Corporate collections and debt recovery in the Dominican Republic

Recovery of commercial debts

Suppliers, distributors, banks, lessors and foreign exporters come to us when a Dominican debtor stops paying. Our first step is to assess the debt and the debtor: documentation of the claim, solvency, attachable assets and existing security. With that information we design the strategy, which may range from a demand for payment by alguacil to an immediate conservatory attachment followed by the validation and collection claim.

We work with Poindexter Global Intelligence to locate debtors and assets throughout the country, which turns a judgment into recovered money rather than a piece of paper.

• Demand for payment and negotiation of secured payment agreements
• Conservatory attachment of movable assets, bank accounts and receivables of the debtor (garnishment)
• Provisional judicial mortgage over the debtor's real estate
• Collection claim and attachment validation, and the order for payment procedure
• Executory attachment and real estate foreclosure with public auction sale
• Enforcement of non possessory pledges under Law 6186 and of movable security
• Collection of bills of exchange, promissory notes, bounced checks and invoices
• Recovery for foreign creditors holding a home country judgment through exequatur

The creditor's tools under Dominican law

The Code of Civil Procedure gives a creditor with a certain, liquid and due claim a battery of measures. The conservatory attachment, authorized by the judge when there is danger in delay, freezes movable assets; the garnishment blocks accounts and receivables in the hands of third parties; the provisional judicial mortgage encumbers real estate. With an enforceable title (judgment, notarial deed with enforceable effect or award) the creditor proceeds to executory attachment and forced sale. Choosing the right measure at the right moment is what determines the outcome.

Foreign creditors

A creditor from the United States or Puerto Rico who already holds a judgment against a debtor with assets in the Dominican Republic needs exequatur to enforce it in the country. If there is no judgment yet, it is often better to sue directly before Dominican courts. We analyze both routes, explain costs and timing in English and coordinate with the creditor's counsel in its home jurisdiction.

Content reviewed by M. Yorleny Villar R., partner at VSP Consultores Legales. Updated September 22, 2026.