The statutory interest-rate almanac · Prejudgment
Prejudgment interest rates by state
The interest that accrues before a judgment is entered — for all 50 states and D.C. Unlike post-judgment interest, the rate is often the second question. The first is whether prejudgment interest applies at all: most states allow it only on liquidated or readily ascertainable amounts and bar it on unliquidated damages (like pain and suffering). Each rate below is verified against the state's own statute, agency, or high-court rule.
Fixed by statute (21) — a set statutory rateFormula rate (16) — indexed to a benchmark; resets periodicallySame as post-judgment (4) — same rate as after judgmentDiscretionary (10) — a court may award it; this is the rate it applies
→ Prejudgment interest calculator — for the 19 states + D.C. with a fixed statutory rate (the ones where the arithmetic is exact: simple interest, plus Colorado's annual compounding).
| State | Rate | Type | When it applies |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 6% | Fixed by statute | Prejudgment interest is available ONLY on liquidated / reasonably ascertainable sums. |
| Alaska | 6.75% | Formula rate | Prejudgment interest is a general remedy in Alaska and is NOT limited to liquidated or contract claims — it is recoverable on tort and unliquidated damages as compensation for loss of use… |
| Arizona | 7.75% | Formula rate | Prejudgment interest is available ONLY on LIQUIDATED / readily-ascertainable claims — a claim is liquidated if the plaintiff provides a basis for precisely calculating the amount owed. |
| Arkansas | 5.75% | Formula rate | Prejudgment interest is allowed ONLY when the amount of damages is definitely/reasonably ascertainable at the time of loss — i.e., fixed by a mathematical computation or by rules of… |
| California | 10% | Formula rate | Prejudgment interest is NOT automatic on all claims. |
| Colorado | 8% / 9% | Fixed by statute | Prejudgment interest is NOT limited to liquidated/ascertainable sums. |
| Connecticut | 10% | Discretionary | § 37-3a prejudgment interest is available ONLY as "damages for the detention of money after it becomes payable" — i.e., a LIQUIDATED or readily ascertainable sum that was wrongfully… |
| D.C. | 6% | Fixed by statute | Two-track system. (1) LIQUIDATED DEBTS — § 15-108: prejudgment interest is MANDATORY ("the judgment for the plaintiff SHALL include interest") on a liquidated debt on which interest is… |
| Delaware | 8.75% | Formula rate | Prejudgment interest under Delaware law is awarded as a MATTER OF RIGHT (not discretionary) to a prevailing plaintiff on a liquidated or ascertainable money claim, most clearly in… |
| Florida | 8.06% | Formula rate | Prejudgment interest is available ONLY on LIQUIDATED / readily ascertainable damages representing an actual out-of-pocket pecuniary loss fixed as of a date certain (Argonaut "loss theory"). |
| Georgia | 7% | Fixed by statute | Award depends entirely on claim type. LIQUIDATED demands (OCGA 7-4-15): prejudgment interest at 7% is MANDATORY, awarded as a matter of law, when the sum owed is fixed or certain by… |
| Hawaii | 10% | Discretionary | Prejudgment interest is DISCRETIONARY, not automatic. |
| Idaho | 12% | Fixed by statute | Prejudgment interest is available ONLY where the claim is liquidated OR the amount is ascertainable by a mere mathematical process. |
| Illinois | 6% / 5% | Fixed by statute | Interest Act (815 ILCS 205/2), 5%: available ONLY where the amount is LIQUIDATED or subject to easy computation — written instruments (bond, bill, promissory note), money lent/advanced,… |
| Indiana | 8% | Discretionary | CONTRACT/liquidated money claims (IC 24-4.6-1-103): prejudgment interest at 8% is available AS A MATTER OF RIGHT (not discretionary) only where damages are complete and ascertainable as of… |
| Iowa | 6.06% | Formula rate | Prejudgment interest is broadly available on money due on judgments/decrees, including both tort/comparative-fault (§ 668.13 is in the comparative fault chapter) and contract claims (via §… |
| Kansas | 10% | Fixed by statute | Prejudgment interest is available only on LIQUIDATED claims — where both the amount due and the date it became due are fixed and certain, or definitely ascertainable by mathematical… |
| Kentucky | 8% | Discretionary | LIQUIDATED / ascertainable claims (a fixed contract price, a bill or note past due, an amount due on open account, a sum "made certain or fixed by agreement or by operation of law"):… |
| Louisiana | 7.5% | Same rate as post-judgment | Louisiana is notably BROAD/permissive — prejudgment "judicial interest" is available and generally MANDATORY across claim types, unlike most states. |
| Maine | 6.51% | Formula rate | Maine is unusually broad and does NOT limit prejudgment interest to liquidated/ascertainable claims. |
| Maryland | 6% | Discretionary | Availability depends on claim type under the three-category common-law framework (Buxton v. Buxton): (1) AS OF RIGHT (mandatory) where "the obligation to pay and the amount due had become… |
| Massachusetts | 12% | Fixed by statute | Prejudgment interest is mandatory and added automatically by the clerk (not discretionary) once damages are awarded. |
| Michigan | 4.725% | Formula rate | Michigan has NO separate general prejudgment-interest statute; instead MCL 600.6013 (nominally the "interest on money judgments" statute) runs interest FROM THE DATE THE COMPLAINT IS FILED,… |
| Minnesota | 4% | Formula rate | Preverdict interest is allowed broadly on "pecuniary damages" — it is NOT limited to liquidated or contract claims and DOES apply to tort/personal-injury claims (for past pecuniary… |
| Mississippi | 8% | Discretionary | Prejudgment interest is allowed ONLY on liquidated / reasonably ascertainable amounts. |
| Missouri | 8.75% | Formula rate | Prejudgment interest is NOT freely available; it is claim-type restricted. |
