Permitted Regulated Verified 2026-09-06 · ver. 0.2.3 How we verify these rules

Installment Loans in Illinois

Illinois Consumer Installment Loan Act licensees may make loans up to $40,000, with covered loan cost capped at 36% PLPA APR. Interest-bearing loans must be fully amortizing through substantially equal periodic installments, while precomputed loans follow separate statutory accounting and refund rules.

Illinois legal category: Consumer Installment Loan · Illinois Consumer Installment Loan Act, 205 ILCS 670, together with the Predatory Loan Prevention Act, 815 ILCS 123

Illinois installment loans at a glance

Legal status
Permitted Regulated
Legal category
Consumer Installment Loan
Maximum amount in this regime
$40,000
Term
CILA requires principal and charges to be repaid within 181 months. The current PLS Cash Advance amount range would normally use much shorter terms, but the statute does not impose one universal term specifically for $1,000–$5,000 loans.
Regulator
Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) — Division of Financial Institutions, Consumer Credit Section
Verified
2026-09-06

Choose a loan type by amount

PLS Cash Advance currently presents request amounts from $200 to $5,000. The ranges below are navigation guidance between our state loan guides — not statutory limits, eligibility rules, or a promise of approval.

$200–$1,000

Payday Loans in Illinois

Preferred routing for smaller short-term requests. Illinois does not use a simple $1,000 principal ceiling: the Payday Loan Reform Act instead limits total payday payments due in the first calendar month to the lesser of $1,000 or 25% of gross monthly income, while the PLPA caps covered loan cost at 36% PLPA APR.

See Payday Loans

$1,000–$5,000 Current guide

Installment Loans in Illinois

Preferred routing for larger multi-payment requests inside the current PLS Cash Advance selector. Illinois Consumer Installment Loan Act licensees may lend up to $40,000; $5,000 is the site offer boundary, not the statutory maximum.

Amount and term limits

An Illinois Consumer Installment Loan Act licensee may lend principal up to $40,000. PLS Cash Advance currently routes only the $1,000–$5,000 portion of that legal range through this pSEO product.

CILA requires principal and charges to be repaid within 181 months. The current PLS Cash Advance amount range would normally use much shorter terms, but the statute does not impose one universal term specifically for $1,000–$5,000 loans.

Interest, fees and repayment

The 36% figure is a statutory ceiling, not an indication that every Illinois installment lender charges 36%. Because PLPA APR can include fees beyond nominal interest, compliance cannot safely be inferred from a simple interest-rate input alone.

A CILA licensee may not charge more than 36% APR as calculated using the military-APR methodology referenced by Illinois law. Other charges are allowed only when authorized and can affect the PLPA APR calculation.

Interest-bearing CILA loans must be fully amortizing and repayable in substantially equal, consecutive weekly, biweekly, semimonthly, or monthly installments. Precomputed loans use substantially equal periodic installments under the Act’s separate rules.

Rollovers, refinancing and early payment

Rollover allowed?
Not reduced to a yes/no rule
CILA permits renewal or refinancing structures subject to its statutory accounting and refund rules. This page does not label those transactions as a payday-style rollover.
Prepayment penalty allowed?
Not reduced to a yes/no rule
CILA contains refund/credit rules for unearned interest when a precomputed loan is paid in full early. The statute distinguishes interest-bearing and precomputed loans, so this dataset does not reduce all Illinois installment contracts to one prepayment-penalty flag.

Illinois borrower protections

  • CILA loans are capped at 36% PLPA APR, subject to the Act’s scope and exemptions.
  • A CILA licensee may not permit aggregate principal owed to it, its affiliate, or agent under the Act to exceed $40,000.
  • Interest-bearing loans must be fully amortizing with substantially equal periodic installments.
  • CILA prohibits conditioning credit on repayment by preauthorized electronic fund transfer; electronic payment may be offered as a consumer choice.
  • Precomputed loans paid in full early are subject to statutory unearned-interest refund or credit rules.
  • IDFPR regulates Consumer Installment Lenders and provides a public Financial Institutions license lookup.

Illinois loan cost calculator

Why there is no single statutory calculator: Illinois installment pricing is capped by a 36% PLPA APR measured with a military-APR-style methodology that can include fees. CILA also allows both interest-bearing and precomputed structures. A generic amortization calculator would be useful for payment comparison later, but it should not be labeled a statutory maximum-cost calculator.

How to verify a lender in Illinois

Regulator: Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) — Division of Financial Institutions, Consumer Credit Section.

Consumer Installment Lender (CILA) license when required

Verify a lender license

Official sources

  1. Illinois Consumer Installment Loan Act — 205 ILCS 670/15 · primary
  2. Illinois Consumer Installment Loan Act — 205 ILCS 670/17 · primary
  3. Illinois Predatory Loan Prevention Act — 815 ILCS 123/15-5-5 · primary
  4. 38 Ill. Adm. Code Part 110 — Consumer Installment Loan Act rules · primary
  5. IDFPR — Consumer Credit Section · primary
  6. IDFPR — Division of Financial Institutions License Lookup · primary

Last regulatory verification: 2026-09-06. Laws can change; verify current terms and lender status before borrowing. Read our research methodology.