State legality · Updated July 2026
Are tribal loans legal in your state?
Tribal lenders claim sovereign immunity from state law — but 9 states have pushed them out entirely, and many more cap rates hard enough that most brands won't lend there. Find your state below: what applies, since when, and what it means if you already borrowed.
AlabamaAL Legal — No all-in rate cap reaches online tribal installment loans; most brands lend here. AlaskaAK Legal — Payday statute caps small loans, but tribal installment lenders (two are based in Minto, AK) lend online. ArizonaAZ Restricted 2010 Payday lending ended in 2010 (36% cap); many tribal brands still lend online but face AG scrutiny. ArkansasAR Effectively banned 2008 Constitutional 17% usury cap; AG enforcement drove tribal lenders out — among the states that have effectively eliminated tribal lending. CaliforniaCA Restricted 2020 AB 539 caps $2,500–$10,000 loans at ~36%; DFPI actively pursues tribal dbas (Arrow One/Sierra order). ColoradoCO Restricted 2023 36% UCCC cap plus 2023 opt-out law closing out-of-state-bank loopholes; most tribal brands exclude CO. ConnecticutCT Effectively banned 2015 Banking Dept. cease-and-desist orders (Great Plains case) — effectively eliminated tribal lending. DelawareDE Legal — No all-in rate cap for licensed installment lending; tribal brands generally lend here. FloridaFL Restricted 2001 Deferred Presentment Act caps payday loans at $500 with a 10% fee, no rollovers; off-reservation loans to Floridians aren't automatically exempt from state law. GeorgiaGA Effectively banned 2004 Payday Lending Act (O.C.G.A. § 16-17-1) makes payday-style lending a criminal violation; the Georgia Supreme Court rejected tribal sovereignty in the Western Sky case (2016). Loans to GA residents are illegal and unenforceable. HawaiiHI Restricted 2022 HB 1192 replaced payday with 36%-capped installment loans; most tribal brands exclude HI. IdahoID Legal — No rate cap on consumer installment loans; tribal lenders lend freely. IllinoisIL Effectively banned 2021 Predatory Loan Prevention Act (815 ILCS 123): 36% all-in APR cap; loans above it are void and unenforceable. Despite being the #1 state by tribal-loan search demand, high-cost tribal loans cannot legally be collected here. IndianaIN Legal — Payday capped but installment lending open; most tribal brands lend here. IowaIA Legal — Regulated payday + open installment market; tribal brands generally lend here. KansasKS Legal — No all-in cap reaching online tribal installment loans. KentuckyKY Legal — Payday regulated; online tribal installment lending widely available. LouisianaLA Legal — Open market (Tunica-Biloxi tribe's Mobiloans is based in LA). MaineME Restricted — 30% small-loan cap and strict licensing; most tribal brands exclude ME. MarylandMD Restricted 2017 33% cap + Commissioner enforcement (Western Sky $2M settlement); many tribal brands exclude MD. MassachusettsMA Restricted — 23% small-loan cap; AG consumer alerts on tribal loans; most brands exclude MA. MichiganMI Restricted 2019 Charging over 25% is criminal usury (MCL 438.41); AG Nessel sued an online tribal lender in 2019 over 300%+ rates. (The Lac Vieux Desert Band, owner of Big Picture Loans, is based in MI.) MinnesotaMN Restricted 2024 2023 anti-evasion law + AG consent orders: LDF brands and Island Mountain brands barred from lending to MN residents. MississippiMS Legal — Payday-friendly regime; tribal installment lenders widely available. MissouriMO Legal — High-rate lending permitted; tribal brands lend freely. MontanaMT Restricted 2010 36% cap (ballot initiative I-164). Paradox: Fort Belknap and Chippewa Cree lenders are BASED here but don't lend to MT residents. NebraskaNE Restricted 2020 Initiative 428: 36% payday cap; most tribal brands exclude NE. NevadaNV Legal — No meaningful rate