Statutory interest rates · Prejudgment
2026 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 record below includes a cited statute, agency, court, or identified secondary source.
Fixed by statute (22) — a set statutory rateFormula rate (15) — indexed to a benchmark; resets periodicallySame as post-judgment (3) — same rate as after judgmentDiscretionary (7) — a court may award it; this is the rate it appliesDiscretionary cap (1) — a court may award up to the displayed ceilingCase-specific (1) — the contract or court supplies the percentage
Calculator safety review: state prejudgment calculations are temporarily withheld while eligibility, accrual, compounding, and rate-history rules are structured and validated. The reference pages remain available below.
| 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 | Alaska prejudgment interest can reach tort and unliquidated damages, but statutory exclusions, contracts, and special statutes can change entitlement or the rate. |
| 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 | Arkansas prejudgment interest — a formula rate, reset periodically. |
| California | 7% / 10% | Fixed by statute | Prejudgment interest is NOT automatic on all claims. |
| Colorado | 8% / 9% | Fixed by statute | Prejudgment interest is NOT limited to liquidated/ascertainable sums. |
| Connecticut | up to 10% | Discretionary, capped | Available only when the court finds a qualifying detention of money after it became payable. |
| D.C. | 6% | Fixed by statute | Two-track system. |
| Delaware | 8.75% | Formula rate | Delaware prejudgment interest — a formula rate, reset periodically. |
| 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% / 9.75% | Fixed by statute | A liquidated sum can use §§7-4-2 and 7-4-15; a qualifying unliquidated tort demand follows the separate §51-12-14 notice formula. |
| 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 | Illinois’s prejudgment interest rate — when a court awards it. |
| Indiana | 8% | Discretionary | Indiana prejudgment interest is discretionary — here is the rate courts apply. |
| Iowa | 6.06% | Formula rate | The general §668.13 path can include interest before judgment, but future damages, contract-rate cases, non-chapter-668 verdict interest, support obligations, and workers’ compensation use important separate rules. |
| Kansas | 10% / 5.75% | Fixed by statute | Kansas prejudgment interest — 10% general, or 5.75% for the current recent-tort branch. |
| Kentucky | up to 8% | Claim-dependent | Liquidated claims and unliquidated claims follow different entitlement rules. |
| Louisiana | 7.5% general / up to 6% government PI-WD | Claim-dependent | The applicable rate and start date depend on the claim and defendant. |
| Maine | 6.51% | Formula rate | The general civil-action path is broad, with separate small-claims and written-contract branches. |
| Maryland | 6% | Discretionary | Availability depends on claim type under the three-category common-law framework (Buxton v. |
| Massachusetts | 12% | Fixed by statute | Prejudgment interest is mandatory and added automatically by the clerk (not discretionary) once damages are awarded. |
| Michigan | 4.959% | Formula rate | The general MCL 600.6013 path runs from complaint filing, but complaint vintage, written instruments, future damages, tort settlement offers, and medical-malpractice provisions can change the treatment. |
| Minnesota | 4% / 10% | Formula rate | Minnesota prejudgment interest — 4%, or 10% on awards over $50,000. |
| Mississippi | contract rate / court-set | Case-specific | The governing contract or the judge supplies the percentage; entitlement and timing depend on the claim and order. |
| Missouri | 9% non-tort; tort rule varies | Formula rate | Prejudgment interest is NOT freely available; it is claim-type restricted. |
| Montana | 10% / 9.75% | Fixed by statute | Montana prejudgment interest — 10% for liquidated claims, 9.75% for the current tort benchmark. |
| Nebraska | 12% / 5.970% | Two statutory tracks | Nebraska uses separate liquidated-claim, listed contract-obligation, and strictly conditioned unliquidated-claim paths; Chapter 42 and specified government claims are excluded. |
| 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% / 6.5% | Same rate as post-judgment | Rule 4:42-11(b) generally directs simple prejudgment interest in tort actions, but future economic losses, exceptional-case suspension, contract claims, equitable claims, and specialized law require separate treatment. |
| New Mexico | 10% / 15% | Discretionary | (A) MATTER OF RIGHT (Sec. |
| New York | 9% | Fixed by statute | New York’s prejudgment interest rate — when a court awards it. |
| North Carolina | 8% | Fixed by statute | Prejudgment interest is claim-type-restricted, not universal. |
| North Dakota | 6% | Fixed by statute | Two distinct tracks. |
| Ohio | 7% | Same rate as post-judgment | Two distinct tracks. |
| Oklahoma | 4.13% / 6% | 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. |
| Rhode Island | 12% | Fixed by statute | Very broad but with key carve-outs. |
| South Carolina | 8.75% | Fixed by statute | LIQUIDATED / ASCERTAINABLE claims only. |
| South Dakota | 10% | Formula rate | Broad availability but with sharp claim-type carve-outs. |
| Tennessee | up to 10% | Discretionary | Tennessee prejudgment interest is discretionary — here is the rate courts apply. |
| 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% / 8.75% | Fixed by statute | Utah prejudgment interest — 10% general, 8.75% for the current personal-injury branch. |
| Vermont | 12% | Discretionary | Vermont prejudgment interest is discretionary — here is the rate courts apply. |
| Virginia | 6% | Discretionary | Virginia prejudgment interest is discretionary — here is the rate courts apply. |
| Washington | 12% | Fixed by statute | Washington’s prejudgment interest rate — when a court awards it. |
| 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 | Wyoming’s prejudgment interest rate — when a court awards 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.