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Payday loans in Tennessee

Capped at $500 over a maximum of 31 days, with no rollovers. But check what your agreement actually is — Tennessee regulates lines of credit under a separate act.

Deferred Presentment Services Act — T.C.A. Title 45, Chapter 17

Tennessee caps the term at 31 days and does not permit rollovers.

The Department of Financial Institutions states the term limit with the citation: agreements cannot exceed 31 days, under Tenn. Code Ann. § 45-17-112(d).Tennessee · RegulatorTennessee Department of Financial Institutions consumer notice on the Deferred Presentment Services Act — agreements cannot exceed 31 days in length (Tenn. Code Ann. § 45-17-112(d))

Reported terms are a maximum of $500 and a fee of 15% of the check face value — roughly $17.65 per $100 borrowed. Rollovers are not permitted: once a loan matures it must be repaid in full before a new one can be written.

Check the licence before anything else

TDFI licenses every deferred presentment provider in the state, storefront and online alike, and publishes them through NMLS Consumer Access.Tennessee · RegulatorTDFI licensed deferred presentment listing — check for licensed deferred presentment services lenders regulated by the Tennessee Department of Financial Institutions via NMLS Consumer Access

Complaints: TDFI on (800) 778-4215, or the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division.

Watch the product name on your agreement

Tennessee has a separate Flexible Credit Act, and TDFI regulates flexible credit lenders as a distinct category from deferred presentment providers.Tennessee · RegulatorTennessee Department of Financial Institutions — the department regulates deferred presentment services companies and flexible credit act lenders as separate categories

A line of credit is not a deferred presentment transaction and the deferred presentment rules on this page do not govern it — even where the cost is comparable. Check which statute your agreement cites.

Maximum term
31 days — Tenn. Code Ann. § 45-17-112(d).
Reported maximum loan
$500 per lender.
Reported fee
15% of the check face value, about $17.65 per $100 borrowed.
Rollovers
Not permitted.
Licensing
Required. Verify through NMLS Consumer Access.
Separate category
Flexible credit lenders are regulated separately — different rules apply.
Regulator
Tennessee Department of Financial Institutions · (800) 778-4215
Statute
Deferred Presentment Services Act, T.C.A. § 45-17-101 et seq.

If money is being taken from your account

You can revoke authorisation and instruct your bank to stop the payment, whatever your agreement says.

What Regulation E says about automatic payments →

Debt-collection law in Tennessee

A payday loan is a consumer debt. If it goes unpaid, two Tennessee rules decide what a lender can do next: how long it has to sue you, and how much of your pay a court can order taken.

Being sued over an old payday loan? A collector can still file, but the time limit is a defence you can raise — and you cannot be jailed for the debt. What can and cannot happen if you don’t pay →

Sources. Tennessee Department of Financial Institutions consumer notice on the Deferred Presentment Services Act. TDFI licensed deferred presentment listing. Tenn. Code Ann. Title 45, Chapter 17.
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