Personal loans in Massachusetts
Consumer lending in Massachusetts is regulated by the Massachusetts Division of Banks. Below are the sourced rules that affect what a lender can charge you, followed by the cities we cover.
Lending rules in Massachusetts
| Payday lending | No specific payday lending statute; lenders must comply with the state's interest-rate cap on consumer loans, which effectively bars high-cost payday lending. NCSL lists this jurisdiction among those with no specific payday lending statute and/or an applicable consumer-loan rate cap.Source: National Conference of State Legislatures · as of 2023 |
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| Small-loan / installment licensing | Consumer lenders must obtain a state license (Yes; if loan is $6,000 or less with interest rate greater than 12% per year). Statutory basis: M.G.L. c. 140, sections 96-114A; 209 CMR 20.00 et seq.; 209 CMR 26.00 et seq. Licensing administered through NMLS: Yes.Source: Conference of State Bank Supervisors · as of 2026 |
| Interest rate cap (usury limit) | Usury limit: 20% for criminal usury (M.G.L. c. 271, § 49); 6% lawful interest rate if there is no agreement or legal provision for a different rate (M.G.L. c. 107, § 3). Finance rates and fees for licensed lenders: 23% per annum. CSBS 50-state survey of consumer finance laws; state-verified usury catalog.Source: Conference of State Bank Supervisors · as of 2026 |
| Consumer lending regulator | Consumer lenders in Massachusetts are licensed and supervised by the Massachusetts Division of Banks.Source: Conference of State Bank Supervisors · as of 2026 |
| Debt collection rules | Third-party debt collectors must comply with the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), 15 U.S.C. § 1692 et seq.; state consumer-protection and debt-collection enforcement is handled by the Massachusetts Attorney General's Office. The FDCPA expressly authorizes state attorneys general to enforce it (15 U.S.C. § 1692l). Some states also require collection agencies to be licensed.Source: Massachusetts Attorney General's Office · as of 2026 |
| Military lending protections | The federal Military Lending Act (MLA) caps the Military Annual Percentage Rate (MAPR) at 36% for consumer credit extended to active-duty service members, their spouses and certain dependents, and bars mandatory arbitration and prepayment penalties on covered loans. Federal protection that applies nationwide, including in this state.Source: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau · as of 2024 |
| Complaint / licensing lookup | Check whether a lender holds a state license through NMLS Consumer Access (nmlsconsumeraccess.org) or the Massachusetts Division of Banks; consumers can file complaints with the Massachusetts Division of Banks or the CFPB at consumerfinance.gov/complaint.Source: Nationwide Multistate Licensing System (NMLS) Consumer Access · as of 2026 |
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Cities in Massachusetts
BostonSpringfieldWorcesterNew BedfordLeominsterCambridgeLowellBrocktonQuincyLynnFall RiverNewtonLawrenceSomervilleFraminghamHaverhillMaldenWalthamRevereMedfordTauntonChicopeePeabodyMethuen TownEverettAttleboroSalemPittsfieldBeverlyFitchburgMarlboroughWoburnWestfieldChelseaHolyokeWatertown TownGloucesterMelroseNorthamptonGardnerNewburyportNorth AdamsSouth YarmouthMiddleborough CenterMansfield CenterWhitinsvilleWest ConcordCochituateEast FalmouthPinehurstWest YarmouthYarmouth PortBliss CornerNorth ScituateEast HarwichRaynham CenterSmith MillsNorth WestportThe PinehillsMillis-ClicquotOcean Bluff-Brant RockNorthwest HarwichNorth PlymouthSagamoreNorth PembrokeTurners FallsEast SandwichForestdaleDennis PortSouth DuxburyAcushnet CenterNorth LakevilleMattapoisett CenterEast DennisSouth DennisBuzzards BayMonument BeachFiskdaleWareham CenterLittleton CommonEast DouglasCedar CrestCordavilleWest DennisPocassetNorton CenterOcean GroveWhite Island ShoresNorth FalmouthWest WarehamVineyard HavenWest FalmouthSouth DeerfieldMarshfield HillsNorth SeekonkBaldwinvilleHarwich PortDevensHanscom AFBEast PepperellNorth EasthamShelburne FallsSouth LancasterMonson CenterTeaticketWest ChathamHarwich CenterMashpee NeckWeweanticOak BluffsOnsetWoods HoleMarion CenterMillers Falls
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