Alberta adds 20% late payment charge on unpaid administrative penalties

Alberta will impose a 20% late payment charge on administrative penalty fines and surcharges that are not paid in full by their due date, under a new regulation published in the Alberta Gazette, Part II, of September 15, 2026. The measure, adopted by the Minister of Justice through Alberta Regulation 221/2026, takes effect on November 1, 2026.

The Provincial Administrative Penalties Amendment Regulation was made on August 18, 2026, under Ministerial Order M.O. 27/2026, pursuant to section 35(2)(c) of the Provincial Administrative Penalties Act, and was filed on August 21, 2026. It amends the Provincial Administrative Penalties Regulation (AR 217/2020).

The new late payment charge

The regulation adds a new section 4.1 to the base regulation establishing the charge. Where a fine imposed by a notice of administrative penalty and any applicable surcharge are not paid in full by the date on which they are to be paid, the recipient must pay, in addition to the outstanding amounts, a late payment charge equal to 20% of the total outstanding amount of the fine and surcharge.

The charge is also reflected in the content of the notice of administrative penalty itself. Section 3(1)(d) is amended to add a new subclause (vi), so that the notice must state that a late payment charge will apply at 20% of the total outstanding amount if the fine and any surcharge are not paid in full by the due date.

Scope and transitional rule

The regulation also updates the list of amounts that may be collected. Section 20 is amended to add a new clause (a.1) covering “a late payment charge referred to in section 4.1,” bringing the charge within the collection provisions of the regulation.

A transitional provision (new section 20.1) limits the application of the new rules:

• Sections 3, 4.1 and 20, as they read on the coming into force of the regulation, apply only to notices of administrative penalty issued on or after November 1, 2026.
• Notices issued before that date are not affected by the new charge.

Impact

The change means anyone penalized by provincial enforcement bodies under the Provincial Administrative Penalties Act who fails to settle a fine and any surcharge on time will face an additional charge of one-fifth of the outstanding amount. The measure is designed to encourage timely payment of administrative penalties across the province, and it applies to all notices issued from November 1, 2026 onward.

Source: The Alberta Gazette, Part II, September 15, 2026, regulations, p. 1022 (official reference: Alberta Regulation 221/2026).