How does a notice of default work?
The main rule is that default occurs after a notice of default: a written reminder with a reasonable term to perform after all. The law also names cases in which default occurs without a notice of default, and the best known of these is the strict deadline (fatale termijn): a term where it follows from the agreement that exceeding it immediately means default.
For commercial agreements this is set out explicitly. Commercial interest runs from the day after the due date, or from thirty days after receipt of the invoice if nothing was agreed, and no letter is needed for it. That is why in the business track the notice of default is the second letter and not the first. First the reminder that shows the accrued interest and costs, then the notice of default with a final deadline and the announcement of what happens next.
With a private customer the question is harder, because whether a payment term on an invoice counts as a strict deadline depends on what exactly was agreed and on the circumstances. That is a judgment per case, and it is exactly the kind of judgment software should not make.
Where is a notice of default in the law?
These legal sources come from the specialist dossiers that were reviewed on 31 August 2026. Mind the difference that becomes large in a dispute: a statutory article next to a value is where that value is found, not a justification for how it applies to your situation.
- Articles 6:81 to 6:83 of the Dutch Civil Code (BW)govern when default occurs: in principle after a notice of default with a reasonable term, and without a notice of default in the cases named there, including a strict deadline
- Article 6:119a(2) of the Dutch Civil Code (BW)makes interest run with a commercial agreement from the day after the due date, so without a notice of default being needed
The links go to the statutory text on wetten.overheid.nl, in the version that applied on 24 September 2026.
What does basestep do with a notice of default?
The notice of default is the second letter in the business track and is part of the established design of the reminder procedure; the template is not in the platform yet. What is there is the choice underneath it, and it is deliberately cautious: with a private customer, the platform only calculates interest from the expiry of the letter’s term, even though the law can start earlier. That never charges too much, at most too little. Whether a term is a strict deadline is for an adviser to judge and not for a program.
All calculations, explanations and signals in basestep are calculation support and instruction, not tax or legal advice. Amounts are estimates based on your own input; the Dutch tax authority (Belastingdienst) sets the assessment.
Where does it go wrong with a notice of default?
The two mistakes you run into most often in practice with this term, and what they cost you.
Thinking a letter must always come first
With a business customer, default occurs automatically from the day after the due date. Anyone who waits for a letter before calculating interest leaves money on the table without gaining anything.
Not giving a reasonable term
A notice of default without a term, or with a term of two days, does not do its job. Fourteen days is the usual measure and matches what you must give a consumer anyway.
Deciding yourself that a term was a strict deadline
Whether exceeding a payment term immediately means default depends on the agreement and the circumstances. With a private customer that is not a fixed rule, and the platform therefore does not assume it. If you want to play it harder, put the case to an adviser.
Further reading
Three places this term is tied to, inside this glossary and beyond.