1. Principle

Article 12.5 of the Regulation states: “The court shall ensure that the order is served on the defendant in accordance with national law by a method that shall meet the minimum standards laid down in Articles 13, 14 and 15.”

2. Respect for the rights of the defence

Article 27 of the Regulation explains that service of documents should be made according to the EC Regulation 1393/2007  on the service in the Member States of judicial and extrajudicial documents in civil and commercial matters.

The execution agent is responsible for doing his utmost, with all the means at his disposal, in order to deliver the European Order for Payment to the recipient himself or to an address where he can guarantee that the recipient lives and then, where he will be able to be informed about the European Order for Payment.

3. Service with proof of receipt by the defendant

Article 13 organises four different ways of serving the document which common point is to ensure the proof of receipt by the defendant.

4. Service without proof of receipt by the defendant

The means of communication provided for in Article 14 do not guaranty the effective receipt of the document by the addressee. It is a compromise as some European States use service by postal channel without any certificate from the authority, which is in charge.

Due to the lack of security of some of these means of service, the European legislator added one condition. Such a service will be valid only if the address of the recipient is known with certainty. Moreover, protective measures such as the faculty to lodge a statement of opposition or to ask for a review of the decision in exceptional cases have been created.

5. Service on a representative

Article 15 states that “Service pursuant to Articles 13 or 14 may also be effected on a defendant's representative.”

In case of doubts concerning the identity of the representative of the defendant, it is better to serve the document to the defendant himself.