North Dakota Payday Loan Law and Legislation

Payday loans in North Dakota have a long history. They existed even before 2001 when the first payday loan regulations were enacted. Since then, there have been some changes in the industry regulations, however, at the present moment, the state has much more lenient laws with regard to payday loans than the neighboring South Dakota, for instance.

North Dakota Payday Lending Statutes

Payday loans in North Dakota are regulated by N.D. Cent. Code 13-08-01 et seq. The laws in North Dakota are similar to the laws regarding payday loans in many US states. The law covers both store-front and online lenders alike.

Every client who gets a loan in North Dakota should also get a written agreement. The agreement should contain the customer’s name; the rates charged, the date when the loan was deposited, the loan sum, and the APR.

The borrower should get the document stating all the charges and fees; all the amounts should be listed in US dollars. The client has the right to return the loan back by 5 p.m. of the day after applying for this loan without charges.

Loan Amount in North Dakota

• Borrowers can take a maximum of $500, but there is no limit on the minimum sum.

Licensed lenders are not permitted to conduct payday loan transactions with any customer whose value of combined outstanding loans is greater than $600. That outstanding amount being payable to the lender or another licensed party under N.D. Cent. Code 13-08-01 et seq.

Rates, Fees and Other Charges in North Dakota

• Lending companies operating in North Dakota can charge percentage rates up to 20% of the loan amount, which means that customers will pay up to $20 on each $100 borrowed.

Licensed lenders are entitled to charge a fee for payday loans services, so long as the fee is not greater than 20% of the amount being paid to the borrower by the lender. Fees are not permitted to be considered interest for any purpose. No other fees or billings may be assessed for the payday loan services, apart from a fee no greater than the cost to the licensed lender. It may be charged for initiating a transaction and storing it on a database administered or permitted by the state commissioner. (N.D. Cent. Code 13-08-01 et seq.)

Real APR in North Dakota can reach 487% for the average $300 payday loan (According to the Center for Responsible Lending 2019).

The Maximum Term for a Payday in North Dakota

• The difference is that in the state of North Dakota a borrower has the right to keep a loan for 60 days, and the average limit in other states is 30 days.
• Rollovers are allowed in North Dakota, however, the fee amount cannot exceed 20% of the loan.
• A cooling-off period of 3 business days is required before the next consecutive loan.

Consumer Information

Attention
From July 2020, lenders are not required to check a borrower’s ability to repay a loan.
Be careful, evaluate your financial situation, don’t get into a debt trap.
The rule was changed by the CFPB.

• Collection charges ($20) may be filed in case the client closes their bank account or if a borrower passes a check being aware of the fact that there is no money on the account.
• It is prohibited in North Dakota for lenders to file charges in court to return the funds if a customer doesn’t repay the loan in time.

In case of any assistance in regard to payday loans, one can contact the North Dakota Department of Financial Institutions (DFI).

Regulator: Complaints & Information

North Dakota Department of Financial Institutions

Address: 2000 Schafer St #G, Bismarck, ND 58501-1204
Phone: 701-328-9933
Url: https://www.nd.gov/dfi/
File a Complaint: https://www.nd.gov/eforms/Doc/sfn50702.pdf

Submit a Complaint to the CFPB

Number of North Dakota Consumers Complaints by Topics

According to CFPB Consumer Complaint Database

• Fraud and threat ( 11 )
• Charges from account ( 7 )
• Not exiting debt ( 6 )
• Lender is not available ( 2 )
• Credit rating ( 1 )
• Loan not received ( 1 )
• Not requested loan ( 1 )

The Quantity of Top North Dakota Stores by Cities

The History of Payday Loans in North Dakota

• 1990s – Payday lenders operated under the roof of pawn shops and charged triple-digit interest rates. The state Legislature had to request pawn shops to seize offering payday loans at one point when the rates got excessive. Yet, there was no separate regulation for the industry.
• July 1, 2001 – The first time payday loan law was enacted in North Dakota. The law set a limit to loan interest and charges at 20% of the loan amount. Many payday loan stores opened officially.
• 2006 – The Military Lending Act effectively capped payday loans offered to the military at 36% APR. This federal law has no exceptions, thus, no lender in North Dakota is now allowed to offer loans to the military in excess of 36% APR.
• April 1, 2013 – N.D. Century Code 13-08 was amended.
• June 2, 2016 – The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) proposed a Payday Loan Rule that hasn’t yet fully come into effect (the federal rule is expected in November 2020).
• Present days – North Dakota still sticks to the same payday loan regulations it enacted in the 2000s.

[Updated As of February 2020]