§ 3. When the limitation period starts to run

§ 3 answers the most important practical question in limitation (foreldelse): when does the clock start ticking? It does not help to know that the period is 3 years under § 2 if you do not know which date to count from.

The main rule is simple: the period starts on the earliest day you can demand performance. Performance means that the other party does what they are supposed to do. Pays money. Delivers the goods. Does the work. Fixes the fault. If you are entitled to payment on 1 June, the period normally starts on 1 June. If payment can only be demanded on 1 September, the period normally starts on 1 September.

This is important because many people count wrongly. Some count from the date of the agreement. Others count from the invoice (faktura) date. Others count from the day they first got annoyed. The correct date is usually the earliest day the claim (krav) could be demanded. For an invoice, this is often the due date. For a loan, it is often the agreed repayment date. For a claim without an agreed due date, it can be more complicated, because in some cases the claim can be demanded immediately.

The second paragraph concerns breach of contract. Breach of contract means that someone does not do what they are supposed to under the agreement. They do not pay. Do not deliver. Deliver too late. Deliver the wrong thing. In that case, the limitation period for claims arising from breach of contract starts on the day the breach occurs.

The third paragraph concerns situations where you can cancel the agreement or demand earlier payment because something has happened. Here the law says that the period for claims based on this only starts when you notify the debtor that you are invoking the ground for cancellation or the ground for the claim falling due. If you do not invoke it, the period is calculated from the ordinary due date. This is a more technical rule, but in practice it means that you must say so if you want to base your claim on the agreement being cancelled earlier or payment being made earlier.

The fourth paragraph concerns guarantees. If the seller or a previous link in the chain has given a guarantee and taken on liability, the period for claims under the guarantee starts when the buyer gives notice of the circumstance the claim is based on. But the period starts at the latest when the guarantee expires. The same applies when a service provider has guaranteed the result of an assignment.

When does the period start on an unpaid invoice?

For an ordinary invoice, the period usually starts on the due date. If the invoice is to be paid on 15 October 2026, that is normally the date you count from. An ordinary 3-year period under § 2 will then normally expire on 15 October 2029, if the period is not interrupted.

But you must be precise. If the invoice has the wrong due date, or there is another agreement on the time for payment, the assessment may be different. It is the agreement and the claim that decide, not just what it says in the accounting system.

This also means that payment reminders (purring) do not restart the period. If you send a payment reminder on 1 December, that does not automatically mean you get 3 new years from 1 December. You need an actual interruption of the limitation period (fristavbrudd). This can be an acknowledgement of the claim (erkjennelse) under § 14 or legal action (rettslige skritt) under § 15.

When does the period start in the case of breach of contract?

In the case of breach of contract, the period starts from the breach. If someone was supposed to deliver goods on 1 April and does not deliver, the breach occurs then. If someone delivers a service with a defect (mangel), the period can start when the defect exists. Here you often have to distinguish between several types of claim.

For example, you may be entitled to a price reduction (prisavslag), compensation (erstatning), correction or cancellation of the contract (heving). These claims can be assessed differently. Some claims are based directly on the agreement having been breached. Other claims are based on you later giving notice or cancelling. That is why § 3 is important, but it often has to be read together with the agreement and the rules for the type of case in question.

A common mistake is to believe that the period only starts when you yourself discover the fault. That is not always true. For some claims there are additional rules, in particular § 10 on lack of knowledge. But the main rule in § 3 is not "when you discovered it". The main rule is when the claim could first be demanded, or when the breach of contract occurred.

What happens if you get it wrong?

If you count from the wrong date, you may believe you have more time than you actually have. That is the dangerous mistake. You may have documentation, an agreement, an invoice and messages, and still have lost the claim because the period expired earlier than you thought.

This often happens with old invoices. The person who has the claim looks at the last payment reminder and thinks the period runs from that. But the period may have started long before. If no action interrupting the limitation period has taken place, the claim may be time-barred (foreldet).

It also happens with guarantees. People call the shop, get verbal answers and wait. Later it becomes difficult to prove when they gave notice. Written notice is therefore absolutely essential.

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Find the earliest date the claim could be demanded. Write it down. Calculate the period from that date, not from when you last sent a message. If the case concerns breach of contract, find the date the breach occurred. If the case concerns a guarantee, find the date you gave notice and the date the guarantee expires.

Send important notices in writing. Use clear words. Write what you are claiming, why you are claiming it, and which agreement or guarantee you are referring to. Save everything.

If the deadline is approaching, do not rely on dialogue alone. Get a clear acknowledgement of the claim, or take legal action that interrupts the limitation.