How much can a lender legally charge you for an installment loan in North Dakota? If the lender is licensed by the state, no more than 36% a year, and that ceiling includes the fees charged to set up the loan.

An installment loan is a personal loan repaid in fixed payments over months. In North Dakota, a non-bank company making one to a resident needs a state license, and the license carries the rate cap. A lender quoting triple-digit rates to a North Dakota address is either unlicensed or claiming an exemption the law does not give it.

Two laws, and which one applies

North Dakota has a general usury law and a separate law for licensed lenders.

The general law is Chapter 47-14 of the Century Code. It sets a default rate of 6% when no rate is written down, and caps a written rate at 5.5 points above the average six-month Treasury bill rate, never below 7%. The Department of Financial Institutions publishes that ceiling each month; for September 2026 it was 9.204%. Loans above $35,000 and loans from regulated institutions such as state-chartered banks fall outside it.

Consumer installment lenders mostly work under the second law, the Money Brokers Act, Chapter 13-04.1. Anyone arranging or providing loans to a North Dakota borrower needs a license from the Department of Financial Institutions, applied for through the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System (NMLS). Section 13-04.1-09.3 caps finance charges at an annual 36%, "including all charges and fees necessary for the extension of credit incurred at origination."

Rule What North Dakota law says
Annual cap, licensed lenders 36%, origination fees included (NDCC 13-04.1-09.3)
Charges outside the cap Genuine third-party costs: credit reports, filing fees, appraisals
Late fee About $20 on loans under $50,000, per the DFI FAQ
General usury ceiling 9.204% as of September 2026; loans over $35,000 exempt
Minimum or maximum term Not set in the sources reviewed
Rollovers Not addressed for installment loans in the sources reviewed

Where online lenders fit

Being based in another state does not get a lender out of the license. The DFI's own FAQ says out-of-state lenders with no physical presence in North Dakota still need one to lend to residents.

The exemptions are narrow: federally chartered banks and credit unions, and state-regulated banks. The sources reviewed here do not address bank-partnership or tribal lending arrangements in North Dakota, so if a lender claims either, ask the DFI directly. Its complaint line covers licensed lenders.

If a lender does break the usury ceiling, FindLaw's summary of the statute says it forfeits all interest plus 25% of the principal, and a borrower can recover double any excess interest already paid.

Not the same as a payday loan

Payday loans run under a different chapter with different limits: $600 in total per borrower and a fee of no more than 20% of the amount advanced. Those rules are covered in payday loans in North Dakota.

The sources reviewed do not list North Dakota credit union alternative loans or state assistance programs, so this page cannot name them. A local credit union is the place to ask.

If you are closing on a house soon

An installment loan does not disappear from a mortgage file. The deposit shows up on your bank statements, and so does every monthly payment. Before you take one, or if you already have one, ask your loan officer three things: whether the deposit will need a letter of explanation, how the monthly payment will count against your income, and whether paying the loan off before you apply changes either answer. Get those answers in writing before you borrow.