A payday loan is a small loan you repay from your next paycheck, usually by a postdated check or a bank debit. Whether you can get one, and on what terms, is set by each state. Some states license payday lenders and set a maximum loan, a fee cap and a term. Others ban them outright or cap the rate so low that no payday lender operates. A few license them with no rate cap at all.
The table gives the short answer for all 50 states. Each line links to our page on that state, which has the statute, the regulator that licenses lenders, the limits in full and the sources they come from. The short answers are as of September 2026, when the state pages were written; type a state in the box to find it.
Payday Loan Laws by State
Payday loans, state by state (as of September 2026)
| State | In short | Full rules |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Payday loans in Alabama are legal: $500 cap, 17.5% fee, 10 to 31 days, one rollover. | Payday loans in Alabama |
| Alaska | Payday loans are legal in Alaska: $500 max, $15 per $100, 14-day minimum. | Payday loans in Alaska |
| Arizona | Payday loans have been illegal in Arizona since 2010. | Payday loans in Arizona |
| Arkansas | Payday loans in Arkansas: the state constitution caps interest at 17%, storefronts closed in 2009, and online loans above the cap are void. | Payday loans in Arkansas |
| California | California allows payday loans up to $300 with a $45 fee cap and a 31-day term. | Payday loans in California |
| Colorado | Colorado caps payday loans at 36% APR, $500 and a six-month minimum term. | Payday loans in Colorado |
| Connecticut | Payday loans in Connecticut are capped out of existence: unlicensed loans above 12% are void, and licensed lenders top out at 36% APR. | Payday loans in Connecticut |
| Delaware | Payday loans are legal in Delaware with no APR cap. | Payday loans in Delaware |
| Florida | Florida payday loan rules as of September 2026: the $500 cap, the 10% plus $5 fee, 7 to 31 day terms, the one-loan database and the 60-day grace period. | Payday loans in Florida |
| Georgia | Payday loans in Georgia are illegal and void under state law. | Payday loans in Georgia |
| Hawaii | Hawaii repealed its payday loan law in 2022. | Payday loans in Hawaii |
| Idaho | Idaho payday loans explained from the statute: the $1,000 cap, the 25% income limit, three renewals, no APR cap, licensing. | Payday loans in Idaho |
| Illinois | Illinois caps payday loans at 36% APR, all fees included. | Payday loans in Illinois |
| Indiana | Indiana payday loans are legal: up to $825, 14-day minimum, tiered fees near 391% APR. | Payday loans in Indiana |
| Iowa | Payday loans in Iowa are legal but capped by Iowa Code 533D: $500 total per lender, 31 days, no rollovers. | Payday loans in Iowa |
| Kansas | Payday loans are legal in Kansas: up to $500, a 15% fee cap, 7 to 30 day terms and no rollovers. | Payday loans in Kansas |
| Kentucky | Payday loans are legal in Kentucky: $600 max since July 15, 2026, $15 per $100 fee, no rollovers, two loans at once. | Payday loans in Kentucky |
| Louisiana | Payday loans are legal in Louisiana: $740 maximum principal from September 1, 2026, terms up to 60 days, and an extended payment plan in every contract. | Payday loans in Louisiana |
| Maine | Payday loans in Maine are legal only from state-licensed lenders, under a 30% cap and fixed fees. | Payday loans in Maine |
| Maryland | Payday loans in Maryland are capped out of existence by a 33% rate limit. | Payday loans in Maryland |
| Massachusetts | Payday loans in Massachusetts are capped out of existence by a 23% APR limit. | Payday loans in Massachusetts |
| Michigan | Payday loans are legal in Michigan: up to $600 for 31 days, with fees near 370% to 407% APR. | Payday loans in Michigan |
| Minnesota | Minnesota caps payday loans at $350, 30 days and 50% APR with fees included. | Payday loans in Minnesota |
| Mississippi | Mississippi payday loans are legal as check-casher loans capped at $500. | Payday loans in Mississippi |
| Missouri | Payday loans in Missouri are legal: $500 max, 14 to 31 days, fees capped at 75% of the loan. | Payday loans in Missouri |
