Paying a confiscation order and documenting ability to pay

Read what has been established and which document you will now receive

Start with the court decision and the letter from the CJIB. Is it a confiscation measure, a confiscation settlement or a foreign confiscation decision? The CJIB describes these different execution routes. Do not assume that every money letter following a criminal case has the same basis. Note the case number, amount imposed, the date of the decision and what is known about enforceability. If there is any doubt about an open legal remedy, this must be discussed immediately; a payment discussion does not automatically reopen the original procedure.

This in-depth focus is on the implementation of a fixed amount. The guide to a confiscation claim after fraud addresses the earlier assessment phase in that context. Therefore, keep a substantive difference between the old calculation and a current payment request in separate columns. This prevents a request for lower monthly installments from being treated as if it were an appeal against the judgment, or from a real legal question about the amount remaining unclear between statements and household charges.

Check payments and recoveries before calculating

Ask what balance is outstanding on a specific date and how previous payments or amounts recovered have been processed. Save bank statements with the correct payment details and any attachment statements. An item taken previously does not automatically mean that the estimated value has already been fully recorded as payment. Make it clear what has been sold, what amount has been settled and what costs or other claims play a role. A good overview starts with confirmed items, not with the assumption that everything ever seized has reduced the balance.

Compare the balance with your own administration and highlight differences specifically. For example, write which payment was made on which date under which reference and where it is missing in the overview. A general statement that you have already paid a lot is more difficult to investigate. Do not mix a payment for a fine or compensation measure with a confiscation payment. If multiple claims run concurrently, create a separate line for each claim. This allows the relevant authority to check whether money has ended up in the correct file.

Request a confirmed appointment that corresponds to the correct measure

The CJIB lists its own contact route for installment payment for confiscation measures. An arrangement is sometimes possible, but does not automatically follow from sending your own proposal. Ask what information is needed, who decides and when you will receive written confirmation. Use the case and payment reference of the measure. A general online arrangement for another letter does not automatically apply. The guide on payment arrangements for criminal fines concerns a different sanction; do not automatically transfer its conditions to a confiscation measure.

A feasible proposal states an amount, starting time and a substantiated expected term. If the income is uncertain, explain what information has already been established and when a change is expected. Don't invent a future job to make the plan sound, but don't present every possibility as ruled out without substantiation. Ask what applies while the request is still being assessed and do not unilaterally change an existing agreement. A submitted request is not confirmation that collection has been stopped or that a previously agreed due date has expired.

Use a period that shows the actual pattern

One month's pay slip may provide an incomplete picture when hours, allowances or benefits change. Collect a representative current period and identify abnormal items. Self-employed work involves a distinction between turnover, costs and disposable private income. A high receipt on a business account does not automatically mean that you can spend it freely, but a self-chosen private withdrawal does not show the full capacity either. If necessary, have an accountant or debt counselor help you make the documents understandable, without replacing the original administration with an unverifiable total.

Also note income that has not yet been finalized, with the source and the degree of certainty. A requested benefit is different from an awarded payment. A variable assignment cannot be read as a fixed monthly income without explanation. The value of this precision is practical: a scheme that relies on an occasional peak can quickly get stuck, while a scheme that conceals structural income is insufficiently reliable. Show the receiving agency how you get from source documents to the proposed monthly amount.

Necessary expenses require amounts and underlying documents

Provide insight into the fixed and necessary costs per period. Think of housing, energy, care, transport and maintenance obligations, with a clear division if costs are shared. A joint household requires an explanation about who actually pays which part. Avoid double counting, for example a monthly amount that is included in both fixed costs and a debt settlement. An understandable budget shows a third party what expenses exist, what the basis is and what part is paid from your disposable income.

Not every desired expenditure is automatically given legal priority over the measure. Therefore, present the budget as information for assessment and not as a unilaterally determined exemption. If a charge is particularly high, add the relevant explanation. A medical or family need may contain sensitive data; ask what substantiation is needed and how it can be provided safely. Do not share a complete medical file without a purpose. The file must declare capacity and not collect as much private information as possible in the hope that size will convince.

