Payday loans in Washington
In Washington, payday loans are legal when a DFI-licensed check casher or seller makes them. State law calls them small loans. The business must also have the small loan endorsement required by chapter 31.45 RCW.
- Payday lending
- Allowed
- Max cost
- $15.00 per $100 borrowed
- Top amount
- The lower figure applies to combined small loans owed at once: $700, or 30% of that borrower's gross income for the month.
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 Washington?
Yes, the Washington Check Cashers and Sellers Act allows payday loans in Washington if the licensed lender has a small loan endorsement. These are called small loans by state law. At any one time, your combined loans cannot exceed the lower amount between $700 and 30% of your gross monthly income. On the first $500, fees cannot go above 15%, and on any amount over $500, they cannot exceed 10%. Loans run for up to 45 days, and you can get no more than eight loans within 12 months.
Because Washington requires internet lenders to hold this endorsement too, collecting or enforcing an unlicensed online loan is not legal. Alerts from the state warn that tribal online lenders like American Web Loan and WithU Loans lack a license in Washington. Before you borrow, you should check the license of the lender. You can turn an existing licensed loan into a free installment plan. For loans up to $400, you get at least 90 days to repay, or 180 days for larger amounts.
- Across all licensees, Washington limits borrowers to eight payday loans every 12 months.
- The limit for all small loans outstanding at once is whichever is less: $700 or 30% of gross monthly income.
- You can change a loan to a free installment plan lasting at least 90 days for sums up to $400, or 180 days for amounts over $400.
- Any small loan issued without the needed endorsement, even over the internet, cannot be enforced or collected.
- In June 2026 DFI released an alert stating that Otoe-Missouria entities like American Web Loan and WithU Loans are unlicensed in Washington.
- SB 6250, a 2026 bill, proposed to raise the $700 limit to $1,200, but it did not become law and remained in Senate Rules.
Washington payday loan laws
- Law in force
- Small loan endorsement under the Washington Check Cashers and Sellers Act
- Cited as
- RCW 31.45.073, 31.45.084, 31.45.105
- Fees under the law
- The total interest or fees may not go above fifteen percent on the first five hundred dollars of principal, plus ten percent on what exceeds that.
- Most you can borrow
- The lower figure applies to combined small loans owed at once: $700, or 30% of that borrower's gross income for the month.
- How long a loan runs
- 45 days at most (an agreement may extend it without added fee or interest); when the loan is made seven days or less before your next pay date, it comes due on your second pay date or later
- Cooling-off gap
- While in an installment plan, a borrower may not take a new small loan until two years pass or the plan is paid.
- Loans you can hold at once
- At one time, the total principal for all small loans may not go over $700 or 30% of gross monthly income.
- Repayment plan
- Loans over $400 get an installment plan at no extra charge for at least 180 days, while loans up to $400 get at least 90 days.
- Installment lending limits
- Consumer Loan Act licensees may lend with simple interest at a rate up to 25% per annum (RCW 31.04.105).
Also checked against dfi.wa.gov. Full statute text.
Online lenders that list Washington
Seven companies we track say they lend in Washington: 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 Washington
For people physically in Washington, internet loans need a small loan endorsement or they become uncollectible and unenforceable, and DFI issues alerts naming tribal online lenders like Otoe-Missouria entities as not licensed.
On the immunity claim tribal lenders make, see are tribal loans legal.
Five tribal lenders we track list Washington as a state they lend in. Three of the five publish an APR, from 73.7% to 725%.
| Lender | Posted APR |
|---|---|
 Mobiloans | 73.7% to 405% |
 Spotloan | 99% to 490% |
 BrightLending | 325% to 725% |
 Minto Money | Not published |
| American Web Loan | Not published |
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Lender cases and orders in Washington
- 2026 · Washington Department of Financial InstitutionsAmerican Web Loan: A consumer alert issued after complaints states DFI has not licensed AWL II, Inc. dba American Web Loan or other Otoe-Missouria entities. Source
- 2026 · Washington Department of Financial InstitutionsBig Picture Loans: A consumer alert followed a complaint: DFI has not licensed the tribe or Big Picture Loans for lending in Washington. Source
- 2026 · Washington Department of Financial InstitutionsPlain Green Loans: Following complaints, a consumer alert states that the Chippewa Cree tribe and Plain Green LLC lack licensing from the DFI in Washington Source
- 2026 · Washington Department of Financial InstitutionsUprova: Following complaints, a consumer alert notes DFI in Washington has not licensed Uprova Credit, LLC or the Habematolel Pomo of Upper Lake. Source
- 2016 · Washington Department of Financial InstitutionsACE Cash Express: Restitution of $47,421.50, a fine, and license revocation were sought in a statement of charges. It covered more than 700 payday loans barred for borrowers in Washington. Source
Washington and the states around it
| State | Payday lending | Max cost | Top amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | Allowed | $15.00 per $100 borrowed | The lower figure applies to combined small loans owed at once: $700, or 30% of that borrower's gross income for the month. |
| Idaho | Allowed | None in the law | No more than 25% of your gross monthly income may be borrowed, with a principal limit of $1,000. |
| Oregon | Allowed | None in the law | The payday loan definition sets a $50,000 ceiling and no other dollar limit; rules also cap lending at 25% of monthly net income when a borrower's yearly earnings are $60,000 or under. |
Washington loans with no credit check
Installment loan rates: Consumer Loan Act licensees may lend with simple interest at a rate up to 25% per annum (RCW 31.04.105).
See no credit check loans: the checks lenders still run, and the price.
Verify a lender's license in Washington
- Look the lender up on the license list before you hand over any bank details.
- Lenders here answer to the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions (DFI), Division of Consumer Services.
- Had trouble with a lender? Report the lender.
Sources for Washington
- With a small loan endorsement, a licensed lender's fee can reach 15% of the first $500 of a loan and 10% of any part over $500.; That figure is the most principal allowed for all small loans to a single borrower at any one time.; A loan runs 45 days at most, and extending it costs nothing extra.app.leg.wa.gov
- For loans above $400, the minimum installment plan length is 180 days, and for loans up to $400, it is 90 days.app.leg.wa.gov
- It violates the rules to make an internet small loan without an endorsement to someone in Washington.; Transactions that violate this rule cannot be enforced or collected.app.leg.wa.gov
- DFI provides a summary of payday limits for consumers.; DFI issues a warning that tribal online lenders lack licensing or regulation by DFI.dfi.wa.gov
- In Washington, Otoe-Missouria lending entities are not licensed, according to a DFI alert (June 30, 2026).; American Web Loan is among the entities named in the alert.dfi.wa.gov
- Under the Consumer Loan Act, a licensee may charge simple interest of up to 25% a year.app.leg.wa.gov
- Unlicensed non-mortgage consumer loans are void under the Predatory Loan Prevention Act, which took effect June 6, 2024.dfi.wa.gov
- Raising the $700 limit to $1,200 is what SB 6250 would do, according to the 2026 Senate bill report.lawfilesext.leg.wa.gov
- The status page for SB 6250 shows it remains with Senate Rules.app.leg.wa.gov
- You can file complaints about payday lenders with DFI.dfi.wa.gov
- DFI directs payday licence checks to the NMLS Consumer Access system.dfi.wa.gov