| Montana | Montana caps payday loans at 36% APR, and the state licenses no payday lenders. | Payday loans in Montana |
| Nebraska | Payday loans are legal in Nebraska but capped at 36% APR since 2020. | Payday loans in Nebraska |
| Nevada | Payday loans in Nevada are legal with no APR cap. | Payday loans in Nevada |
| New Hampshire | Payday loans in New Hampshire are capped at 36% APR and $500 under RSA 399-A. | Payday loans in New Hampshire |
| New Jersey | Payday loans in New Jersey are blocked by a 30% criminal usury cap. | Payday loans in New Jersey |
| New Mexico | New Mexico caps small loans at 36% APR with a 120-day minimum term. | Payday loans in New Mexico |
| New York | Payday loans are banned in New York by its usury caps. | Payday loans in New York |
| North Carolina | Payday lending is effectively banned in North Carolina. | Payday loans in North Carolina |
| North Dakota | North Dakota payday loan rules as of September 2026: the $500 loan cap, 20% fee limit, 60-day term, one renewal. | Payday loans in North Dakota |
| Ohio | Payday loans in Ohio are capped at $1,000 and 28% interest, with 91-day to one-year terms. | Payday loans in Ohio |
| Oklahoma | Oklahoma payday loans now run under the Small Lenders Act: a $1,824.60 combined cap, a statewide database, and no rollovers. | Payday loans in Oklahoma |
| Oregon | Oregon payday loans explained: the 36% interest cap, $30 fee limit, 31 to 60 day term, two-renewal limit. | Payday loans in Oregon |
| Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania's 6% usury cap keeps payday lenders out, and online lenders are covered too. | Payday loans in Pennsylvania |
| Rhode Island | Payday loans in Rhode Island stay legal at up to 10% per advance until a 36% APR cap takes effect January 1, 2027. | Payday loans in Rhode Island |
| South Carolina | Payday loans in South Carolina are legal but capped at $550, a 15% fee and 31 days. | Payday loans in South Carolina |
| South Dakota | South Dakota caps payday loans at 36% APR and $500. | Payday loans in South Dakota |
| Tennessee | Payday loans are legal in Tennessee but capped at $500 and a 15% fee. | Payday loans in Tennessee |
| Texas | Payday loans are legal in Texas and the state sets no fee cap. | Payday loans in Texas |
| Utah | Payday loans in Utah are legal with no rate cap. | Payday loans in Utah |
| Vermont | Payday loans are effectively illegal in Vermont under an 18% cap on single-payment loans. | Payday loans in Vermont |
| Virginia | Virginia replaced payday loans with capped short-term loans: 36% interest, $2,500 max, 4 to 24 months. | Payday loans in Virginia |
| Washington | Washington payday loan limits under RCW 31.45: the $700 cap, fee caps, eight loans a year, installment plans. | Payday loans in Washington |
| West Virginia | Payday loans in West Virginia are effectively illegal. | Payday loans in West Virginia |
| Wisconsin | Payday loans are legal in Wisconsin with no rate cap before maturity. | Payday loans in Wisconsin |
| Wyoming | Payday loans are legal in Wyoming: no maximum amount or APR cap, a fee of $30 or 20% a month, whichever is greater, a one-month term and no rollovers with the same lender. | Payday loans in Wyoming |
No row matches that.
Summaries of our state pages. Laws change: each page gives the date its figures are from and links the regulator, where you can check a lender's license.
Free to reuse with credit and a link to this page (CC BY 4.0).
Before you take one out
Check that the lender holds a license in your state. Each state page names the regulator and how to look a lender up; a loan from an unlicensed lender may be void or uncollectible under some states' laws, and the page says where that is so.
If you are buying a home in the next few months, a new loan of any kind is something your lender will see. The repayments show up on the bank statements you hand over, and an open balance is a monthly payment that can count against your debt-to-income ratio. Every state page ends with what to raise with your loan officer, and What Not to Do Before Closing on a House and Denied After Pre-Approval cover why new debt late in the process is the risk it is.
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