Court Order Interest Rates

Last revised September 12, 2022

The Court Order Interest Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 79, provides legislative authority for the awarding of interest on pecuniary judgments.  The payment of interest on funds held in court is governed by BC Supreme Court Rule 23-4(6).The registrar of the court updates the table of interest rates every 6 months, in January and July, based on the prime lending rate of the banker to the government.  Interest rates are set as follows:

• Pre-judgment rate
  • Customarily set at 2% below the prime lending rate, however this is only a guideline.  Actual rate is set as "the court considers appropriate in the circumstances" (Court Order Interest Act, s. 1(1)).  Sometimes referred to as the "registrar's rate".
• Post judgment rate
  • Equals the prime lending rate (Court Order Interest Act, s. 7(1)).  This rate may be varied on application to the court (Court Order Interest Act, s. 8).
• Funds held in court
  • Set at 2% below the prime lending rate (Supreme Court Rule 23-4(6)).

History

Prior to 1992, court order interest rates in BC were governed in part by the federal Interest Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. I-15.  Effective March 31, 1992, exclusive authority was transferred to the province: the sections in the federal act pertaining to British Columbia were repealed (by the Miscellaneous Statute Law Amendment Act, 1991, S.C. 1992, c. 1, s. 146 & Schedule IX, item 26) and the BC Court Order Interest Act was amended accordingly (see the Court Order Interest Amendment Act, 1982, S.B.C. 1982, c. 47).

Court order interest rates can be found on:

• the Courts of British Columbia website
• in the British Columbia Annual Practice