Prejudgment Interest Rules in Nebraska
At a glance
| Governing law | Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 45-103.02 (the general prejudgment-interest statute) and 45-104 (a separate, independent 12% basis for four contract-type claims), per Weyh v. Gottsch, 303 Neb. 280 (2019) |
|---|---|
| Interest rate | 12% per year (§ 45-104) for liquidated claims and for the four § 45-104 contract categories; the floating post-judgment rate under § 45-103 (2 points above the 26-week Treasury bill yield, reset quarterly — 5.970% as of the July 2026 auction) for an unliquidated claim that qualifies via the settlement-offer route |
| When interest starts running | Liquidated claims: the date the cause of action arose. Unliquidated claims: the date of the plaintiff's first qualifying written settlement offer that the eventual judgment exceeds — not the date of injury or filing |
| Contract vs. tort claims | Not split by label. The same statute (§ 45-103.02) covers both; what matters is whether the claim is liquidated. Most tort/personal-injury claims are unliquidated, so they can reach interest only through the settlement-offer mechanism; a liquidated claim of either type draws 12% from the date it arose. Four specific contract-type claims get 12% under § 45-104 independent of liquidated status |
| Mandatory or discretionary | Mandatory (a matter of right) once the statutory conditions are met, for a legal (money-damages) claim; a court has discretion to award or deny interest only on an equitable claim seeking something other than money damages |
| Simple or compound | Simple interest. No Nebraska statute authorizes compounding, and the Nebraska Supreme Court has held that absent a contract or statute providing otherwise, compound interest is not allowed on a debt |
| Claims against the government | Complete bar: no prejudgment interest accrues against the state, a political subdivision, or an employee of either for a negligent or wrongful act within the scope of employment |
| Other exceptions | Chapter 42 domestic-relations actions are excluded from § 45-103.02 entirely; a contract's own agreed interest rate displaces the statutory rate; the unliquidated-claim route requires strict compliance with all four of § 45-103.02(1)'s procedural conditions or no interest accrues at all |
Requirements one by one
Liquidated and unliquidated claims use separate routes
Neb. Rev. Stat. § 45-103.02(2) sends a liquidated claim to § 45-104 and starts interest when the cause of action arose. Section 45-104 sets 12% for money due on a written instrument, a settled account, money retained for another, or money loaned or due and unreasonably withheld. Its current official annotations identify §§ 45-103.02 and 45-104 as alternate, independent routes.
An unliquidated claim needs a formal settlement offer
Section 45-103.02(1) requires a written offer served by certified mail with a return receipt, made at least ten days before trial, and filed with proof of delivery. The offer must remain unaccepted before trial or for 30 days, whichever comes first, and the judgment must exceed it. Interest then runs from the first qualifying offer until judgment at the § 45-103 rate.
The floating route currently uses 5.970%
Section 45-103 sets the rate two percentage points above the yield from the first quarterly auction of 26-week Treasury bills. The Nebraska Judicial Branch publishes 5.970% effective July 16, 2026. The 12% § 45-104 route and a valid contract rate remain separate alternatives.
Government-tort and domestic-relations claims are excluded
Section 45-103.04 blocks pre-entry interest under § 45-103.02 for Chapter 42 actions. It also blocks it for negligence or wrongful-act claims involving the state, a political subdivision, or an employee acting within the scope of public employment.
Compounding needs separate authority
The prejudgment-interest sections state annual rates but do not authorize compounding. In Abbott v. Abbott, the Nebraska Supreme Court held that compound interest cannot be computed on a debt without a contract or statute allowing it.
What trips people up
Claim labels do not choose the route. The operative distinction is whether the claim is liquidated, plus whether § 45-104 independently covers the obligation.
An ordinary settlement letter is not enough. The unliquidated route ties interest to all four service, timing, filing, and nonacceptance conditions in § 45-103.02(1).
The 12% and 5.970% figures answer different questions. Twelve percent is the § 45-104 rate; 5.970% is the currently published § 45-103 judgment rate used by a qualifying unliquidated claim.
Common questions
Does every written contract claim get 12%?
No. Section 45-104 applies when money is due on the written instrument or one of its other listed categories. A contract can also provide a different rate.
Can an unliquidated claim start interest on the injury date?
Not through § 45-103.02(1). That route starts with the plaintiff's first qualifying offer that the judgment later exceeds.
Does the public-defendant exception cover every government dispute?
No. Section 45-103.04(2) is written for negligent or wrongful acts or omissions within the public employee's scope of employment.
Statutes and sources
- Neb. Rev. Stat. § 45-103.02 — liquidated and unliquidated routes, offer conditions, and accrual dates: https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=45-103.02 (accessed 2026-08-10).
- Neb. Rev. Stat. § 45-104 — 12% and the four listed obligation types: https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=45-104 (accessed 2026-08-10).
- Neb. Rev. Stat. § 45-103 — quarterly Treasury-bill formula: https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=45-103 (accessed 2026-08-10).
- Neb. Rev. Stat. § 45-103.04 — Chapter 42 and public-defendant exceptions: https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=45-103.04 (accessed 2026-08-10).
- Abbott v. Abbott, 188 Neb. 61, 68, 195 N.W.2d 204, 209 (1972) — compound-interest rule, in the official Nebraska Reports volume: http://govdocs.nebraska.gov/epubs/S3000/B001-1972.pdf (accessed 2026-08-10).
- Nebraska Judicial Branch, Judgment Interest Rate — 5.970% effective July 16, 2026: https://nebraskajudicial.gov/rules/administrative-policies-schedules/judgment-interest-rate (accessed 2026-08-10).
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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