****Internet Lending in all 50 states****

I've complied a list of all 50 states showing which state's require the company to be licensed by that state, and which one's allow other state's licenses.

** This is just preliminary *** There may be changes to it.

States that require internet based pdl's to be licensed by that state:

Alabama

Alaska

Arizona

California

Colorado

DC

Deleware

Florida

Hawaii

Idaho

Illinois

Indiana

Kansas

Kentucky

Lousiana

Maine

Michigan

Minnesota
Please see THIS LINK for changes in the MN law, updated on 7/7/2009 by Shazzers.

Mississippi

Missouri

Montana

Nebraska

Nevada

New Hampshire

New Mexico

North Dakota

Ohio

Oklahoma

Oregon


Pennsylvania (See article on the last page)

South Carolina

South Dakota

Texas

Utah

Washington

Wisconsin - If the online company solicited you

Wyoming


In the above states the internet payday loan company must be licensed by that state and follow that state's laws.

The following state allow an internet based payday loan company to lend legally as long as it is licensed in any US State. They would need to follow the laws of the state they are licensed out of, not the state the consumer is in.

Arkansas

Rhode island

Tennessee

Wisconsin - If you found the company online by a search or other means

Edited and updated by Shazzers 7/7/2009
Edited again on 8/1/2009 by Shazzers

The following state are known to have payday loan companies acting as CSO's (Credit Service Organizations). This means they do not need to be licensed, and are generally 100% legal in what they charge.

Florida

Maryland

Texas

In the following states internet payday lenders are not legal, either because of restrictive laws, or because the state does not license companies not located in that state, but requires a state issued license to lend.

Connecticut

Georgia

Iowa

Maryland

Massachucetts

New Jersey

New York

North Carolina

Vermont

Virginia

West Virginia

good morning still at work on these lenders how can i find this list so that I can send to two of my lenders that say they don't have to be licenced in my state fast bucks now and upfront money thank you

Goudah, how is it that Maryland shows up under CSO and Illegal?

PDL's are illegal, but CSO's are legal.

CSO's are different from pdl's, and are under totally different laws. So pdl's can be illegal and CSO's legal in the same state.

That's great goudah, good info.

Barbiwalk - I made this list myself. It is not found elsewhere on the internet.

Goudah...help me...I am not sure, as in the case of Maryland, how/when to determine if it is a CSO or PDL. Maryland says that a CSO doesn't have to be licensed, ergo, no record of them on the MD site. So a person could easily interpret that a lender is not licensed and therefore is not legal. They may confuse it as being a PDL lender.

I live in new york and I have "HAD" a pdl in 2005 and paid on it and know they want $5000.00 in 2008 when I only borrowed $200.00

HELP ME!

If a lender is required to have a license but is not on the state's roster, does that mean it's illegal? What do I need to do if it is? I've got 11 payday loans and they eating me alive!

Licenses can be hard to find. The company may be licensed under a corporate name, or some other way.

I can't speak to general legalities. Everything depends on the specifics.

DSS - CSO's must still be registered with the Sec of State. It's a different process then licensing, but most states still have searchable databases of the registrations. Also, the contract will also state that the business is a CSO.

Best you can do is to tell the company that you believe them to be unlicensed and force them to prove that they are (they need to be licensed at the time of transaction, btw).

If they give you a corporate name, or a d/b/a name, come back here and post it to assist other community members.

So If the company is not licensed what does that mean? I have loans with BIG, 247advance, Loanshop and FTR processing. Are these companies licensed in AZ? If not what can i do about the loans? I have already taken the first step and closed my bank account, but now I am freaked out abou that harrassing phone calls I am sure I will get.