Past due notice: 3 letter templates and when to send them
2026-10-09 · 9 min read
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It's Tuesday, and you're looking at the same customer for the third month running. A property manager, say, or a general contractor you've done four jobs for. Three invoices are open. You've sent the reminder emails, and the person you've been writing to answers every other message about the work but never about the bills. Somewhere in that company is a person who actually cuts the checks, and that person has never heard from you.
That is when to send a past due notice. It's a formal letter on your letterhead that lists everything owed, how late each item is, what you're asking for, and by when. Below are three past due notice templates (a first notice, a second notice and a final notice), plus what every one should include and how to send it so it reaches the right desk.
When to send a past due notice instead of another email
Send a past due notice when email has stopped working. That usually means one of four things:
- The reminder emails went unanswered. If you've already run a sequence like the overdue invoice email steps and a month has gone by, a fifth email will get the same silence as the first four.
- The customer is a business. Commercial customers often pay through an accounts payable person or department, and a letter addressed there reaches whoever pays without your project contact having to forward anything.
- More than one invoice is open. A notice puts all of them on one page with a single total, which is harder to set aside than three separate threads.
- Your agreement says notices go in writing. Some contracts name an address for formal notices. If yours does, use it.
The spacing below is a common one. Change it to fit your payment terms.
| Notice | When | Tone | How to send it |
|---|---|---|---|
| First past due notice | About 30 days past due, after the reminder emails | Factual, assumes a mix-up | Mailed letter, plus a PDF by email |
| Second past due notice | About 45 days past due | Firm, asks for a call | Mailed letter, plus a PDF by email |
| Final notice | About 60 days past due, on the date you choose | Formal, states the next step | Mailed with proof of mailing, plus a PDF by email |
What every past due notice should include
A past due notice should answer every question the person paying might have, so nobody has to email you before they can act. Put these on the page:
- Your business name, address, phone and the person to contact about billing
- The date of the notice
- The customer's legal business name and billing address, marked "Attention: Accounts Payable" when that applies
- An account or customer number, if you use one
- Each open invoice, with its number, invoice date, due date, amount, any payment received and the remaining balance
- The total balance due
- How to pay: a pay link, and the payee name and mailing address for a check
- The date you want payment by
- A line inviting them to tell you if something on the account looks wrong
The invoice list works best as a small statement of account. Something like this:
| Invoice | Invoice date | Due date | Amount | Paid | Balance | Days past due |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [#] | [date] | [date] | [amount] | [amount] | [balance] | [days] |
| [#] | [date] | [date] | [amount] | [amount] | [balance] | [days] |
| Total due | [total] |
Past due notice templates
Swap the bracketed parts for your own details. Each letter assumes the statement of account above goes in the middle.
1. First past due notice
[Your business letterhead]
[Date]
[Customer legal name] Attention: Accounts Payable [Billing address]
Re: Past due notice, account [#]
Dear [Name or Accounts Payable],
Our records show the invoices below are past due. Reminders went to [contact name] on [dates], and we have not yet received payment.
[Statement of account]
Please pay the total of [amount] by [date, about 10 days out]. You can pay online at [pay link] or mail a check payable to [legal business name] at [address].
If payment has already been sent, thank you, and please disregard this notice. If anything on this statement does not match your records, call me at [phone] or email [email] and I will sort it out.
Sincerely, [Your name], [Title] [Business]
The first notice gives them room to blame the mix-up on paperwork. A lot of the time that's what happened: the invoices were sent to someone who doesn't handle payables, and they're sitting in a forwarded email nobody opened.
2. Second past due notice
[Your business letterhead]
[Date]
[Customer legal name] Attention: Accounts Payable [Billing address]
Re: Second past due notice, account [#]
Dear [Name],
We sent a past due notice on [date] for the invoices listed below, and the balance is still open.
