Payday loans in Maine
Maine issues supervised lender licenses to payday lenders under the Maine Consumer Credit Code, requiring them to honor the Code's 30% finance charge cap or small minimum fees, while check cashers cannot offer deferred deposit advances.
- Payday lending
- Allowed
- Max cost
- $15.00 per $100 borrowed
- Top amount
- no cap aimed specifically at payday loans
At that cap, a $100 loan over 14 days can carry $15.00 in fees: $115.00 back in total, close to 391% APR.
Are payday loans legal in Maine?
Yes, the Maine Consumer Credit Code makes payday loans legal in Maine. To issue such loans, a firm needs a license from the state administrator as a supervised lender. Maine does not set a maximum loan size, but it limits yearly finance charges to 30% on the first $2,000 financed. That 30% yearly cap means small, short loans typically use a flat minimum charge instead. This charge is $15 if you borrow between $75 and $249, or $25 for amounts of $250 or more.
Check cashers in Maine cannot cash a postdated check for you or keep any check to deposit later. Payday lenders that operate online, including many tribal lenders, never hold a licence, state officials also warn, and that means their loans are illegal. Payment processors are also barred from taking money from your account to pay an unlicensed loan. Check license status for any lender at NMLS Consumer Access; file complaints online with the Maine Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection.
- Payday lenders in Maine get licensed as supervised lenders and follow the general Consumer Credit Code rate limits, since no separate payday statute exists.
- A small short loan usually carries no more than the fixed minimum charge: $15 for $75 to $249, and $25 at $250 or more. The 30% yearly cap, which covers the first $2,000 financed, is the reason.
- In Maine, check cashers may not lend against a postdated check, and they may not keep any check to deposit later.
- A law from 2013 in Maine (PL 2013, c. 480) defined making or processing unlicensed loans for Maine consumers as an unfair trade practice, focusing on online lenders and their payment processors.
- From 2021 onward (PL 2021, c. 297), if a company holds the predominant economic interest in a loan, it is treated as the lender regardless of fronting for an exempt bank.
Maine payday loan laws
- Law in force
- Supervised lender rules in the Maine Consumer Credit Code (Title 9-A)
- Cited as
- 32 M.R.S.A. 6138; 9-A M.R.S.A. sections 2-301, 2-401, 2-702 and 5-118
- Fees under the law
- Thirty percent a year on unpaid balances of the financed amount, counting only the part up to $2,000, or a minimum charge of $5 when up to $75 is financed, $15 when over $75 but under $250, or $25 when $250 or more
- Most you can borrow
- no cap aimed specifically at payday loans
- Installment lending limits
- Consumer loans fall under 9-A M.R.S. 2-401): yearly charges run 30% on the first $2,000 financed and 24% for the portion from $2,000 up to $4,000. Past $4,000 the rate is 18%, and a loan above $8,000 pays 18% on its full amount.
Also checked against maine.gov. Full statute text.
Online lenders that list Maine
Seven companies we track say they lend in Maine: 1 online installment lender, 5 tribal lenders and 1 loan broker.
| Lender | Kind | Posted APR |
|---|---|---|
 OppLoans | Installment | 99% to 195% |
 Viva Payday Loans | Broker | Partner lenders quote 4.99% to 1,386% |
Tribal loans in Maine
Maine treats it as an unfair trade practice if a lender, lacking the required licence, solicits or makes a loan to a consumer in Maine, or if a payment processor takes money from that consumer's account for such a loan. The US Senate has heard from Bureau staff that online payday lenders, many of them tribal operations, are never licensed, and the loans they make are illegal.
On the immunity claim tribal lenders make, see are tribal loans legal.
Five tribal lenders we track list Maine as a state they lend in. Two of the five publish an APR, from 99% to 725%.
| Lender | Posted APR |
|---|---|
 Spotloan | 99% to 490% |
 BrightLending | 325% to 725% |
 MaxLend | Not published |
 Minto Money | Not published |
| American Web Loan | Not published |
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Maine and New Hampshire
| State | Payday lending | Max cost | Top amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maine | Allowed | $15.00 per $100 borrowed | no cap aimed specifically at payday loans |
| New Hampshire | Banned | 36% APR | The most principal a borrower can owe one lender is $500. |
Maine loans with no credit check
Installment loan rates: Consumer loans fall under 9-A M.R.S. 2-401): yearly charges run 30% on the first $2,000 financed and 24% for the portion from $2,000 up to $4,000. Past $4,000 the rate is 18%, and a loan above $8,000 pays 18% on its full amount.
See no credit check loans: the checks lenders still run, and the price.
Verify a lender's license in Maine
- Look the lender up on the license list before you hand over any bank details.
- Lenders here answer to the Maine Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection (Department of Professional and Financial Regulation).
- Had trouble with a lender? Report the lender.
Sources for Maine
- Maine licenses payday lenders as supervised lenders via NMLS.; You can verify the license status of supervised lenders on NMLS Consumer Access.maine.gov
- Supervised loans require a licence issued by the administrator.legislature.maine.gov
- Consumer loans face a yearly finance charge cap of 30% on the first $2,000.; On amounts between $2,000 and $4,000, the yearly rate falls to 24%.; When you finance $75 to $249, the law allows a minimum charge of $15.legislature.maine.gov
- Businesses that cash checks cannot give cash for a check dated in the future.; Check cashers cannot keep a check to deposit it at a later time.legislature.maine.gov
- It is an unfair or deceptive trade practice to solicit or make loans without following licensing rules.; Payment processors may not take money from a consumer's account to pay an unlicensed lender's loan.; Rules on unlicensed loan transactions went into the law in 2013.legislature.maine.gov
- The law treats any company with the predominant economic interest in a loan as the lender.; The section defining the true lender became law in 2021.legislature.maine.gov
- US Senate committee members heard from a Bureau staff attorney that internet payday lenders never get licensed in Maine and their loans break the law.; The Bureau described a case where eight payday lenders, mostly tribal internet operators, pursued one consumer.govinfo.gov
- You can submit an online complaint to the Bureau if you live in Maine, including regarding supervised and payday lenders.; The list for complaints names supervised lenders, which includes payday lenders.maine.gov