Payday Loans in Mississippi: Laws, Costs, and Your Options (2026)

Payday loans in Mississippi are legal as delayed deposit transactions under the Mississippi Check Cashers Act, Miss. Code Ann. 75-67-501 and following, from lenders licensed by the Department of Banking and Consumer Finance (DBCF). The checks you hold with a lender cannot exceed $500 in total, the fee is capped at $20 to $21.95 per $100 advanced, and a loan cannot be renewed. Mississippi’s other small-dollar product is the credit availability loan, an installment loan with a state maximum of $3,320 outstanding as of July 1, 2026. This page covers what the law allows, what a loan costs, your rights, and which of the lenders we review serve Mississippi. For how Mississippi compares with every other state, see payday loan laws by state.

The details below come from the DBCF’s published regulations for the Check Cashers Act and the Credit Availability Act, which cite the statute sections they apply.

Mississippi payday loan rules at a glance

Rule	Mississippi
Legal status	Permitted, through a DBCF check casher licensee (75-67-505(1))
Regulator	Department of Banking and Consumer Finance, 601-321-6901
Maximum	$500 in checks per customer, in total
Fee cap, checks to $250	$20 per $100 advanced (75-67-519(4)(a))
Fee cap, over $250	$21.95 per $100 advanced (75-67-519(4)(b))
Loan term	Checks to $250: up to 30 days; checks over $250: 28 to 30 days, as you choose (75-67-519(1))
Renewals	Not allowed; the transaction must be collected in full
Returned check	One processing fee of up to $30, however many times the check is presented (75-67-519(7))
Disclosure	Fee shown in dollars and as an APR in your agreement (75-67-519(3))
Installment option	Credit availability loans up to $3,320 outstanding (since July 1, 2026), 4 to 12 months (75-67-601 and after)
Military borrowers	36% federal MAPR cap under the Military Lending Act

How a Mississippi payday loan works

You write the lender a check for the amount you receive plus the fee, and the lender agrees to hold it until the maturity date. Your agreement must show the check number, the date of the transaction, and the maturity date, and state the fee both in dollars and as an annual percentage rate (75-67-519(3)). Every licensed location must post a sign at least 20 by 20 inches, in large bold print, listing its maximum fees and the no-renewal rule (75-67-515(4)).

The $500 limit covers every check a customer has with the lender, whether one check or several, and applies to each person on a joint account.

What a payday loan costs in Mississippi

The DBCF’s required fee sign lists these maximums:

You receive	Maximum fee	Check amount	Term	APR
$100	$20.00	$120.00	14 days	About 521%
$200	$40.00	$240.00	14 days	About 521%
$300	$65.85	$365.85	28 to 30 days	About 267%–286%
$400	$87.80	$487.80	28 to 30 days	About 267%–286%

The first three columns are the DBCF’s own figures; the APR column is our arithmetic using the DBCF’s formula, and the DBCF’s own example puts $100 for 14 days at 521.43%. A check of $250 or less can be held for up to 30 days, but a check over $250 must be held for at least 28 and no more than 30 days, as you choose (75-67-519(1)), so the larger checks above cannot be written for 14 days. Your agreement states the actual APR for your term.

If your check is returned, the lender can charge one processing fee of up to $30, no matter how many times it presents the check (75-67-519(7)).

Renewals and payment plans

A Mississippi lender cannot take a fee to renew or extend a payday loan. The DBCF’s rule is that the transaction cannot be renewed and must be collected in full. If you default and the lender sets up a payment plan, and you then default on the plan, the lender can deposit your check but cannot collect more than the original check amount plus the processing fee.

Credit availability loans: the installment option

The Mississippi Credit Availability Act (75-67-601 and following) licenses small installment loans. Under the DBCF’s regulations:

1. Two sizes. Loans of $500 or less are repaid over 4 to 6 months; larger loans over 6 to 12 months, in substantially equal monthly payments. The most you can owe on one account is set by 75-67-619(3): the Legislature raised it from $2,500 to $3,250 in 2025 and tied it to inflation, and the DBCF’s June 2026 memo set it at $3,320 from July 1, 2026.
2. A handling fee of up to 25% a month, plus an origination fee of up to 1% of the amount disbursed or $5, whichever is greater.
3. Late fees are limited. Up to 10% of the past-due amount, only once a payment is more than 10 business days late, once per missed payment, and only if the agreement discloses it.
4. No separate returned-payment fee. The lender cannot charge a separate NSF fee on these loans.
5. Early payoff without penalty. Unearned handling fees must be refunded, and the lender cannot use the Rule of 78s to figure the refund.
6. No add-ons. No insurance or other products can be sold with the loan.
7. One business day to cancel. You can rescind within one business day; the origination fee is not refunded if you already took the money.

At the maximum rate, a credit availability loan is expensive. As an illustration, $500 repaid in six equal monthly payments at 25% a month on the unpaid balance comes to about $169.41 a month, about $1,016 in total. That is our own arithmetic, not a quote; your agreement includes an amortization schedule with the actual figures.

Your rights

1. A licensed lender. The lender needs a DBCF check casher license. Check it on NMLS Consumer Access or call 601-321-6901.
2. A capped fee. No more than $20 per $100 advanced on checks of $250 or less, and $21.95 per $100 above that.
3. A $500 limit on the checks you hold with a lender.
4. No renewals. A lender cannot charge you to extend a payday loan.
5. One returned-check fee, capped at $30.
6. The fee in dollars and as an APR, in writing, before you sign.
7. The federal Truth in Lending box. The APR, finance charge, amount financed, and total of payments must be disclosed before you sign.

What happens if you cannot repay

Talk to the lender before the maturity date about a payment plan. If a lender charges more than the posted maximums or tries to renew your loan for a fee, report it to the Department of Banking and Consumer Finance. Read what happens if you default on a payday loan for how collection works, and how to escape the payday loan cycle if one loan keeps leading to the next. If the real problem is a bill you cannot cover, start with what to do when you can’t make this month’s payment.

Alternatives worth trying first in Mississippi

A payday loan is legal in Mississippi but costs the most here, so these come first, roughly cheapest first:

Option	What it costs	The catch
Payment plan on the bill itself	Often nothing	You have to ask before the due date
211 referral to rent, utility, or food help	Nothing	What is funded varies by county
Federal credit union PAL I	Up to 28% APR plus an application fee of up to $20; $200 to $1,000, 1–6 months	One month of membership first; one PAL at a time
Federal credit union PAL II	The same caps; up to $2,000, 1–12 months	Not every federal credit union offers one
Mississippi payday loan (DBCF licensee)	$40 fee on $200 for 14 days, about 521% APR (table above)	Not renewable; the full check amount comes due, and $500 is the most you can have

The credit union limits come from federal regulation (12 CFR 701.21(c)(7)): no more than three PALs in six months, and no rollovers. Call 211 to reach the local referral line. Employer pay advances and earned-wage apps cost more than their small fees suggest; payday loan alternatives that actually work has the numbers for each option. If an installment loan is on the table, installment loans vs. payday loans explains how to compare total cost.

If you do borrow, borrow the smallest amount, compare the APR on at least two offers, and confirm the lender’s Mississippi license before you sign.