[Statement of account]
Please pay [amount] by [date] at [pay link], or call me at [phone] before that date so we can agree on when it will be paid. If paying the full balance at once is a problem, I'm open to talking through a payment schedule.
Sincerely, [Your name], [Title] [Business]
The second notice asks for a call because by now you need to know what's actually going on. Maybe it's money, maybe it's a dispute nobody has said out loud, or maybe your invoices have been going to the wrong address all along. Each of those needs a different fix, and a letter can't tell you which one you've got.
3. Final past due notice
[Your business letterhead]
[Date]
[Customer legal name] Attention: Accounts Payable [Billing address]
Re: Final notice, account [#]
Dear [Name],
This is a final notice for the balance below. Earlier notices were sent on [dates], and we have not received payment or heard from you about it.
[Statement of account]
Please pay the full balance of [amount] by [date]. If payment is not received by then, we will [the step you will actually take, for example: pause further work on your account / apply the late charge in our agreement dated [date] / refer the balance to a collections service].
If you believe this notice is in error, contact me at [phone] or [email] before [date].
Sincerely, [Your name], [Title] [Business]
Only name a step you're really going to take. If the date passes and nothing happens, the customer learns your deadlines don't mean much.
Before you put a late charge, interest, a collections referral or a lien in writing, read your contract and check the rules where you do business. What you can charge, and how you have to tell the customer, depends on your agreement and your state. If a lien is a possibility, talk to your attorney well before this letter, because the timing matters. I'm not giving legal advice here, and these templates don't replace it.
Mail it, email it, or both
Do both. The paper letter gets to accounts payable, and some offices still treat mail as the formal channel. A PDF of the same letter, emailed to your contact and to any billing address you have, gives the customer a pay link to click and gives you a record of when it went out.
Keep a copy of every notice and write down the date you sent it. If the account ever goes to collections or to court, you'll be glad you can show exactly what you sent and when.
What a system can take off your desk
Assembling these letters is mostly clerical work. Someone has to pull the open invoices, add up the balance, fill in the dates, save a PDF, address an envelope and note when it went out. That's why notices tend to go out late or not at all, and every week they wait makes the balance harder to collect.
An automated setup handles that part. It reads due dates and payments from your invoicing software. When an account crosses the 30, 45 or 60 day mark, it fills in the right template with the current statement of account and drops a draft into your queue for review. Once you approve it, it emails the PDF and logs the date. When a payment arrives, the account comes off the list. When the customer replies, the thread goes to you and the next notice waits. On Monday morning you get one short list of every account and its stage. I build these on top of the tools a business already uses. More on that on the business automation page.
What stays with you
Every notice goes out under your name, so a person reads it before it leaves. I let software draft the letter. I don't let it decide to send one.
The judgment calls stay with you too. You decide whether a customer who has paid on time for years gets a phone call instead of a second notice, whether to offer a payment plan and on what terms, and whether a short payment on one invoice is really a complaint about the job. If someone writes back with a problem with the work, a letter isn't the answer. Pick up the phone.
The final notice is yours start to finish. It can end a customer relationship, so the date and the next step are your call, and your signature goes on it.
Questions
What is a past due notice?
A past due notice is a formal letter telling a customer that one or more invoices are unpaid after their due date. It lists each invoice, the total balance and a deadline, and explains how to pay.
What is the difference between a past due notice and a final notice?
A past due notice asks for payment and leaves room for a mix-up. A final notice is the last one you send. It gives a firm date and says what you will do if the balance is still open after it.
Should a past due notice be mailed or emailed?
Both, when you can. Mail it to the billing address (to accounts payable for a business customer) and email the same letter as a PDF so they have a pay link and you have a record.
Can I add a late fee to a past due notice?
Only if your agreement with the customer allows it and only in the way your state permits. Check with your accountant or attorney before you add one.
If you'd rather have the notices drafted for you and waiting for your signature at each stage, I can set that up. Start with the free 20 minute process audit.