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

Payday loans in North Dakota are legal and run through the Deferred Presentment Service Providers chapter: a $500 cap on what a single transaction can pay out, a fee capped at 20% of that amount, a $600 ceiling on what you can owe across every licensee at once, and no more than one renewal. This page covers what North Dakota Century Code chapter 13-08 allows, what a loan actually costs, the rights you have before and after you sign, and which of the lenders we review serve North Dakota. For how North Dakota compares with every other state, see payday loan laws by state.

North Dakota payday loan rules at a glance

Rule	North Dakota
Legal status	Permitted, through a licensed deferred presentment service provider (N.D.C.C. chapter 13-08)
Regulator	North Dakota Department of Financial Institutions, commissioner of financial institutions
Maximum amount	$500 disbursed per transaction (section 13-08-12(3))
Outstanding limit	$600 combined, across all licensees at once (section 13-08-12(4))
Fee cap	20% of the amount paid to you, plus a database-registration fee capped at the licensee’s cost (section 13-08-12(2))
Term	No separate cap on a single transaction stated; combined with one renewal, 60 days maximum (section 13-08-12(6), (12))
Renewals	One, at a fee capped at 20% of the amount renewed; the renewal period must run at least 15 days (section 13-08-12(12))
Cooling-off	3 business days after you finish any previous transaction, with any licensee, before a licensee can open a new one with you (section 13-08-12(4))
Right of rescission	By the close of the next business day after you receive the funds, at no cost (section 13-08-12(6))
Returned-item charge	Capped at $40 by cross-reference to section 6-08-16(2)(c) (section 13-08-12(7))
Criminal exposure	Barred unless your account was closed on the original transaction date; the licensee cannot threaten prosecution (section 13-08-12(8))
Military borrowers	36% federal MAPR cap under the Military Lending Act

How a North Dakota payday loan works

North Dakota Century Code chapter 13-08 calls the business a deferred presentment service provider: a licensee that pays you the amount of a check, minus the permitted fee, and holds that check (or an authorized electronic debit) for a period before cashing or presenting it. Operating in the state at all requires a license from the commissioner of financial institutions, under section 13-08-02, and a separate license for every location. To qualify, an applicant needs a net worth of at least $25,000 per licensed location, no felony conviction for the business or its principals, and a $20,000 surety bond (section 13-08-03); the application and background-investigation fee is $850, and the annual renewal fee is $450, both per location (section 13-08-05).

The amount a licensee can hand you in one transaction is capped at $500 (section 13-08-12(3)), and the fee on that amount is capped at 20% of what you are paid — $100 on the $500 maximum (section 13-08-12(2)). That 20% figure is the only fee the statute allows, apart from a database-registration charge the licensee may pass through at no more than its own cost. Separately from the per-transaction cap, you cannot hold more than $600 in combined outstanding obligations to one or more licensees at the same time, under section 13-08-12(4): the commissioner administers a database for licensees to verify that limit, and until it is fully in use a licensee may rely on your written or electronic representation about what you already owe elsewhere. A licensee also cannot open a new transaction with you within three business days of your paying off the last one.

Before disbursing any money, the licensee must give you a clear, conspicuous printed notice that the loan is not meant for long-term needs, that renewing costs an additional fee, and a schedule of its fees (section 13-08-12(1)). Every transaction, including a renewal, must be documented in a written agreement that states the transaction date, the obligation amount, the fee as both a dollar figure and an annual percentage rate, and a statement of your right of rescission printed just above the signature line (section 13-08-12(6)).

What a payday loan costs in North Dakota

The fee is a flat 20% of the amount the licensee pays you, not a per-day rate. On the maximum $500 transaction, the figure our payday loan cost by state guide uses:

	Amount
Amount paid to you	$500
Fee (20% of the amount advanced)	$100
Total you owe when the check is held	$600
Annualized over 14 days	About 521% APR

Because the fee is fixed at 20% once the amount is set, the dollar cost does not change with a shorter or longer hold, but a 14-day term — the typical pay-cycle interval used to illustrate cost across states — annualizes to roughly 521% APR. The agreement must also state that figure as an annual percentage rate, so check that disclosure against the math above before you sign.

The rule to know before the due date: one renewal, and a hard outstanding cap

If you cannot pay in full on the due date, chapter 13-08 gives you exactly one renewal, under section 13-08-12(12): the renewal fee cannot exceed 20% of the amount being renewed, and the combined term of the original transaction and the renewal cannot run past 60 calendar days, with the renewal period itself no shorter than 15 days. After that single renewal and the 60-day ceiling, the transaction has to be paid off — the licensee cannot renew, repay, refinance, or consolidate it with the proceeds of another transaction from the same licensee (section 13-08-12(14)). Separately, section 13-08-12(13) lets a licensee offer a voluntary workout agreement if you are facing financial hardship: even installments, weekly, biweekly, or monthly, over up to 12 months, with no additional interest or fee charged as part of it. Either side can decline a workout; nothing in the chapter requires a licensee to offer one.

Your rights at the counter

1. A licensed provider. Every deferred presentment service provider needs a commissioner’s license under section 13-08-02, posted with its license number at the location, plus instructions for looking it up on the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System (section 13-08-06(2)).
2. A capped amount. No more than $500 disbursed in one transaction (section 13-08-12(3)), and no more than $600 owed across every licensee at once (section 13-08-12(4)).
3. A capped fee. 20% of the amount advanced, plus at most a cost-based database fee, and nothing else (section 13-08-12(2)).
4. A written disclosure before you sign. The fee schedule, the annual percentage rate, the transaction date, and a notice that the loan is for short-term needs only (section 13-08-12(1), (6)).
5. The right to change your mind. You can rescind any transaction by the close of the business day after you receive the funds, at no cost (section 13-08-12(6)).
6. No more than one renewal, at a fee capped the same way, inside a combined 60-day ceiling (section 13-08-12(12)).
7. No criminal exposure for a bad check, unless your account was closed on the original transaction date, and the licensee cannot threaten criminal prosecution to collect (section 13-08-12(8)).

Active-duty servicemembers and their dependents have one more: the federal Military Lending Act caps the Military Annual Percentage Rate on these loans at 36%.

What happens if you cannot repay

Ask about the one renewal, or about a voluntary workout agreement, before the due date — both are built into chapter 13-08 and cost no additional fee beyond the capped renewal charge. If a check or electronic debit is returned, the licensee can pursue civil collection and contract for a returned-item charge capped at $40 under section 13-08-12(7), but the chapter bars criminal prosecution over the check unless your account was closed the day you took out the loan. Read what happens if you default on a payday loan for how collection typically proceeds from there, and how to escape the payday loan cycle if renewing or re-borrowing right after payoff has become the pattern. If the underlying problem is a bill you cannot cover, what to do when you can’t make this month’s payment is usually a cheaper starting point than a loan that costs $100 to borrow $500 for two weeks.

Alternatives worth trying first in North Dakota

A payday loan is legal in North Dakota 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
North Dakota payday loan (licensee)	$100 fee on $500 for 14 days, about 521% APR (table above)	One renewal at the same 20% fee; $600 outstanding limit

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, confirm the lender’s license through the North Dakota Department of Financial Institutions or the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System before you sign, borrow only what you can repay in one cycle, and use the 60-day, single-renewal ceiling as the outer limit, not the plan.