Title & Installment Loans in Tennessee

Lending rules in Tennessee

Rules marked "medium confidence" were checked against a published copy of the statute because the official site was unavailable to us. Confirm them with the official text before relying on them.

Payday loans (deferred presentment)

• A deferred presentment (payday) lender can charge a fee of at most 15 percent of the check's face amount. Source: Tenn. Code Ann. § 45-17-112(b) · verified Oct 8, 2026 · medium confidence
• A lender cannot hold a customer's check for more than 31 calendar days before depositing it. Source: Tenn. Code Ann. § 45-17-112(d) · verified Oct 8, 2026 · medium confidence
• A customer can have at most two checks outstanding with a lender and any related lender at the same time. Source: Tenn. Code Ann. § 45-17-112(o) · verified Oct 8, 2026 · medium confidence
• The combined face value of all of one customer's outstanding payday checks cannot exceed $500. Source: Tenn. Code Ann. § 45-17-112(o) · verified Oct 8, 2026 · medium confidence
• A payday lender cannot require the customer to provide security or a guarantor. Source: Tenn. Code Ann. § 45-17-112(l) · verified Oct 8, 2026 · medium confidence
• A customer who gives a payday lender a personal check cannot be convicted of passing a bad check for it. Source: Tenn. Code Ann. § 45-17-112(i) · verified Oct 8, 2026 · medium confidence
• A payday lender needs a separate license for each location it operates from, including lending by internet, fax or phone to people in Tennessee. Source: Tenn. Code Ann. § 45-17-103(a) · verified Oct 8, 2026 · medium confidence

Title loans

• A title pledge lender can charge interest of at most 2 percent a month. Source: Tenn. Code Ann. § 45-15-111(a) · verified Oct 8, 2026 · medium confidence
• On top of interest, a title pledge lender can charge a customary fee of at most one-fifth (20 percent) of the original principal, or of the unpaid balance at each renewal. Source: Tenn. Code Ann. § 45-15-111(a) · verified Oct 8, 2026 · medium confidence
• A title pledge agreement cannot run longer than 30 days, but it can be renewed for further 30-day periods. Source: Tenn. Code Ann. § 45-15-113(a) · verified Oct 8, 2026 · medium confidence
• The TDFI reports $2,500 as the maximum title pledge loan the law permits. Source: TDFI 2026 Title Pledge Report, p. 5 (Tenn. Code Ann. tit. 45, ch. 15) · verified Oct 8, 2026

Installment and consumer finance loans

• Flexible credit lenders can charge a periodic interest rate of at most 24 percent a year. Source: TDFI 2024 Annual Report, p. 37 (Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 45-12-101 et seq.) · verified Oct 8, 2026
• Flexible credit lenders can also charge a customary fee of at most 0.7 percent a day of the average daily principal balance in a billing cycle. Source: TDFI 2024 Annual Report, p. 37 (Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 45-12-101 et seq.) · verified Oct 8, 2026
• A flex loan plan cannot have an outstanding principal balance above $4,000 at any time. Source: TDFI 2024 Annual Report, p. 37 (Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 45-12-101 et seq.) · verified Oct 8, 2026

Lenders in Tennessee are licensed by the Tennessee Department of Financial Institutions (TDFI). You can look up any license in its license search. See also online lenders and apps in Tennessee.