Florida Payday Loan Laws: Caps, Fees and Rules

Florida regulates payday loans more tightly than most states. Here is exactly what Chapter 560 allows — the amounts, the fees, the one-loan rule — and how to tell a licensed offer from one that isn't following the law.

What Florida calls a payday loan

In the Florida statutes the product is a deferred presentment transaction, governed by Chapter 560 of the Florida Statutes. You write (or authorize) a payment for a future date, the lender hands you the money now, and the whole transaction must fit inside the limits the statute sets — no matter whether you sign in a storefront or on a website.

That online point matters. Some borrowers assume internet lenders play by different rules. In Florida they don't: a lender serving Florida residents under a Florida license applies the same $500 cap, the same fee limits, and the same database checks as the shop on the corner.

The $500 cap and the fee formula

The law caps the loan at $500. It also caps what the loan costs: a finance charge of up to 10% of the amount advanced, plus a verification fee of no more than $5. That's the whole formula — no origination tricks, no rollover interest.

Here is what the formula produces on a standard 14-day loan:

Terms: 7 to 31 days, one repayment

A Florida payday loan runs at least 7 days and at most 31 days, and it is repaid in a single payment on the date you authorize — usually your next payday. There are no monthly installments and no automatic extensions: if the single payment doesn't fit your budget, the statute's answer is the 60-day repayment plan below, not another layer of fees.

One loan at a time, and a 24-hour pause

A statewide database run for the Florida Office of Financial Regulation tracks deferred presentment transactions in real time. It allows one open loan per borrower, and it enforces a 24-hour waiting period between paying off one loan and taking the next. A licensed lender must check the database before every transaction.

This is the rule that separates Florida from the states where loans stack. You cannot walk down the street (or open a second browser tab) and add another $500 advance on top of an open one.

The 60-day repayment plan

If you cannot make the balloon payment, Chapter 560 gives you an escape hatch: request a 60-day repayment plan before your due date. The lender must let you repay in an installment schedule instead — at no extra cost beyond the fees already in your contract. You can use it once every 12 months, which is why it's worth saving for a genuine emergency rather than burning it on a minor shortfall.

If an offer breaks these rules

Any offer above $500, with fees beyond 10% plus $5, or without the database check is not operating as a Florida-licensed payday loan. That doesn't always mean the offer is illegal — some online lenders operate under other jurisdictions' laws, including tribal lenders — but it does mean Chapter 560's protections won't apply. Complaints about licensed Florida lenders go to the Florida Office of Financial Regulation.

Frequently asked questions