§ 71. Late payment interest

If the purchase price (kjøpesum) or other outstanding amounts are not paid on time, late payment interest (forsinkelsesrente) must be paid under the Late Payment Interest Act (forsinkelsesrenteloven). The interest runs automatically from the due date — the seller (selger) does not need to do anything in particular to trigger it. The late payment interest rate is set by the Ministry of Finance (Finansdepartementet) twice a year.

The Sale of Goods Act (Kjøpsloven)·LOV-1988-05-13-27

Machine-translated from Norwegian. The Norwegian text is the one that applies. Read the original in Norwegian.Norsk English العربية Polski Українська

The text of the law (unofficial translation)

If the purchase price or another outstanding amount is not paid on time, the debtor shall pay interest under the Act of 17 December 1976 No. 100 relating to interest on overdue payments etc.

Source: Lovdata — Kjøpsloven (the Sale of Goods Act) § 71

What does this mean?

Late payment interest is the simplest and most effective sanction against late payment. It runs automatically — you do not need to send a reminder or give notice for the interest to apply.

When does the interest start? From the due date in the agreement or the invoice (faktura). If no due date has been agreed, it is counted as 30 days from the first reminder or invoice — but the details are in the Late Payment Interest Act.

How high is the interest? The late payment interest rate is set by the Ministry of Finance twice a year (1 January and 1 July) and is typically the policy rate + 8 percentage points. It is deliberately higher than ordinary bank interest — to push debtors to pay on time.

Applies to all outstanding amounts: Not just the principal. Also compensation (erstatning) claims, confirmed price reductions (prisavslag), and other amounts that should have been paid.

You can also claim your actual loss in addition, under §§ 27, 40 and 57. Late payment interest covers the normal interest — if you have had extra costs beyond that, you can claim them as compensation.

Between businesses (næringsdrivende), standardised compensation for collection costs can also be claimed (the Late Payment Interest Act § 3 a — typically NOK 410 per claim in 2026, but check the current rate).

Examples

Eva has bought equipment for NOK 95,000 on an invoice due 1 March. She does not pay until 1 June — three months late. The late payment interest rate for the period is 12.5% per year. Late payment interest: 95,000 × 0.125 × (90/365) ≈ NOK 2,928. Eva must pay 95,000 + 2,928 = NOK 97,928. If she is a business, the seller can also claim standardised compensation for collection costs on top of this.

Marius has cancelled a purchase (heving) and is waiting for the seller to pay back NOK 65,000. The seller drags it out for four months. Marius can claim late payment interest on the full amount for the whole period — from the day the seller received the payment, under § 65 (2).

Common mistakes

  1. Thinking you must send a reminder for the interest to run — it runs automatically from the due date
  2. Forgetting to claim the interest — sellers often "give away" thousands a year because they do not claim it
  3. Calculating the wrong interest rate — use the current rate from the Ministry of Finance
  4. Thinking the interest covers all your losses — you are also entitled to compensation beyond it

What should you do?

As seller / creditor:

As buyer (kjøper) / debtor:

Frequently asked questions

What is the late payment interest rate right now?
It changes twice a year. You can find the latest rate from the Ministry of Finance or on regjeringen.no. It is typically high — over 10% per year.
Can I claim more than the late payment interest?
Yes — if you have specific losses beyond what the interest covers. That is claimed as compensation under §§ 27, 40 or 57.
Related sections
All §§ in the Sale of Goods Act →
Questions about this section
Tools for this