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In six states the law requires a payday lender to convert your loan into a longer repayment plan — usually at no extra charge — if you ask before the due date. We found this state by state while verifying all 52 jurisdictions. In the two states that publish take-up figures, it is under 8%.
Florida — share of payday transactions using the grace period
0.71%Seven in every thousand, according to the Legislature’s own staff analysis. In the same period, 37.6% of Florida borrowers took ten or more payday loans in a year — which is precisely the situation the grace period exists to interrupt.
| State | What you are entitled to | How to trigger it |
|---|---|---|
| Florida | 60 extra days, no additional charge. The lender may not deposit your check during it, and may not discourage you from using it. | Tell them in person, before the due date. Then complete credit counselling — phone or online is fine. |
| Washington | An installment plan with no extra fees. Minimum 90 days for loans of $400 or less; minimum 180 days above that. | Request it at any time before the loan is due. |
| Utah | An extended payment plan under § 7-23-403. Average plan size reported at $373. | Request it. Take-up reported at 7.86%. |
| Idaho | Lenders are required to provide an extended payment plan to borrowers having difficulty. | Must be timely requested by you. |
| Louisiana | Four substantially equal instalments, once in any twelve-month period. | Ask. Once a year only. |
| Indiana | An extended payment plan. The Department of Financial Institutions publishes a model form for it. | Ask, and ask for the DFI model form by name. |
Ask before the due date. In most of these states the right disappears once you have defaulted. Florida requires you to say so in person, before the payment is due. Washington requires the request before the loan comes due.
If you can see two weeks ahead that you will not be able to pay, that is the moment — not the day it bounces.
What to say
“I’m not going to be able to repay this in full on the due date. I’m requesting the extended payment plan that state law entitles me to. Can you give me the paperwork for that today?”
There is no mystery here. The plan costs the lender the rollover fees they would otherwise collect, so there is no commercial reason to mention it. Florida is unusual in that its statute expressly forbids lenders from discouraging borrowers from using the grace period — which tells you what the legislature expected to happen.
Two other things suppress take-up. The requirement to ask in advance means it is unavailable to anyone who only realises at the last minute. And the conditions attached — credit counselling in Florida, a formal request in Idaho — give the interaction enough friction to lose people.
Rescission. Several states let you return the money and cancel entirely, usually by the end of the next business day, at no cost — Delaware, Wyoming, Maine. Utah recorded 1,923 rescissions worth $851,622 in one year, so it does get used.
A repayment plan before they can sue. Nevada requires a lender to offer one in writing within 15 days of your default, before commencing legal action.
Stopping the withdrawals. Independent of all of the above, you can revoke ACH authorisation and instruct your bank to stop payment. What the regulation says →
Ask anyway. Some lenders offer plans voluntarily, and a lender who says no in writing has given you something useful to send to your state regulator alongside a complaint.
Every figure on this page is drawn from the state page it links to, where the regulator or statutory citation is given in full.