Payday loans are legal in Alaska. State law calls them deferred deposit advances. A single loan is capped at $500, and a lender may charge $15 for every $100 advanced. On a 14-day loan, that fee works out to an APR of roughly 435%.

The rules sit in Alaska Statutes Title 06, Chapter 50, the Deferred Deposit Advance Act. Lenders are licensed by the Division of Banking and Securities, which is part of the Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development. In 2025 the Legislature passed a bill to cap these loans at 36%, and the governor vetoed it. The figures below reflect the law as the sources describe it through 2025.

The limits the statute sets

Rule Alaska law
Maximum loan $500 per advance
Loans at once One outstanding advance, no more than $500 total
Minimum term 14 days
Maximum fee $15 per $100 advanced
Resulting APR About 435% on a 14-day loan
Rollovers Borrower may pay only the finance charge to roll the loan into another pay period

The Department of Law points to AS 06.50.400 through 06.50.560 for the dollar and fee limits. The amounts in the table come from legal summaries of those sections hosted with the statute text on Justia. The rollover rule comes from the Department of Law.

Our sources do not say whether Alaska requires a cooling-off period between loans, runs a statewide loan database, or requires an extended payment plan. Before you rely on any of those, read the chapter itself or call the Division.

Who is allowed to lend to Alaskans, online included

Every lender needs an Alaska license, and that includes out-of-state lenders that reach borrowers online. Licensing runs through NMLS, the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System. A licensee must post a surety bond of $25,000 for one location or $50,000 for several. The bond is a fund the state can use to repay consumers a lender has harmed.

The Division's active licensee report listed 13 active licenses as of January 1, 2025:

  • 7 company licenses
  • 3 branch licenses, all in Anchorage
  • 1 mobile app license
  • 2 website licenses

The sources do not address tribal lenders. The state's position is simple: anyone lending to Alaskans needs a license. If a lender does not appear in the Division's directory, treat that as the warning sign. You can report a lender to the Consumer Protection Unit at 907-269-5200.

The 36% cap that passed and did not become law

Senate Bill 39 would have put payday loans under the 36% APR cap that already applies to most other consumer loans in Alaska. It passed the Legislature 38 to 22.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy vetoed it on June 26, 2025. He said the cap "would reduce short-term credit options." Overriding the veto takes 40 votes in a joint session. The Legislature's next session convened January 20, 2026, and our sources do not report what happened there. Confirm the current rules with the Division.

What these loans cost Alaskans in practice

Figures filed with the Legislature describe a typical pattern. About 15,000 Alaskans borrow each year. The average loan is $440, and the average borrower takes 5.4 loans a year. Fees in the first month run about $137, and repeated renewals can pass $1,200 over roughly five months.

For comparison, the CFPB puts typical credit card APRs at about 12% to 30%. Our sources do not document credit union alternatives or state assistance programs in Alaska. Ask your own credit union what it offers.

If you are closing on a house soon

Payday lenders collect through a post-dated check or electronic access to your account. That means every repayment and every renewal shows up as a withdrawal on the bank statements your mortgage lender is reading.

The lender may ask for a letter of explanation, a short written account of the withdrawals. It may count the payment in your debt-to-income ratio, which is the share of your monthly income that goes to debt. Or it may ignore it. Our sources set no rule for this, and practice depends on the lender.

Ask your loan officer before you borrow, not after. Also ask whether they want the loan paid off, and gone from your statements, before your application goes to underwriting.