A monthly deficit does not tell everything about capacity

In addition to income, assets, claims and other asset data may be relevant. Distinguish between an estimate, a demonstrable value and an actual available amount. Also mention ownership shares and restrictions that appear from documents. The mere fact that something is not immediately deposited into your checking account does not automatically make it irrelevant. Conversely, the name on a document does not always mean that a full amount is available for payment without investigation. Have the legal significance of such data assessed based on the specific law and the factual situation.

Do not hide or shift an asset to make a request appear more favorable. This undermines a reliable assessment and can cause other problems. Rather, collect the original overview and formulate which question is still open. In the event of a convergence of debts, it is also important which agreements exist and which authority acts for what. A debt relief program and the implementation of a confiscation measure do not automatically have identical consequences. Let an advisor see the whole thing so that a proposal for one obligation does not rely on money already included in another confirmed arrangement.

Reduction by the court is its own legal route

Article 6:6:26 of the Code of Criminal Procedure provides a judicial route for, among other things, reduction or remission of the payment obligation. That is different from agreeing terms with CJIB. A motivated request requires legally appropriate substantiation. In ECLI:NL:RBNHO:2026:946, the court emphasized the importance of evidence about both current and future capacity. The person concerned had not sufficiently substantiated that there was permanent inability to pay; the request was rejected.

This decision does not provide a general rule that someone who can pay a small amount will never be eligible for a reduction. It shows why only a current short month may be insufficient for a more far-reaching request. Discuss changes, earning opportunities and limitations with their concrete sources. A question about limitation or enforceability also requires its own legal analysis; in the case mentioned, CJIB and OM differed and the judge ruled that it could still be executed. Do not draw an independent conclusion from one letter or one old date that you no longer owe anything.

Failure to pay has consequences other than a confirmed impossibility

CJIB describes that in the absence of payment, further collection and ultimately a request for deprivation of liberty as a means of coercion due to non-payment may arise. This deprivation of liberty does not constitute payment of the amount; the payment obligation does not disappear automatically. Discuss any summons or notice immediately with a lawyer. Have it assessed which procedure applies, which financial information is required and which legal conditions must be assessed. A request for a settlement that has already been sent does not mean that a separate summons can remain without a response.

Our analysis: a file must be able to show the difference between unwillingness, temporary shortage and a more far-reaching structural impossibility, without you determining the legal outcome yourself. This requires consistent and up-to-date information. Report a change in income or expenses in a timely manner and save previous versions so that it remains visible why a proposed amount changed. A series of varying individual proposals without explanation makes this more difficult. Legal aid can help to present the appropriate question at the right time, instead of only reacting when a freedom-restricting step is announced.

Fictional example: a lower income does not automatically change the agreement

In a fictitious case, Omar pays monthly according to a confirmed arrangement. After losing an assignment, his income drops. He reduces the payment himself without notice and thinks that the bank statements will explain why later. Only a shortfall in the agreement may then be visible to the implementing agency. A more careful preparation starts with a current income overview, the completed assignment, necessary expenses and a specific request for the next period. Omar asks what applies during the assessment and saves the answer.

If the reduction appears to be long-term, he will also discuss with a lawyer whether a court request is appropriate. This requires more than the difference between two monthly amounts: the expected development and the underlying limitations also require explanation. The example does not promise a new arrangement or remission. It makes it clear that the same financial change can raise two different questions, namely how payment can now be made and whether a more far-reaching change in the payment obligation is legally appropriate. Both questions deserve their own confirmed outcome.

Create a budget that can be calculated back

A capacity statement states the period, source documents and principles used. Do not conflate actual amounts and expectations invisibly. Have an advisor check what is available and what change you report. Save the state next to the court decision, the current balance and the existing arrangement. This allows a payment conversation or legal request to focus on the real financial situation, instead of first having to reconstruct conflicting amounts from separate emails. Update the state if new data changes the assumptions used.

• Basis: measure, case number, established amount and feasibility information.
• Balance: reference date, payments, seizure proceeds and unexplained differences.
• Income: representative period, amounts received and expected changes.
• Expenses: necessary items, underlying documents and actual own share.
• Assets: assets, claims, ownership relationships and limitations.
• Debts: other obligations, confirmed arrangements and assistance involved.
• Question: payment proposal or court request, desired period and confirmation received.