Loan Rates and Fees in Delaware

Delaware's Licensed Lender Act sets no statutory cap on finance charges or interest rates for short-term consumer loans (loans of $1,000 or less with terms under 60 days) - lenders may charge any rate disclosed in the agreement. The per-loan cap is $1,000, and the stated repayment period must be less than 60 days.

Because there is no state fee cap, the cost of a specific loan depends entirely on what the lender discloses - review the finance charge line and the total of payments on your agreement before you sign. Federal law requires lenders to disclose APR; on a 14-day loan, even a modest fee produces a very high annualized percentage because the short term compresses the cost into a fraction of a year.

• Rollovers are permitted - up to 4 per loan - but each rollover may add fees; compare the new total of payments before agreeing.
• The returned payment (NSF) fee is capped at $25.
• A database verification fee may appear as a separate line item; confirm the exact amount with the lender before signing.

If something on your offer looks wrong, verify with the Delaware Office of the State Bank Commissioner.

Licensed lenders operating under the Licensed Lender Act face no statutory interest rate ceiling on closed-end installment loans - state law explicitly preempts any other Delaware rate-limiting law for lenders operating under this chapter. Rates, origination fees, and other charges are set by the loan agreement and must be fully disclosed before you sign.

On a $1,000 installment loan, the total you repay depends entirely on the rate and term in your specific agreement - there is no state ceiling to check against. Review the total of payments line on your agreement, which shows principal plus all interest and fees over the full term.

• Refinancing restarts interest on the new balance - compare your remaining balance to the new loan's total of payments before you agree.
• The same $25 returned payment fee cap applies - see payday loan costs above.
• Late fees are permitted when the agreement provides for them; no separate state dollar cap is specified - ask the lender for the exact amount and grace period before you sign.
• You can prepay in full at any time; if interest was precomputed (add-on method), the lender must refund the unearned portion - see the installment loans page for details on early payoff.

If an offer looks wrong, verify with the Delaware Office of the State Bank Commissioner.

• Returned payment fee: can't exceed $25 on either product.
• Total of payments: the single most important number - this is what you'll actually pay back over the full term, including all interest and fees.
• If you are a servicemember or dependent, confirm the lender has applied the federal Military Lending Act rate cap.