---
titulo: "Debt Collection in Panama: The Executive Process 2026"
titulo_seo: "Collecting a Debt in Panama: Executive Process"
meta: "An enforceable title lets a Panamanian judge attach the debtor's assets at the outset. How the executive process runs under Law 402 of 2023, in force now."
autor: "Diego Ospina Serna"
fecha: 2026-07-04
actualizado: 2026-07-04
materia: "Civil Procedure Law"
idioma: "en"
par: "proceso-ejecutivo-en-panama-como-cobrar-una-deuda-2026"
resumen: "How to collect a debt through the courts in Panama via the executive process: what an enforceable title is, how the process works under the new Civil Procedure Code (Law 402 of 2023), attachment of assets and auction."
tags: ["Debt Collection", "Executive Process", "Civil Procedure Law"]
orden: 20260703
pasos:
  - name: "File the executive claim"
    text: "The claim is filed together with the enforceable title, seeking payment and usually the attachment of the debtor's assets."
  - name: "Payment order and precautionary measures"
    text: "The judge orders the debtor to pay and may order attachment of assets, bank accounts or wages."
  - name: "Defenses"
    text: "The debtor may oppose by raising defenses such as payment, prescription or lack of title merit. Under Law 402 of 2023 these are resolved at a hearing."
  - name: "Auction"
    text: "If the debt is not paid and no defense succeeds, the attached assets are auctioned and the proceeds pay the creditor."
---

When someone owes you money and does not pay, the **executive process** is the fast track to collect it — provided your claim is documented in an instrument with enforcement power. This guide explains how it works in Panama in 2026, now under the **new Civil Procedure Code**.

> **Important note:** the **new Civil Procedure Code (Law 402 of 2023) has been in force since October 11, 2025.** Cases **started before** that date continue under the former Judicial Code. This guide describes the current framework; confirm your case with a lawyer.

## The key: the enforceable title

Not every debt is collected by the executive route: you need an **enforceable title**, a document the law recognizes as sufficient proof of a clear, liquid and due obligation. These usually include:

- A **promissory note, check or bill of exchange**.
- A **public deed** or a contract acknowledging the debt.
- A **mortgage** or pledge.
- A **final court judgment**.

If your claim is in one of these, you can go straight to enforcement without a long trial to "prove" the debt exists.

## How the process works

1. **Executive claim.** Filed together with the title, seeking payment and, usually, the **attachment** of the debtor's assets to secure collection.
2. **Payment order and measures.** The judge orders the debtor to pay and may order attachment of assets, accounts or wages.
3. **Defenses.** The debtor may oppose by raising defenses (payment, prescription, lack of title merit). Under the new Code, **defenses are resolved at a hearing**, within the oral model introduced by the reform.
4. **Auction.** If the debt is not paid and no defenses succeed, the attached assets are **auctioned** and the proceeds pay the creditor.

## What changed with the new Code

The Civil Procedure Code brought a **more oral and concentrated** model: disputes are aired in **hearings**, with a more active judge and an electronic file, aiming to shorten proceedings. In real-estate auctions, for example, appraisal is mandatory only where the property has no assigned cadastral value.

## The debtor's side too

If you are being sued, not all is lost: reviewing the **merit of the title**, the **prescription**, possible **unrecorded payments** or procedural defects can change the outcome or open a negotiation. Early, well-argued defense makes the difference.

> Related: [inheritance and successions in Panama](/guias/inheritance-and-successions-in-panama-2026-guide/).

*Legal basis: Civil Procedure Code (Law 402 of 2023, in force since October 11, 2025). Informational content, not legal advice.*