Wash. Rev. Code » Title 19 · Chapter 19.52
Revised Code of Washington

Wash. Rev. Code § 19.52.020 (2026)

✓ current as of May 2026
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section WA-LEGapp.leg.wa.gov JustiaTitle on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar
(1) Except as provided in subsection (4) of this section, any rate of interest shall be legal so long as the rate of interest does not exceed the higher of: (a) Twelve percent per annum; or (b) four percentage points above the equivalent coupon issue yield (as published by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System) of the average bill rate for twenty-six week treasury bills as determined at the first bill market auction conducted during the calendar month immediately preceding the later of (i) the establishment of the interest rate by written agreement of the parties to the contract, or (ii) any adjustment in the interest rate in the case of a written agreement permitting an adjustment in the interest rate. No person shall directly or indirectly take or receive in money, goods, or things in action, or in any other way, any greater interest for the loan or forbearance of any money, goods, or things in action.
(2)(a) In any loan of money in which the funds advanced do not exceed the sum of five hundred dollars, a setup charge may be charged and collected by the lender, and such setup charge shall not be considered interest hereunder.
(b) The setup charge shall not exceed four percent of the amount of funds advanced, or fifteen dollars, whichever is the lesser, except that on loans of under one hundred dollars a minimum not exceeding four dollars may be so charged.
(3) Any loan made pursuant to a commitment to lend at an interest rate permitted at the time the commitment is made shall not be usurious. Credit extended pursuant to an open-end credit agreement upon which interest is computed on the basis of a balance or balances outstanding during a billing cycle shall not be usurious if on any one day during the billing cycle the rate at which interest is charged for the billing cycle is not usurious.
(4)(a) Prejudgment interest charged or collected on medical debt, as defined in RCW 19.16.100, must not exceed nine percent.
(b) For any medical debt for which prejudgment interest has accrued or may be accruing as of July 28, 2019, no prejudgment interest in excess of nine percent shall accrue thereafter.
[ 2019 c 227 s 6; 1989 c 14 s 3; 1985 c 224 s 1; 1981 c 78 s 1; 1967 ex.s. c 23 s 4; 1899 c 80 s 2; RRS s 7300. Prior: 1895 c 136 s 2; 1893 c 20 s 3; Code 1881 s 2369; 1863 p 433 s 2; 1854 p 380 s 2.]

Notes:

