% | 3% | 18% | 22 months | 12 to 46 months |
These are measured figures, not a forecast for one case. Openings and closures come from the Belgian Official Gazette, openings since 1997. Outcomes are measured since January 2015. Cases still running count up to today instead of being left out. Legal entities only. A group of fewer than 50 cases is not shown. 1,572 cases opened since January 2015 (2%) are left out. The register no longer lists them as bankrupt, but their closure was not found in the publications. A dash means too few cases of the division had run for five years to give a share there. Differences between divisions reflect the cases that arrive there, not how well anyone works.
1 Mons and Tournai divisions (Enterprise Court of Hainaut): the Belgian Official Gazette permanently holds fewer bankruptcies of these divisions than Statbel counts, about 70 to 89% a year. Their figures rest on the published cases.
Judicial reorganisations: first outcome
Of 4,100 judicial reorganisations since 2019 across Belgium: 53% had a plan approved by the court within a year, for 1% a transfer under court supervision was ordered and 42% ended in bankruptcy within two years. Where a plan was approved, it came after a median of 4 months.
Every court (6)
| Court | Cases | Approved within a year | Transfer within a year | Bankrupt within two years | Until approval |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belgium | 4,100 | 53% | 1% | 42% | 4 months |
| Enterprise Court of Antwerp | 732 | 58% | 0% | 49% | 4 months |
| Enterprise Court of Ghent | 532 | 61% | 0% | 42% | 3 months |
| Enterprise Court of Hainaut | 803 | 47% | 1% | 35% | 6 months |
| Enterprise Court of Liège | 813 | 48% | 1% | 42% | 5 months |
| Enterprise Court of Walloon Brabant | 302 | 57% | 0% | 42% | 5 months |
| French-language Enterprise Court of Brussels | 643 | 49% | 0% | 47% | 4 months |
Discharge of natural persons
Of the 23,599 bankruptcies of natural persons across Belgium closed since January 2015 with a decision on the discharge, 76% were granted it. The debts that remain can then no longer be claimed from the person.
Every court (9)
| Court | Closures | Discharged |
|---|---|---|
| Belgium | 23,599 | 76% |
| Dutch-language Enterprise Court of Brussels | 933 | 76% |
| Enterprise Court of Antwerp | 5,911 | 71% |
| Enterprise Court of Eupen | 114 | 87% |
| Enterprise Court of Ghent | 7,161 | 70% |
| Enterprise Court of Hainaut | 2,408 | 89% |
| Enterprise Court of Leuven | 859 | 86% |
| Enterprise Court of Liège | 4,007 | 81% |
| Enterprise Court of Walloon Brabant | 844 | 91% |
| French-language Enterprise Court of Brussels | 1,360 | 79% |
This is general information on the Belgian procedures (Book XX of the Code of Economic Law), not legal advice. For your own situation, the trustee, your lawyer or your accountant can help.