cap; tribal lenders lend freely. New HampshireNH Restricted 2009 36% small-loan cap; most tribal brands exclude NH. New JerseyNJ Restricted — 30% criminal usury cap; tribal loans above it are unenforceable in NJ courts — many brands still market here. New MexicoNM Restricted 2023 HB 132: 36% APR cap on loans up to $10,000; most tribal brands exclude NM. New YorkNY Effectively banned 2013 DFS 2013 crackdown ordered banks/ACH networks to block tribal payday debits; 16% civil / 25% criminal usury — effectively eliminated. North CarolinaNC Effectively banned 2006 Storefront payday illegal since the mid-2000s; AG won a $9.375M Western Sky/CashCall settlement. High-cost tribal loans are void and unenforceable here. North DakotaND Restricted — 36% money-broker cap (NDCC ch. 13-04.1); payday fee-limited to 20% with a $500 max. Home to Turtle Mountain (Spotloan) and MHA Nation (MaxLend). OhioOH Restricted 2018 Fairness in Lending Act caps short-term loans at 28% APR; many online and tribal lenders stopped lending to Ohio residents. OklahomaOK Legal — Home of Otoe-Missouria (AWL) and Modoc lending operations; open market. OregonOR Restricted 2007 36% + fee cap; most tribal brands exclude OR. PennsylvaniaPA Effectively banned 2014 AG v. Think Finance (2014): CDCA licensing + 6%/24% caps apply; loans void — effectively eliminated tribal lending. Rhode IslandRI Restricted 2027 A ~261% payday loophole remains until a 36% APR cap (signed 2025) takes effect Jan 1, 2027. South CarolinaSC Legal — Open high-rate installment market; tribal brands lend freely. South DakotaSD Restricted 2016 IM 21: 36% all-in cap. Paradox: Rosebud, Crow Creek and Oglala lending operations are BASED here but exclude SD residents. TennesseeTN Legal — Flex-loan regime; tribal brands widely available. TexasTX Legal — CAB model keeps high-rate lending legal; the largest open market for tribal loans. UtahUT Legal — No rate cap; open market. VermontVT Restricted 2019 18–24% caps + AG enforcement; Gingras v. Think Finance (settled 2019) set the anti-immunity precedent — most tribal brands exclude VT. VirginiaVA Effectively banned 2021 Fairness in Lending Act (36% + fees, loans void if unlicensed) after Hengle-era class actions — effectively eliminated. WashingtonWA Restricted — DFI unlicensed-lender alert program names tribal brands one by one; loans from unlicensed lenders uncollectable in WA. West VirginiaWV Effectively banned 2014 31% usury cap + AG settlements (CashCall $13M) — effectively eliminated tribal lending. WisconsinWI Legal — No rate cap. Home of LDF, Menominee, Sokaogon, LCO lending operations — the densest tribal-lending state. WyomingWY Legal — Open market; tribal brands lend freely.
No state matches that search.
How to read this
Banned means regulators or courts effectively eliminated tribal lending — new loans are rare and often void or uncollectable. Restricted means a 36%-type cap or active enforcement applies; many brands exclude the state and loans made anyway may be challengeable. Open means no all-in cap reaches online tribal installment loans in practice. This is general information, not legal advice — verify your specific loan against your state attorney general's guidance.
Before you borrow · 5-part guide
You're on step 3 of 5
The things worth knowing before you sign anything, in the order they matter.
- What a tribal loan actually isWho owns these lenders and why they claim your state's rate cap does not apply.
- Why the rates are so highWhere a triple-digit APR actually comes from — and what it costs in dollars.
- Whether it is legal where you liveYou're reading this now.
- What you actually need to qualifyWhat lenders really check, and why "guaranteed approval" is never guaranteed.
- Compare the least-bad lendersIf you are borrowing anyway, these score highest on our five criteria.