What is a country?
A country in Debitura represents a sovereign nation. Each country stores:
Name and ISO codes - two-letter and three-letter codes, phone code, and other identifiers.
Region - continent, sub-region, and whether the country is part of the EU.
Currency and tax - the default currency and standard VAT rate.
Country-level data is used for pricing, partner matching, and display throughout the platform.
What is a jurisdiction?
A jurisdiction is a specific legal territory within a country where a case is handled. In some countries, laws are uniform nationwide and the jurisdiction covers the entire country. In others (for example, U.S. states), each state or province is a separate jurisdiction with its own debt collection rules.
Key jurisdiction fields:
Small claims limit - the maximum claim size for small-claims court in that jurisdiction.
Default flag - marks the primary jurisdiction for a country (used when only one jurisdiction applies).
Statute of limitations - Every debt has a legal time limit for collection, known as the statute of limitations (or "limitation period"; in many civil-law systems this falls under the concept of "prescription").
When you create a case, the jurisdiction you select determines the legal context and which collection partner can handle the case.
Why Debitura uses both
Debt collection laws often vary within a single country. By separating countries and jurisdictions, Debitura can apply national settings (such as currency) at the country level while respecting local rules (such as different small-claims limits) at the jurisdiction level. This two-tier structure covers 183 jurisdictions across more than 100 countries.
For a cross-segment explanation of how countries and jurisdictions work across the platform, see Countries & jurisdictions (Core Concepts).
How jurisdiction affects partner matching
When you create a case, Debitura automatically matches it to a local collection partner using four parameters:
Parameter | What it checks |
Jurisdiction | The legal territory where the debtor is located |
Claim amount | Whether the amount falls within the partner's accepted range |
Currency | Used for conversion before comparing against partner thresholds |
Debtor type | Whether the debtor is a company (B2B) or individual (B2C) |
If a matching partner is found, the case is assigned automatically. If no partner matches, the case is sent to the legal network for competitive quotes instead. For more detail on how assignment works, see How Debitura assigns a local partner.
What happens when there is no coverage
Partner coverage gaps can occur for two reasons:
No partner operates in that jurisdiction - Debitura does not yet have a pre-legal collection partner for the area.
Partner requirements are not met - Partners exist in the jurisdiction but have specific criteria (such as minimum case amounts, B2B only, or industry restrictions) that your case does not satisfy.
When this happens during case creation, the platform shows a message explaining that no local partner is available under standard terms and offers competitive quotes from the legal network instead. You can still submit the case or choose not to proceed.
If you encounter a coverage gap, see I don't have partner coverage in a country for troubleshooting steps.
Pricing regions: European vs International
For success fee pricing, countries are categorised into two pricing regions. This categorisation is separate from geographic continents, political regions, or EU membership.
European pricing region: all EU member countries, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway (EEA/EFTA), the United Kingdom, and Switzerland.
International pricing region: all other countries worldwide.
European cases qualify for lower success fee rates due to similar legal frameworks across these countries. The pricing region categorisation is defined in the Standard Debt Collection Agreement (SDCA).
If anything in this page conflicts with the Standard Debt Collection Agreement (SDCA), the SDCA is the legally binding source of truth.
Where to find this in the platform
You can see jurisdiction information for each of your cases in your Cases list. When creating a new case via the Create Case form, coverage availability is checked automatically based on the debtor's location.
You can also get an overview on the contracts page.