CASH ADVANCE MATH / TENNESSEE

Payday loans in Tennessee: rules, costs and cheaper options

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Tennessee borrowing rules

Rules being re-checked
Some official sources were unavailable. Confirm current rules with the regulator before relying on them.

Legal as deferred presentment services, with licensed lenders

Maximum loan: At most 2 outstanding checks with a combined face value of $500
Fee cap: Up to 15% of the check's face amount: $75 on a $500 check, leaving $425 cash received at the maximum fee.
Loan term: Up to 31 calendar days in the reviewed 2018 code text. Current official wording still needs checking.
Rollovers: The reviewed text prohibits renewal or consolidation using another transaction from the same lender. No statutory cooling-off period was found. These rules are only partly verified.

The $500 limit is the face value of the checks, including fees. It does not mean $500 cash received. The regulator's 2025 report confirms the fee and check limits.

Regulator: Tennessee Department of Financial Institutions (TDFI)

Repayment options and borrower safeguards

Database and repayment plans: re-check required: The reviewed 2018 text has no statewide database and lets lenders rely on a written statement about outstanding checks. No statutory extended payment plan was found. Confirm both points in the current law.

Collection limits: re-check required: The reviewed 2018 text prohibits bad-check convictions for these transactions and disallows returned-check handling charges and attorney fees, while allowing court costs. Current official wording was not verified.

What the sources establish

The current official Tennessee Code is published through LexisNexis and could not be opened. Term, rollover and database details rely on the 2018 Justia code text in a 2022 Internet Archive capture. TDFI's 2025 annual report confirms the 15% fee, two-check limit and $500 face-value cap. The absence of later acts naming deferred presentment does not rule out amendments in broader legislation.

Cheaper options in Tennessee

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Last checked Sep 30, 2026. These state rules do not change the calculator's national example.

Full researched rules and qualifications

Legal status

Legal as 'deferred presentment services' under the Deferred Presentment Services Act (Tenn. Code Ann. 45-17-101 et seq.), licensed by the Tennessee Department of Financial Institutions (TDFI). 496 licensed locations at 2025-06-30 (TDFI 2025 annual report).

Maximum loan

No more than two checks outstanding per customer, with an aggregate face value of max $500 (45-17-112(o); TDFI 2025 annual report). The face value includes the fee, so with the maximum fee the borrower receives about $425 on a $500 check (our calculation).

Fees

Fee max 15% of the face amount of the check (45-17-112(b); TDFI 2025 annual report): $75 on a $500 check. Our calculation: $75 on $425 received for 14 days = 460.1% APR, for 31 days = 207.8% APR ($17.65 per $100 received). The lender may not charge the returned-check handling charge of 47-29-102 or collect attorney fees, only court costs (45-17-112(i)) (partly verified: read in the 2018 code text).

Term

Up to 31 calendar days (45-17-112(d)). No statutory minimum found (partly verified: read in the 2018 code text).

Rollovers

A licensee may not renew or consolidate a deferred presentment transaction with the proceeds of another transaction from the same licensee; such a transaction is void (45-17-112(q)). No statutory cooling-off period found in 45-17-112 (partly verified: read in the 2018 code text).

Other rules and source qualifications

No statewide database: the lender must ask about checks outstanding with other lenders and may rely on the customer's written statement (45-17-112(p)). No statutory extended payment plan found. No conviction under the bad check law for a deferred presentment check (45-17-112(i)). TDFI 2024 data: 937,400 transactions, average $287. The main alternative high-cost product is the 'flex loan' under the Flexible Credit Act (45-12): 24% per year plus a customary fee of max 0.7% per day of the average daily balance, max $4,000 outstanding (TDFI 2025 annual report; our calculation about 279.5% APR). 2025-2026: no public chapter with 'deferred presentment' in its abstract in the 110th to 114th General Assemblies (2017-2026), per the Secretary of State's public acts lists; 2025 Public Chapter 70 (SB0694) raised the maximum rate for industrial loan and thrift companies from 30% to 36% (a separate installment product).

Sources for this state guide