How does the veertiendagenbrief (fourteen-day letter) work?
The rule protects the consumer against costs they did not see coming. That is why the letter is not a formality but a condition: it must give the consumer a real last chance and tell them exactly what happens if they do not take it.
The date of receipt is the starting point, and you do not know it exactly. That is why parties calculate with a delivery margin. More important than the margin is the wording: write the term so that it is right for any delivery date, for example by referring to the day after receipt and not to a fixed date.
This does not apply to a business customer. There you may charge the collection costs directly as soon as default has occurred, and the interest was already running from the day after the due date.
Where is the veertiendagenbrief (fourteen-day letter) 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.
- Article 6:96(6) of the Dutch Civil Code (BW)the fourteen-day term and the duty to state the costs, with a consumer
- Article 2 of the Dutch decree on extrajudicial collection costs (Besluit vergoeding voor buitengerechtelijke incassokosten)gives the scale with which you calculate the exact amount: 15 percent of the first €2,500 with a minimum of €40, decreasing after that, with a maximum of €6,775
- Dutch Supreme Court (Hoge Raad), 25 November 2016the term starts the day after receipt, and an incorrect or confusing statement costs the right to collection costs
The links go to the source itself: the statutory text on wetten.overheid.nl, in the version that applied on 24 September 2026, and the ruling on rechtspraak.nl.
What does basestep do with the veertiendagenbrief (fourteen-day letter)?
A reminder template with the right wording is planned and is not in yet. This is a place where a wrong template actively does harm, so it will only arrive with a text that has been checked on these two points.
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 the veertiendagenbrief (fourteen-day letter)?
The two mistakes you run into most often in practice with this term, and what they cost you.
Counting from the date of the letter
The term starts the day after receipt. Anyone who counts from the date of the letter in fact gives less than fourteen days and loses the collection costs.
Not stating the costs
The letter must state what amount of collection costs will follow. A reminder without that amount does not meet the requirement.
Further reading
Three places this term is tied to, inside this glossary and beyond.