Are tribal loans legal in West Virginia?

No, not in any practical sense. West Virginia has pushed high-cost lenders out, and a tribal loan made to a West Virginia resident is frequently void or uncollectable. Payday and tribal high-rate loans are illegal, void and uncollectable in West Virginia, and courts have rejected sham "tribal" immunity. Lenders routinely exclude West Virginia.

Effective ban — no payday lending is permitted, and high-rate loans violate the WV Consumer Credit and Protection Act. The controlling law is the West Virginia Consumer Credit and Protection Act (WVCCPA); payday lending prohibited. Tribal lenders argue this cap does not bind them because they answer to tribal law — that argument is exactly what state enforcement and private litigation have been testing.

In November 2015 the WV Attorney General announced a $13 million settlement with CashCall over loans at 59–96% interest and 84,371 collection calls; a WV court also ruled Payday Financial was not a genuine tribe and had no immunity. Sovereign immunity protects a lender from being sued; it does not give it extra power to collect from you, and it does not override West Virginia law on whether the debt is enforceable in the first place. Threats of arrest are always false.

Possibly not — and this is the question worth answering before you pay anything more. Where a loan exceeds West Virginia's limits it may be void or uncollectable regardless of what you signed. Get the answer before you keep paying, and check whether your lender is one of the closed brands whose balances were cancelled in a settlement.

Complain to the WV Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division. A payday or high-rate loan is void — refuse collection and seek relief. You can also file with the federal CFPB, which accepts complaints about tribal lenders regardless of your state.