Loan Rates and Fees in Ohio

Ohio replaced single-payment payday loans with the Short-Term Loan Act in 2019. Licensed short-term lenders can charge up to 28% annual interest on the unpaid balance, plus a monthly maintenance fee of up to 10% of the original principal or $30/month - whichever is less - plus a loan origination fee of up to 2% of the original principal on loans of $500 or more. Loans range from $50 to $1,000; your total outstanding balance across all short-term lenders cannot exceed $2,500.

On a $400 loan with a 91-day (3-month) term, there is no origination fee (the 2% fee only applies to loans of $500 or more); maximum monthly maintenance fees total $90 (three months at $30/month); and interest at 28% adds roughly $28 - making total repayment approximately $518. Federal disclosure rules require lenders to express all costs as an APR; on this loan, your agreement will show roughly 390% APR because the fixed monthly maintenance fee is annualized over a short term.

• Rollovers are prohibited - a lender cannot refinance or roll over an outstanding short-term loan into a new one.
• The returned payment fee is capped at $20 plus any amount passed through from other financial institutions per failed attempt.
• The lender may pass through the actual per-transaction cost of the state database verification but cannot mark it up.

If an offer exceeds these limits, verify with the Ohio Division of Financial Institutions.

Longer-term installment lenders in Ohio typically operate under a Consumer Installment Loan Act (CILA) license or a Credit Services Organization (CSO) registration. CILA lenders may charge interest up to 25% APR on closed-end and open-end loans.

CSO-brokered loans carry a separate credit services fee on top of the lender's interest; Ohio does not cap the CSO fee, so it is typically the largest cost line on the agreement.

On a $2,000 CILA loan at 25% APR for 12 months, you'd repay approximately $2,278 total - roughly $278 in interest plus $2,000 in principal. Confirm any origination fee or other charges with the lender before signing.

• Refinancing restarts interest on the new amount - compare your remaining balance to the new loan's total of payments before you agree.
• Returned payment fee: the CILA statute does not set a specific cap - ask the lender for the exact amount and confirm it's in your agreement before you sign.
• Late fee: cannot exceed the greater of 5% of the scheduled installment or $15, and only after the installment is more than 10 days past due.
• You can prepay in full at any time; for precomputed loans, the lender must refund charges for all fully unexpired installment periods.

If an offer exceeds these limits, verify with the Ohio Division of Financial Institutions.

• CSO fee: no state cap - ask the CSO for the exact amount and confirm it's listed separately from the lender's interest before you sign.

• Total of payments: add every line item on the agreement and confirm it matches the "total of payments" disclosure.
• If you are active-duty military or a military dependent, the lender cannot charge a monthly maintenance fee on short-term loans.