| Montana | 10% | Fixed by statute | Prejudgment interest is MANDATORY (not discretionary) under MCA 27-1-211 only when three criteria are met: (1) an underlying monetary obligation exists; (2) the amount of recovery is… |
| Nebraska | 12% | Fixed by statute | Prejudgment interest is NOT freely available on all claims — Nebraska splits by claim type. |
| Nevada | 8.75% | Formula rate | Prejudgment interest in Nevada is generally limited to LIQUIDATED / readily ASCERTAINABLE sums. |
| New Hampshire | 5.7% | Formula rate | Prejudgment interest is added by statute to essentially ALL pecuniary damage awards, NOT limited to liquidated or contract claims. |
| New Jersey | 4.5% | Same rate as post-judgment | Rule 4:42-11(b) prejudgment interest is MANDATORY in TORT actions, including products liability actions ("the court shall… |
| New Mexico | 10% | Discretionary | (A) MATTER OF RIGHT (Sec. 56-8-3, up to 15%): available only when the claim is LIQUIDATED / ascertainable with reasonable certainty by a mathematical standard fixed in the contract or by… |
| New York | 9% | Fixed by statute | Prejudgment (pre-verdict) interest under CPLR 5001 is available AS OF RIGHT only for (1) breach of contract and (2) an "act or omission depriving or otherwise interfering with title to, or… |
| North Carolina | 8% | Fixed by statute | Prejudgment interest is claim-type-restricted, not universal. |
| North Dakota | 6% | Fixed by statute | Two distinct tracks. (1) MANDATORY prejudgment interest as of right under § 32-03-04 ONLY for damages that are "certain or capable of being made certain by calculation" and where the right… |
| Ohio | 7% | Same rate as post-judgment | Two distinct tracks. (1) CONTRACT / LIQUIDATED claims under ORC 1343.03(A): prejudgment interest is a matter of RIGHT (not discretionary) on money due and payable upon a written contract,… |
| Oklahoma | 4.13% | Formula rate | Sharply restricted and split across two statutes. |
| Oregon | 9% | Fixed by statute | Prejudgment interest is NOT automatically available on all claims. |
| Pennsylvania | 6% | Fixed by statute | Highly claim-type dependent. CONTRACT: prejudgment interest is awarded AS OF RIGHT only when damages are liquidated/ascertainable (e.g., a sum certain / definite invoice amount due at… |
| Rhode Island | 12% | Fixed by statute | Very broad but with key carve-outs. APPLIES to any civil action "in which a verdict is rendered or a decision made for pecuniary damages" — covers BOTH tort and contract, and both… |
| South Carolina | 8.75% | Fixed by statute | LIQUIDATED / ASCERTAINABLE claims only. Prejudgment interest is recoverable "as a matter of right" only where the amount claimed is certain or capable of being reduced to certainty (e.g.,… |
| South Dakota | 10% | Formula rate | Broad availability but with sharp claim-type carve-outs. |
| Tennessee | 10% | Discretionary | Discretionary, not mandatory — awarded "in accordance with the principles of equity." NOT limited to contract claims: available for both contract and tort/other actions, but the key… |
| Texas | 6.75% | Same rate as post-judgment | STATUTORY prejudgment interest (Tex. Fin. Code Subch. B) applies ONLY to wrongful death, personal injury, and property damage cases (Sec. 304.102). |
| Utah | 10% | Fixed by statute | General/contract cases (Track A): Utah does NOT strictly require damages to be "liquidated," but prejudgment interest attaches ONLY where the loss is complete/fixed at a definite time and… |
| Vermont | 12% | Discretionary | Prejudgment interest is awarded AS OF RIGHT (mandatory) when the principal sum recovered is liquidated or capable of ready ascertainment (e.g., established market prices, contract amounts,… |
| Virginia | 6% | Discretionary | Prejudgment interest in Virginia is DISCRETIONARY as to both whether to award it and the date it commences — § 8.01-382 says the factfinder "may provide for interest on any principal sum… |
| Washington | 12% | Fixed by statute | Prejudgment interest is available ONLY on LIQUIDATED or readily-determinable claims — those where the evidence furnishes data that makes it possible to compute the amount with exactness,… |
| West Virginia | 6.25% | Formula rate | Prejudgment interest is available ONLY on special damages and liquidated damages — NOT on general/unliquidated damages. |
| Wisconsin | 5% | Fixed by statute | Prejudgment interest is NOT available on all claims. |
| Wyoming | 7% | Fixed by statute | Prejudgment interest is available ONLY on LIQUIDATED claims — a claim that is "readily computable by basic mathematical calculation." An otherwise-unliquidated claim qualifies only if it… |
Prejudgment vs. post-judgment interest
Post-judgment interest is the (usually automatic) interest on a money judgment from the day it is entered until it is paid. Prejudgment interest reaches backwards — it compensates for the time between the loss or breach and the judgment. Because it covers a period when the amount owed was still being litigated, states hedge it with rules that post-judgment interest doesn't have:
- Liquidated vs. unliquidated. Most states allow prejudgment interest only where the amount was fixed or readily calculable (a contract sum, an invoice) — and deny it on unliquidated damages a jury has to set (pain and suffering, most general tort damages).
- Contract vs. tort. Several states grant it as of right on contract/liquidated claims but withhold it (or leave it to the jury) on tort claims.
- Discretionary in some states. A number of states leave both whether to award prejudgment interest and when it starts to the factfinder's discretion.
- Future damages & punitives. Even where allowed, many states bar prejudgment interest on future damages and on punitive damages.
See each state's page for its exact statute, accrual date, and carve-outs, and the methodology for how each rate is sourced. Reference data only — not legal advice.