forsinkelsesrenter

Forsinkelsesrente, or late payment interest, is the statutory interest charged on overdue monetary obligations under Norwegian law. It serves to compensate creditors for the delay in payment and to encourage timely settlements. The rules are set out in the Forsinkelsesrenteloven, and in the absence of an agreed rate, the statutory rate applies to money claims governed by Norwegian law. The rate is periodically updated by the government and is often linked to the central bank’s reference rate.

Interest on forsinkelsesrente accrues on the overdue amount from the day after the due date, or from the date a reminder is sent, and continues until payment is made. It is typically expressed as an annual rate and calculated on the outstanding principal, commonly on a simple basis with daily accrual and settlement of the accumulated amount.

Parties to a contract may agree on a higher or lower interest rate for late payments, but the statutory rate acts as a baseline in many contexts. The purpose of allowing contractual variation is to reflect the parties’ different risk and market conditions, while the statutory rate provides a standard remedy when no agreement exists.

Forsinkelsesrente applies across a wide range of monetary obligations, including business-to-business and consumer transactions, and, in many cases, is applicable to payments to public authorities as well, subject to any specific statutory rules or contractual exclusions. Practically, it creates an incentive to pay on time and a predictable basis for creditors to recover losses due to delayed payment.