Effective date—1985 c 224: "This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, and safety, the support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and shall take effect July 1, 1985." [ 1985 c 224 s 2.]
Severability—1981 c 78: "If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected." [ 1981 c 78 s 7.]
Severability—Savings—1967 ex.s. c 23: See notes following RCW 19.52.005.
Interest on judgments: RCW 4.56.110.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 133 cases (21 in the last 5 years), 1963–2026 · leading case: O'Brien v. Shearson Hayden Stone, Inc., 586 P.2d 830 (Wash. 1978).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
O'Brien v. Shearson Hayden Stone, Inc., 586 P.2d 830 (Wash. 1978). · cites it 8× “RCW 19.52.020 provides that 12 percent is the maximum "for the loan or forbearance of any money".”
TJ Landco, LLC v. Harley C. Douglass, Inc., 346 P.3d 777 (Wash. Ct. App. 2015). · cites it 4× “3 The relevant provisions relate: Interest on judgments shall accrue as follows: (1) Judgments founded on written contracts, providing for the payment of interest until paid at a specified rate, shall bear interest at the rate specified in the contracts: PROVIDED, That said…”
Sintra, Inc. v. City of Seattle, 935 P.2d 555 (Wash. 1997). · cites it 3× “The statute applies to eminent domain proceedings and specifically incorporates the interest rate of RCW 19.52.020, which is 12 percent per annum.”
Woo v. Fireman's Fund Ins. Co., 208 P.3d 557 (Wash. Ct. App. 2009). · cites it 4× “(4) Except as provided under subsections (1), (2), and (3) of this section, judgments shall bear interest from the date of entry at the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020 on the date of entry thereof.”
Sintra, Inc. v. City of Seattle, 131 Wash. 2d 640 (Wash. 1997). · cites it 3× “Courts, in awarding just compensation, must be guided by equitable principles and the measure of such compensation will vary with the facts. See Lange, 86 Wn.2d at 590 . However, the court, in determining the award of interest as part of the award of just compensation, is guided…”
Matter of Marriage of Knight, 800 P.2d 71 (Wash. Ct. App. 1994). · cites it 3× “110 provides: Interest on judgments shall accrue as follows: (3) Except as provided under subsections (1) and (2) of this section, judgments shall bear interest from the date of entry at the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020 on the date of entry thereof!.”
Topline Equip., Inc. v. Stan Witty Land, Inc., 639 P.2d 825 (Wash. Ct. App. 1982). · cites it 4× “030 applied only where the rate of interest charged was greater than the 12 percent maximum set forth in RCW 19.52.020. 5 Our disposition of this matter is controlled by the following proviso to RCW 19.”
Deep Water Brewing v. Fairway Resources Ltd., 215 P.3d 990 (Wash. Ct. App. 2009). · cites it 2× “(4) Except as provided under subsections (1), (2), and (3) of this section, judgments shall bear interest from the date of entry at the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020 on the date of entry thereof.”
Deep Water Brewing, LLC v. Fairway Resources Ltd., 152 Wash. App. 229 (Wash. Ct. App. 2009). · cites it 2× “(4) Except as provided under subsections (1), (2), and (3) of this section, judgments shall bear interest from the date of entry at the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020 on the date of entry thereof.”
Nat'l Bank of Com. v. Thomsen, 495 P.2d 332 (Wash. 1972). · cites it 6× “(RCW 19.52.020.) This court discussed that statute, which provided: Any rate of interest not exceeding twelve (12) per centum per annum agreed to in writing by the parties to the contract, shall be legal, and no person shall directly or indirectly take or receive in money,…”
Woo v. Fireman's Fund Ins., 208 P.3d 557 (Wash. Ct. App. 2009). · cites it 3× “(4) Except as provided under subsections (1), (2), and (3) of this section, judgments shall bear interest from the date of entry at the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020 on the date of entry thereof.”
Donohue v. Quick Collect, Inc., 592 F.3d 1027 (9th Cir. 2010). “” Wash. Rev. Code § 19.52.020 . Donohue calculates that the Nielsen Demand Letter sought an interest payment of $35.”
Show all 133 citing cases →
— Wash. Rev. Code § 19.52.020(1) — 35 cases
TJ Landco, LLC v. Harley C. Douglass, Inc., 346 P.3d 777 (Wash. Ct. App. 2015). “3 The relevant provisions relate: Interest on judgments shall accrue as follows: (1) Judgments founded on written contracts, providing for the payment of interest until paid at a specified rate, shall bear interest at the rate specified in the contracts: PROVIDED, That said…”
Schmidt v. Cornerstone Investments, Inc., 795 P.2d 1143 (Wash. 1990).
Stevens v. Brink's Home Sec., Inc., 169 P.3d 473 (Wash. 2007).
Stevens v. Brink's Home Sec., Inc., 162 Wash. 2d 42 (Wash. 2007).
Matter of Marriage of Knight, 800 P.2d 71 (Wash. Ct. App. 1994). “110 provides: Interest on judgments shall accrue as follows: (3) Except as provided under subsections (1) and (2) of this section, judgments shall bear interest from the date of entry at the maximum rate permitted under RCW 19.52.020 on the date of entry thereof!.”
— Wash. Rev. Code § 19.52.020(1)(a) — 8 cases
In Re The Marriage Of: Gregory Lackey v. Carolynn J. Pavlock Fka Lackey (Wash. Ct. App. 2016).
Lucas Price v. Daniel Price (Wash. Ct. App. 2018).
Teamsters Local 839 v. Benton Cnty. (Wash. Ct. App. 2020).
Michelle Merceri, V. State Of Wa Dept. Of Transp. (Wash. Ct. App. 2024).
Michelle Merceri V. Dept. Of Transp. (Wash. Ct. App. 2024).
— Wash. Rev. Code § 19.52.020(1)(b) — 1 case
Trudy M. Davis, App. v. Blackstone Corp., Resps. (Wash. Ct. App. 2015).
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.