Missouri sets no numeric interest cap on a licensed consumer installment loan. A lender licensed by the Missouri Division of Finance may charge interest "at rates agreed to by the parties" on loans not secured by real estate, so the price is whatever the contract says.

This matters if you are weeks from closing and short a few hundred dollars. The loan is legal and regulated, but the law governs its shape rather than its cost, and it will show up in your mortgage file.

Missouri regulates the shape of the loan, not its price

Section 408.510 RSMo defines a consumer installment loan as a secured or unsecured loan of any amount, repaid in at least four substantially equal installments over at least 120 days. Interest and fees are set by cross-reference to Sections 408.100, 408.140 and 408.170. Section 408.100 is the one that removes the ceiling.

You may see Missouri's 10 percent usury rate quoted, or the quarterly market rate, which the Division set at 7.99 percent for July 1 to September 30, 2026. Neither limits these lenders. The Division describes that rate as separate from the rate authority it grants licensed installment and small loan lenders.

A second license, the Small Loan Act, lets licensees lend $500 or more with no upper limit.

Rule Missouri, as of September 2026
Loan amount Any amount (installment license); $500 or more, no upper limit (small loan license)
Interest cap No numeric cap; rates agreed to by the parties (408.100)
Minimum term 120 days, at least 4 substantially equal payments
Maximum term Not set in the statutes cited here
Rollovers Not addressed for installment loans
Card convenience fee No more than actual processing cost (traditional installment lenders, 408.512)
Regulator Missouri Division of Finance, (573) 751-3242

What to check before you sign

Lenders other than banks, credit unions, savings banks and savings and loans need a Division of Finance license. Confirm one with the Division before signing, online or in person. The state sources used here do not say how Missouri treats bank-partnership or tribal lenders.

Section 408.512 also shows what a "traditional installment loan" is not. It excludes loans that require automatic bank withdrawals or postdated checks, full repayment within 91 days, uneven or interest-only payments, or a car title on a term of 181 days or fewer. A loan with any of those features sits in a different category.

A cap is not coming soon. SB368, which proposed a 36 percent APR limit, died on May 16, 2025.

Credit unions are exempt from this licensing, so ask yours what small loans it offers. The sources here do not list Missouri assistance programs.

Not the same as a payday loan

A Missouri payday loan is capped at $500, runs 14 to 31 days, limits interest and fees to 75 percent across renewals, and allows six renewals. The installment loan has none of those limits. Missouri's payday rules are the tighter ones.

How an underwriter will read it

The sources above are state lending law, not mortgage guidelines, so treat this as the questions to put to your loan officer.

The proceeds arrive as a deposit and the payments leave as recurring debits, and both appear on the bank statements you hand over. Expect a request for a letter of explanation. The monthly payment will likely be counted as debt, which raises your debt-to-income ratio. Paying the loan off before you apply can remove the payment, but the money used to pay it off can draw questions too.

If you are under contract, tell your lender before you borrow, not after the statement arrives. How any of this is handled depends on your lender and loan program.