FranceService Public
France reworks bank direct-debit guidance around SEPA mandate
Reworked service-public.fr guidance: SEPA mandate contents, duration, opposition and revocation steps, contestation deadlines and bank-fee disclosure.
By Taxxa AI OyPublished 9 September 2026
The service-public.fr page on bank direct debits has been substantially restructured around the SEPA mandate. A direct debit now requires the debtor's agreement in the form of a signed SEPA mandateService Public, on paper or electronically, supplied by the creditor, for both one-off and recurring payments
Service Public. The mandate must show the title “Mandat de prélèvement SEPA”
Service Public, the creditor's name and address
Service Public, the creditor identifier (ICS) issued by the creditor's bank
Service Public, the unique mandate reference (RUM) generated by the creditor for each business relationship
Service Public, and the statutory wording authorising the creditor to instruct the bank and the bank to debit the account, with the 8-week refund right
Service Public. The debtor completes the payment type (one-off or recurring), name and address, the IBAN and BIC of the account, the date and signature, then returns the mandate to the creditor with a relevé d'identité bancaire.
The one-off TIP SEPA subsistsService Public: sent with the invoice, signed and returned with the RIB on first use, each TIP is single-use for a pre-entered amount
Service Public. A one-off mandate is valid once, for one debit of a set amount
Service Public. A recurring mandate is open-ended until revoked
Service Public, with monthly, quarterly or annual frequencies; a mandate unused for 36 months lapses
Service Public and requires a new signature
Service Public.
To block an upcoming debit, the debtor contacts the bank adviser or uses the online banking space before executionService Public. To end a mandate permanently, the debtor sends a written revocation to the creditor
Service Public, preferably by registered letter with acknowledgement citing the references on the bank statement, and also notifies the bank in writing. Stopping debits does not end the underlying contract: subscriptions must still be terminated on their terms, and sums still owed must be paid by another means.
An authorised debit already taken is contested in writing to the bankService Public, keeping proof and the date of the request, within 8 weeks of the debit
Service Public; where the payee's establishment is outside the EU or EEA the period is 70 days
Service Public, extendable by contract up to 120 days
Service Public. Beyond contestation, the debtor keeps the right to be refunded by the bank on the statutory conditions
Legifrance, with a claim within 8 weeks of the debit date
Service Public. The bank may not debit without authorisation
Service Public, and consent may be withdrawn while the debit has not occurred
Service Public. Unauthorised or wrongly executed operations must be reported promptly and no later than 13 months from the debit
Legifrance.
On cost, set-up may be chargeable depending on the account agreementService Public, and the bank's information documents must distinguish set-up fees from execution fees; opposition, revocation or rejection operations may also be billed
Service Public. No fee may be charged for revoking a SEPA mandate
Legifrance. Tariffs remain set by the account agreement.
Legal basis: Articles L133-23 to L133-27, L133-25-1 and L314-1 of the code monétaire et financier and the arrêté of 5 September 2018 on customer information on banking tariffs, as reflected in service-public.fr F20752.
Debtors setting up or ending direct debits should use a complete SEPA mandate, revoke in writing to both creditor and bank, and contest unauthorised debits within the applicable deadline.