Payday loans in Virginia
Starting January 1, 2021, Virginia law (Code of Virginia title 6.2, chapter 18) lets licensed short-term lenders offer only installment loans up to $2,500 for 4 to 24 months with 36% simple interest and a capped monthly maintenance fee.
- Payday lending
- Only as installments
- Max cost
- None in the law
- Top amount
- $2,500
Are payday loans legal in Virginia?
The Virginia Fairness in Lending Act of 2020 allows payday loans in Virginia solely as installment loans. These short-term loans have not had two-week due dates since January 2021. You repay an installment loan through monthly payments spread over four to 24 months. You may borrow up to $2,500 from a licensed lender, which can charge simple annual interest of up to 36 percent and add a monthly maintenance fee. The monthly charge cannot exceed the lower of $25 or eight percent of what you first borrowed.
You may hold only one short-term loan at a time in Virginia. Internet lenders fall under state licensing rules even if they lack a physical presence in Virginia. Check the current license status of any lender with the Bureau of Financial Institutions at the Virginia State Corporation Commission before you borrow. Lenders must wait 60 days after you default before filing a lawsuit, which gives you time to arrange a voluntary repayment plan.
- Virginia's two-week payday loans ended with the Fairness in Lending Act of 2020, requiring short-term loans to run 4 to 24 months starting January 1, 2021.
- You pay no more than 36% simple interest. The monthly maintenance fee is the lower of 8% of the amount borrowed and $25; the SCC may adjust that dollar cap as inflation changes.
- You may carry just one short-term loan with any licensed lender at once. Before making a loan, lenders must check the state's real-time database.
- Before suing after a default, lenders must wait 60 days, creating space for a voluntary repayment arrangement.
- Internet lenders lacking a physical presence in Virginia are expressly covered by the short-term loan chapter.
- In 2017, the Attorney General obtained $15.335 million in debt relief and restitution from CashCall concerning loans made via its Western Sky rent-a-tribe arrangement.
Virginia payday loan laws
- Law in force
- Virginia Short-Term Loans law, rewritten in 2020 by the Virginia Fairness in Lending Act
- Cited as
- Va. Code 6.2-1800 through 6.2-1829
- Fees under the law
- Simple annual interest cannot go above 36 percent; the monthly maintenance fee must stay at or below the lower of eight percent of the original loan amount or $25.
- Most you can borrow
- $2,500
- How long a loan runs
- four months (unless each monthly payment remains at or below 6% of verified net monthly income or 5% of verified gross) to 24 months
- Rollovers
- Renewals and extensions are prohibited; refinancing a short-term loan is allowed only into another short-term loan.
- Loans you can hold at once
- A borrower may hold only one short-term loan across all licensees at any given time.
- Repayment plan
- No lawsuit is allowed from a licensee until 60 days have passed after default. That pause leaves room for both sides to make a voluntary repayment arrangement.
- Installment lending limits
- Consumer finance loans range from $300 to $35,000 under Va. Terms may run from 6 to 120 months, and Code 6.2-1520 keeps the charge to one annual rate of 36 percent or less.
Also checked against law.lis.virginia.gov. Full statute text.
Online lenders that list Virginia
Four companies we track say they lend in Virginia: 3 online installment lenders and 1 loan broker.
| Lender | Kind | Posted APR |
|---|---|---|
 NetCredit | Installment | 34.99% to 99.99% |
 OppLoans | Installment | 99% to 195% |
 Rise Credit | Installment | 60% to 299% |
 Viva Payday Loans | Broker | Partner lenders quote 4.99% to 1,386% |
Tribal loans in Virginia
Even internet lenders lacking a physical presence must follow Virginia's short-term loan chapter and its licence rule when lending to Virginians, and the Attorney General's 2017 CashCall settlement regarding a 'rent-a-tribe' plan with Western Sky gave $15.335 million back to Virginia consumers.
On the immunity claim tribal lenders make, see are tribal loans legal.
None of the tribal lenders we track lists Virginia as a state it serves. Browse every tribal lender we track.
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Lender cases and orders in Virginia
- 2024 · US District Court, Western District of VirginiaLendumo: The case Fitzgerald v. Wildcat class action over tribal loans from LDF, with Niswi loans among them. The settlement created a fund of $37.35 million and cancelled unpaid 2016-2023 loans; approval came in December 2024. Source
- 2021 · US District Court, E.D. VirginiaAmerican Web Loan: A class action targeted AWL, Mark Curry and others; on July 9, 2021, the court gave final approval to a revised settlement for the class Source
- 2019 · US Court of Appeals, Fourth CircuitBig Picture Loans: Virginia borrowers sued Ascension and Big Picture Loans over unlawfully high rates; on appeal the court reversed and held that both businesses were arms of the tribe. Source
Virginia and the states around it
| State | Payday lending | Max cost | Top amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virginia | Only as installments | None in the law | $2,500 |
| Kentucky | Allowed | $15.00 per $100 borrowed | All open deferred deposit transactions together may not exceed $600 in total proceeds (the figure moves with CPI each year and can never pass $850). |
| Maryland | Banned | On the first $1,000, the rate is 2.75% monthly, or about 33% APR. | None allowed |
| North Carolina | Banned | None in the law | None allowed |
| Tennessee | Allowed | $15.00 per $100 borrowed | The total face value for outstanding checks is $500. |
| Washington DC | Banned | 24% APR | None allowed |
| West Virginia | Banned | None in the law | None allowed |
Virginia loans with no credit check
Installment loan rates: Consumer finance loans range from $300 to $35,000 under Va. Terms may run from 6 to 120 months, and Code 6.2-1520 keeps the charge to one annual rate of 36 percent or less.
See no credit check loans: the checks lenders still run, and the price.
Verify a lender's license in Virginia
- Look the lender up on the license list before you hand over any bank details.
- Lenders here answer to the Virginia Bureau of Financial Institutions (State Corporation Commission).
- Had trouble with a lender? Report the lender.
Sources for Virginia
- Simple interest of up to 36% per year may be charged by short-term lenders.; The allowed monthly maintenance fee is the lower of $25 or 8% of the original loan amount.law.lis.virginia.gov
- The maximum amount for a short-term loan is $2,500.law.lis.virginia.gov
- Loan terms must be at least four months and cannot exceed 24 months.; The term may be shorter only when each payment stays within 5% of verified gross monthly income, or 6% where net monthly income is verified.; At any one time, a borrower cannot have more than one short-term loan outstanding from any licensee.law.lis.virginia.gov
- On loans ranging from $300 to $35,000, consumer finance companies may apply a single annual rate up to 36%.law.lis.virginia.gov
- The contract for a consumer finance loan becomes void if the licence requirement in 6.2-1501 was broken during making or collection.law.lis.virginia.gov
- In January 2017, the Attorney General discovered that CashCall partnered with Western Sky Financial in a rent-a-tribe scheme to issue high-cost online loans in Virginia.; Virginia consumers were expected to get $15.335 million in debt relief and restitution from the CashCall settlement.oag.state.va.us
- Short-term lenders are among the institutions the Bureau of Financial Institutions licenses.scc.virginia.gov
- Consumers can find current licensing status on the SCC's verify-a-license page.scc.virginia.gov
- You file complaints about entities the Bureau regulates using its online complaint form.scc.virginia.gov