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

Payday loans in Virginia no longer exist in their traditional form. The Fairness in Lending Act, effective January 1, 2021, rewrote Chapter 18 of Title 6.2 of the Code of Virginia: a licensed short-term loan must now be repaid in equal installments over 4 to 24 months, is capped at $2,500, and carries 36% interest plus a capped monthly fee. The market shrank accordingly. At the end of 2025 the State Corporation Commission counted five licensed short-term lenders and no licensed car title lenders. This page covers what the law allows, what a loan costs, your rights, and which of the lenders we review serve Virginia. For how Virginia compares with every other state, see payday loan laws by state.

Virginia payday loan rules at a glance

Rule	Virginia
Legal status	Restricted: installment-only short-term loans from an SCC-licensed lender (Code of Virginia 6.2-1800 and following)
Regulator	State Corporation Commission, Bureau of Financial Institutions, (804) 371-9657
Maximum loan amount	$2,500 (6.2-1816.1)
Interest cap	36% simple annual interest (6.2-1817)
Monthly fee	8% of the original principal or $25, whichever is less
Total cost cap	50% of the principal on loans of $1,500 or less; 60% above that (6.2-1818.3)
Term	4 to 24 months; shorter only if each payment is at most 5% of gross or 6% of net monthly income
Loans at a time	One, checked against a state-certified database (6.2-1816, 6.2-1810)
Right to cancel	Until 5 p.m. on the third business day after the loan is made
Unlicensed lenders	Loan is void; no right to collect principal, interest, or fees (6.2-1801)
Military borrowers	36% federal MAPR cap under the Military Lending Act

How a Virginia short-term loan works

The Fairness in Lending Act also reached open-end credit. Open-end credit plans are now capped at 36% interest plus a $50 annual fee, and licensed short-term lenders are barred from using them to get around Chapter 18 (section 6.2-312).

A short-term loan today is precomputed and repaid in substantially equal installments, with no balloon payment at the end. The term runs 4 to 24 months, unless the monthly payment is small relative to your income. You can have only one short-term loan at a time, and the lender must check the state-certified database before lending.

What a short-term loan costs in Virginia

Take a $1,000 loan repaid monthly over six months, with the maximum charges the statute allows:

	Amount
Borrowed	$1,000
Interest at 36% on a declining balance	About $108
Monthly maintenance fee ($25 × 6)	$150
Total charges	About $258
Monthly payment	About $210
Most the law allows in charges (50%)	$500

These are our own illustration figures, not a quote; your Truth in Lending disclosure states the actual APR and total of payments. The monthly fee is why the APR lands well above 36%: the SCC’s 2025 annual report shows licensed short-term lenders made 16,205 loans averaging $895, at an average contracted APR of 102%.

Online lenders and void loans

Virginia’s law reaches lenders with no office in the state. Section 6.2-1801 requires an SCC license to make short-term loans to Virginians “whether or not the person has a location in the Commonwealth,” covers arrangements built to evade the law, and makes a loan in violation void: the lender has no right to collect or keep any principal, interest, or fees. Before borrowing online, confirm the lender on the SCC’s license search. For lenders that cite tribal affiliation, see tribal loans and sovereign immunity.

Your rights at the counter

1. A licensed lender. Check the SCC Bureau of Financial Institutions license search or call (804) 371-9657.
2. A capped loan and capped charges. No more than $2,500, 36% interest, a monthly fee of no more than $25, and total charges of no more than 50% or 60% of the principal.
3. Equal installments and at least four months. No single balloon payment.
4. One loan at a time. A lender that lends while you have another short-term loan open is breaking the law.
5. Three business days to change your mind. Return the money by 5 p.m. on the third business day and the loan is rescinded.
6. 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

Call the lender before a missed payment and ask what it can offer, and keep the total cost cap in mind: charges cannot pass 50% or 60% of the principal however long repayment takes. The lender can pursue an unpaid balance as a civil debt. 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. To complain about a lender, use the SCC’s online form or write to P.O. Box 640, Richmond, VA 23218-0640.

Alternatives worth trying first in Virginia

These are roughly cheapest first, with the licensed short-term loan last for comparison:

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 area
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
Virginia licensed short-term loan	About $258 in charges on $1,000 over six months (above)	Total charges can reach 50% of the principal on loans of $1,500 or less

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 SCC license, borrow the smallest amount, and pay ahead of schedule when you can to cut the monthly fees.