Prejudgment Interest Rules in Colorado

At a glance

Requirements one by one

Governing law and rate

C.R.S. § 5-12-102 begins, “Except as provided in section 13-21-101,” separating the general money-or-property rule from the personal-injury tort rule. C.R.S. § 13-21-101(1)-(4) sets the personal-injury framework; subsection (1) sets 9% annual interest on qualifying personal-injury damages. Section 5-12-102(1)(b) sets 8% annually when no different rate is agreed, while subsection (1)(a) offers an election based on the actual gain or benefit from wrongfully withholding money or property.

When interest starts running

For modern personal-injury actions, § 13-21-101(1) lets a plaintiff claim interest in the complaint from “the date the action accrued.” Under § 5-12-102(1), the start is wrongful withholding or the date an amount became due; that subsection stops its calculation at payment or entry of judgment, whichever occurs first. If $10,000 becomes due and remains unpaid for a year under the 8% measure, one year’s interest is $800 before compounding affects a later year.

Contract and tort claims

Section 5-12-102(2) expressly names bills, bonds, promissory notes, other written instruments, and settled accounts. Subsection (3) says interest under subsection (1) is allowed “even if the amount is unliquidated at the time of wrongful withholding or at the time when due.” The separate personal-injury provision also covers fatal injuries caused by a tort.

Mandatory award and compounding

When the personal-injury plaintiff claims interest, § 13-21-101(1) says “it is the duty of the court” to add it. Section 5-12-102(1) says qualifying creditors “shall receive interest.” Both sections specify annual compounding, but § 13-21-101(1) expressly calculates compounding from the date suit was filed for actions filed since July 1, 1979, even where the plaintiff may claim interest from earlier claim accrual.

Government claims

The Colorado Governmental Immunity Act, C.R.S. § 24-10-101, names this framework. Section 24-10-106(1) immunizes a public entity from injury claims that “lie in tort or could lie in tort,” subject to its listed waivers, including specified vehicle operations and dangerous public buildings. C.R.S. § 24-10-114(1) limits recovery under that act and directs the Secretary of State to adjust the figures every four years. The certified limits for claims accruing January 1, 2026, through December 31, 2029, are $505,000 per person and $1,421,000 per occurrence, with no person receiving more than $505,000 under the latter limit.

What trips people up

The 8% rule applies only when § 5-12-102’s conditions are met. The separate medical-debt ceiling is 3% under § 5-12-102(5). An amendment effective August 12, 2026, added a requirement that the administrator issue rules or guidance on applying that ceiling to consumer credit transactions for medical debt by December 31, 2026.

The official annotation to § 5-12-102 quotes Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. v. Holmes, 193 P.3d 821 (Colo. 2008): wrongful withholding of replacement costs starts when the claimant actually incurs the replacement expense. A future repair estimate alone does not establish that start date.

An appeal by the judgment debtor changes the postjudgment calculation for a personal-injury judgment. Section 13-21-101(1), (3) substitutes an annually certified rate from the judgment date; this does not change the 9% prejudgment rate.

Common questions

Does an unliquidated amount qualify? Section 5-12-102(3) expressly allows interest under subsection (1) even if the amount was unliquidated when withheld or due.

Does a contract rate matter? Yes. Section 5-12-102(1)-(2) applies its stated measures when there is no agreement as to the rate.

Statutes and sources

• C.R.S. § 5-12-102(1)-(3), (5), current official 2026 Title 5 text, accessed 2026-10-06: https://olls.info/crs/crs2026-title-05.htm
• C.R.S. § 13-21-101(1), (3), current official 2026 Title 13 text, accessed 2026-10-06: https://olls.info/crs/crs2026-title-13.htm
• C.R.S. §§ 24-10-106(1), 24-10-114(1), current official 2026 Title 24 text, accessed 2026-10-06: https://olls.info/crs/crs2026-title-24.htm
• C.R.S. § 24-10-101 and Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. v. Holmes annotation, official 2026 Title 24 and Title 5 text, accessed 2026-10-06: https://olls.info/crs/crs2026-title-24.htm
• Colorado Secretary of State, certified C.R.S. § 24-10-114 limits, accessed 2026-10-06: https://www.sos.state.co.us/pubs/info_center/files/LimitationsOnJudgments.pdf