Permitted Regulated Verified 2026-09-07 · ver. 0.2.3 How we verify these rules

Payday Loans in Wisconsin

Wisconsin permits licensed payday loans with terms of 90 days or less. Borrower-level aggregate liability is capped at the lesser of $1,500 or 35% of gross monthly income, while state law does not set a payday interest-rate ceiling.

Wisconsin legal category: Payday Loan · Wis. Stat. §138.14 and Wisconsin Consumer Act

Wisconsin payday loans at a glance

Legal status
Permitted Regulated
Legal category
Payday Loan
Aggregate payday liability cap
Before making a payday loan, the lender must confirm that the new loan together with other open payday loans with that licensee does not exceed $1,500 or 35% of the customer’s gross monthly income, whichever is less. The aggregate liability includes principal, interest, fees and other charges, so $1,500 is not a simple principal-advance ceiling.
Term
Up to 90 days
Regulator
Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions
Verified
2026-09-07

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 Current guide

Payday Loans in Wisconsin

Editorial payday route; actual eligibility is constrained by the statutory aggregate-liability and income test.

$1,000–$5,000

Installment Loans in Wisconsin

Editorial multi-payment route; Wisconsin law does not set $5,000 as a loan-company statutory maximum.

See Installment Loans

Amount and term limits

Before making a payday loan, the lender must confirm that the new loan together with other open payday loans with that licensee does not exceed $1,500 or 35% of the customer’s gross monthly income, whichever is less. The aggregate liability includes principal, interest, fees and other charges, so $1,500 is not a simple principal-advance ceiling.

A Wisconsin loan falls within the payday-loan statute when its term is 90 days or less and it uses the specified deferred-check or future-EFT structure.

Interest, fees and repayment

Wisconsin regulates payday loans through licensing, eligibility, amount/liability, term and borrower-protection rules rather than a statewide interest-rate ceiling.

Wisconsin’s payday-loan statute does not set a maximum or minimum interest rate.

The product uses a deferred check or future EFT. Wisconsin also provides payday-specific repayment-plan protections in applicable circumstances.

Rollovers, refinancing and early payment

Rollover allowed?
Yes
A payday loan may be paid off with proceeds of another payday loan only one time.
Prepayment penalty allowed?
Not reduced to a yes/no rule
No universal prepayment-penalty rule is asserted here from the cited DFI payday guidance.

Wisconsin borrower protections

  • Payday lenders must hold a Wisconsin license.
  • Aggregate liability with the licensee is limited to the lesser of $1,500 or 35% of gross monthly income.
  • The payday-loan term is 90 days or less.
  • A payday loan can be refinanced with another payday loan only once.
  • Wisconsin DFI states that the payday statute does not impose a maximum interest rate.

Wisconsin loan cost calculator

Why there is no single statutory calculator: Wisconsin does not impose a payday interest-rate ceiling, and the $1,500/35%-income test applies to aggregate liability rather than simply principal. A statutory maximum-cost calculator would therefore be misleading.

How to verify a lender in Wisconsin

Regulator: Wisconsin Department of Financial Institutions.

Payday Lender license

Verify a lender license

Official sources

  1. Wisconsin DFI — Payday Lender · primary
  2. Wisconsin DFI — Licensed Financial Services FAQ, Payday Lenders · primary

Last regulatory verification: 2026-09-07. Laws can change; verify current terms and lender status before borrowing. Read our research methodology.