Loans in Texas: Payday and Installment Options

Yes, you can get a loan in Texas. Payday and auto title loans are arranged by credit access businesses (CABs), and Texas sets no cap on their fees. Licensed installment lenders can charge up to 30% a year on the first $4,600, plus a fee of up to $130.

CAB Fees Next to Chapter 342 Caps: What Texans Pay

Two sets of rules price Texas loans. Installment lenders work under caps in Finance Code chapter 342. CAB fees on payday and title loans are whatever you agree to in writing, so the closest thing to a benchmark is the average OCCC publishes:

CAB rows multiply OCCC's average loan by its average fee per $100 (second quarter of 2026), before the lender's interest. Installment rows use the chapter 342 maximum. None are offers from lenders in our network.

With the $130 fee taken from the loan, the installment examples come to about 59% and 35% APR; OCCC puts the average payday loan at about 415%. More amounts: Texas payday loan costs and Texas installment loan payments.

Two Contracts, One Loan: The Texas CAB Model

On a Texas payday or title loan, an independent third-party lender puts up the money, but OCCC licenses the CAB, not the lender. You sign a promissory note with the lender and a credit services agreement with the CAB, and you usually pay the CAB.

• No fee ceiling. The CAB charges the fee you agree to. The law gives OCCC no power to cap it, but every fee must be disclosed.
• Costs up front. Before arranging the loan, the CAB must give you OCCC's disclosure, including the cost of renewing for up to three months.
• Everything named. The contract must name the lender, its interest and each CAB fee.
• Posted fees. Every CAB posts its fee schedule in its office and on any website it runs.

In 2025, CABs arranged installment payday loans for 1,208,226 consumers and single-payment payday loans for 46,129, and charged $1.32 billion in fees on the installment loans alone, OCCC reports.

Chapter 342 Installment Rates From July 2026

Lenders charging more than 10% a year on consumer loans need an OCCC regulated lender license. OCCC adjusts the dollar brackets every July for inflation; these apply to loans made from July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027:

Add one administrative fee of up to $130. Loans of up to $1,840 can use flat charges instead: the lesser of 12.5% or $130, plus $4 a month per $100. Banks lend under their own rules and don't need this license.

Dallas, Austin and Other City Rules on CABs

Cities can add limits. OCCC noted in 2012 that Dallas, Austin and San Antonio restrict renewals and installments on CAB loans.

• Dallas has limited loan size against income since 2011. Since 2021, title loans there allow at most four payments, each cutting what you owe by 25%, and a federal appeals court declined to block those rules in July 2025.
• Austin requires every CAB to register with the city each year and display its certificate and a borrower's rights poster.

Pick, Request, Verify: Three Steps for Texans

1. Pick the product: a short payday or title loan through a CAB, or monthly payments on a licensed installment loan.
2. Submit one request through LendUp. Lenders in our network review it, and any offer shows the APR, payments and total cost before you sign.
3. Before you sign, find the business in OCCC's records, as shown below, and compare the APR with the figures above.

ALECS or NMLS: Where to Check a Texas License

1. Payday or title loan: search ALECS for the credit access business on your agreement. Each location needs its own license.
2. Installment loan: search NMLS Consumer Access for an active Texas regulated lender license.
3. Match the name and address to the store or website you're using.

Questions or complaints: OCCC at (800) 538-1579 or [email protected].

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