An antstolis is a Lithuanian bailiff — a person the state empowers to enforce a court judgment or court order (teismo įsakymas), a notary's enforcement note or an authority's decision; an unpaid traffic fine reaches a bailiff through the State Tax Inspectorate (VMI). The first letter of a case is the raginimas įvykdyti sprendimą — the demand to comply.
What the demand says
- the bailiff, the court or authority whose decision is enforced, the creditor and the amount;
- the period for paying voluntarily and the account to pay into;
- that after it the bailiff enforces by force, and the enforcement costs set by the Ministry of Justice's Enforcement Instructions are charged to you.
The 10 days
Unless the judgment or order sets its own term, you have 10 days from the day the demand was served (Civil Procedure Code, art. 659); a last day on a weekend or a public holiday moves to the next working day. The demand comes by registered post with a receipt or by hand. If you cannot be found — for example no address abroad is known — it is published on antstoliai.lt, and the day it is published counts as the day it was served. Enter the day you received it on this page and the site counts the 10 days.
After the 10 days
Within the next 10 days the bailiff starts compulsory enforcement: money in bank accounts, a share of wages or a pension, a ban on others paying money owed to you, the sale of property at an electronic auction. Part of your money and essential belongings are protected by law, and property is not sold if you show that the debt can be paid from your income within six months.
Check the case online
The bailiffs' Electronic Enforcement Case Portal on antstoliai.lt shows your cases, every step of the bailiff and the documents, free of charge. You log in through iPasas or the state e-government gateway, with an e-signature, a mobile signature or online banking.
Complaining about the bailiff
A complaint about a bailiff's action or refusal goes to the bailiff within 20 days of the day you learned of it, and no later than 90 days after it. The bailiff decides within 5 working days; if the complaint is refused, it goes with the file to the district court. There is no court fee, but the complaint does not stop enforcement unless the court suspends it.
A lawyer for debt matters can read the file, deal with the bailiff and the creditor or complain in Lithuanian in time; a judgment to be enforced across borders is a matter of enforcing a foreign judgment.
Prepared by Legal Help Tool. Last updated . General information, not legal advice.
