Legal action to force the debtor to meet his or her payment obligations. Anybody may instigate debt collection procedures at the debt enforcement office at the domicile of the debtor. There are three types of debt enforcement procedure: debt enforcement by seizure, debt enforcement by realization of pledged assets and debt enforcement by bankruptcy proceedings. The procedure applied depends on the debt in question and whether or not the debtor is entered in the commercial register. The debt enforcement office reviews the circumstances and decides on the correct type of debt enforcement procedure on receipt of the appropriate application.