A title loan is a short-term loan secured by your car's title: miss payments and the lender can take the car. Whether you can get one, and on what terms, is set by each state. Some states license title lenders with high rate caps, some treat the loan as a pawn, and others block it with a general rate cap.

The table gives the short answer for the 12 states we cover so far. 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.

Title Loan Laws by State

Title loans, state by state (as of September 2026)

12 rows
StateIn shortFull rules
AlabamaTitle loans in Alabama are legal as title pawns under the Pawnshop Act, with charges up to 25% a month.Title loans in Alabama
ArkansasArkansas caps most non-bank consumer loans at 17% a year, which shuts out the usual car title loan.Title loans in Arkansas
CaliforniaCalifornia title loans: the 36% plus Fed Funds Rate cap, the $10,000 gap, repossession rules, license checks.Title loans in California
ColoradoTitle loans in Colorado fall under the state's consumer credit code, with licensing and 36%, 21% and 15% rate tiers.Title loans in Colorado
GeorgiaGeorgia treats title loans as pawns, not loans: up to 187.5% a year, 30-day renewals, repossession without notice.Title loans in Georgia
IdahoTitle loans are legal in Idaho with no interest rate cap.Title loans in Idaho
IndianaTitle loans in Indiana: the rate caps, the 72% loansharking line, repossession rules, online lenders.Title loans in Indiana
KansasTitle loans in Kansas are legal under the UCCC and written as open-end credit with no rate cap.Title loans in Kansas
MassachusettsTitle loans in Massachusetts: the 12% small-loan cap, the Division of Banks license, AG cases against title lenders.Title loans in Massachusetts
MontanaMontana repealed its Title Loan Act in 2013.Title loans in Montana
North DakotaNorth Dakota has no title loan statute.Title loans in North Dakota
South DakotaTitle loans in South Dakota are capped at 36% APR, all fees included.Title loans in South Dakota

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.