A commissaire de justice is a French public officer who serves court documents and enforces judgments — in English usually called a bailiff. The profession was created on 1 July 2022 by merging the huissier de justice and the commissaire-priseur judiciaire (court auctioneer), so older letters still say huissier. A commissaire can write to you or come to your address for two very different reasons, and the difference matters.
Amicable collection: a letter, not a court order
Creditors often hire a commissaire de justice to collect a debt amicably (recouvrement amiable): a letter asking you to pay. It is not a judgment and gives no power to seize anything. The costs of collecting without an enforceable title stay with the creditor, with narrow exceptions. For contract debts up to €5,000 the commissaire may propose a simplified procedure (procédure simplifiée de recouvrement des petites créances): it becomes an enforceable title only if you agree; no answer within a month counts as a refusal. If you dispute the debt, say so in writing and keep a copy.
A signification: formal service
When a commissaire serves (signifie) a document, it is formal: a judgment, a summons to court (assignation), or an injonction de payer — a payment order a judge made at the creditor's request without hearing you. You can oppose it at the registry of the court named in it, or by registered letter to it, within one month of service; if it was not handed to you personally, the month may start later. The opposition is free and leads to a hearing. With no opposition, the order becomes enforceable like a judgment.
The commandement de payer and seizures
To enforce a judgment, the commissaire serves a commandement de payer before seizing goods; it gives eight days to pay. Money in a French bank account can be seized without that step; the bank must leave a minimum amount, and the seizure can be contested before the enforcement judge within one month. Living abroad can lengthen some court periods, but do not rely on it without advice.
Check before you pay
Check that the commissaire really exists in the profession's national directory, and pay only to the account in the act or to the creditor directly — never through a link in a message. A lawyer for debt collection can check whether the debt is due and prepare an opposition in time; for a judgment from another country, see enforcement of a foreign judgment.
Prepared by Legal Help Tool. Last updated . General information, not legal advice.
