Utah Usury Laws: Rate Caps, Payday Rules, and Judgments

Utah usury laws do not cap the interest rate a lender can charge when both parties agree to a specific rate in their contract. Utah Code § 15-1-1 lets parties to any lawful contract — written, verbal, or implied — set whatever rate they want, and defaults to 10% per year only when no rate is specified.¹ That makes Utah one of the most permissive lending states in the country. The protections that do exist are narrow and specific, and knowing where they apply matters more than hoping for a general rate ceiling that isn’t there.

Any Agreed Rate Is Enforceable

The core rule is short. Under Utah Code § 15-1-1(1), parties to a lawful contract can agree on any interest rate, and the type of contract does not matter.¹ A credit card at 29%, a personal loan at 100%, or business financing at 300% is enforceable in Utah so long as the borrower agreed to it.

This covers verbal and implied agreements too, not just signed paper. If you verbally accepted a 50% rate and the lender can prove the agreement existed, Utah treats it the same as a written one. The practical difference is evidence. A lender trying to enforce a steep rate from a handshake deal has to prove exactly what was agreed to, and when that proof is thin, the statutory default takes over.

When No Rate Is Specified, It’s 10%

Utah Code § 15-1-1(2) sets the legal rate at 10% per year whenever the parties did not expressly specify a different rate.¹ It covers loans, unpaid invoices, breach-of-contract claims, and any other money obligation where nobody pinned down a rate.

The 10% figure is not a cap on what parties can agree to. It is a fallback. If you lend a friend $5,000 and nobody mentions interest, 10% annually on the unpaid balance is the ceiling. The same logic applies when a small business delivers goods on credit and the invoice says nothing about interest. The default stops a lender from staying silent at the time of the deal and then demanding an inflated rate once the money is gone.

Payday Loan Protections

Utah’s Check Cashing and Deferred Deposit Lending Registration Act, starting at Utah Code § 7-23-101, regulates payday lending through disclosure and structural rules rather than a rate cap. The lender can still charge whatever the borrower agrees to, but several specific protections apply:

The lender must enter a written agreement clearly disclosing the interest rate, all fees as dollar amounts, the due date, and the borrower’s right to cancel.
Before the loan is executed, the lender must orally walk the borrower through the rate, fees, and repayment date.
The borrower can rescind the loan without paying any fees or interest by returning the loan amount before 5 p.m. on the next business day.²
A lender cannot collect additional interest once 10 weeks have passed from the date the loan was first made. Rollovers that would push repayment past that 10-week window are prohibited.²
After 10 continuous weeks of interest charges, the borrower has the right to request an extended payment plan, and the lender must comply.³

The law also stops a lender from issuing a new loan on the same day a borrower pays off an existing one if the combined terms would exceed 10 weeks of consecutive interest. That provision is aimed at the back-to-back lending cycle that functions like an endless rollover.²

Title Loan Protections

Utah’s Title Lending Registration Act, in Utah Code Chapter 7-24, governs loans secured by a vehicle title. There is no rate cap here either, but the statute adds protections borrowers often miss.

Title lenders must post a complete schedule of all fees and interest rates on their premises, stated as both dollar amounts and annual percentage rates. Before the loan is signed, the lender must orally review every fee and the repayment deadline with the borrower.⁴

Two rules carry real weight. A title lender cannot loan more than the fair market value of the vehicle and must evaluate the borrower’s ability to repay based on income, existing debts, and employment. And if you default, the lender’s only remedy is repossessing and selling the vehicle. The lender cannot come after you personally for the balance or for any deficiency if the sale brings less than the loan amount. If the vehicle sells for more than you owed, the excess goes back to you.⁴ In most other lending contexts you would owe the shortfall. Not here.

The 6% Federal Cap for Servicemembers

One hard ceiling applies in Utah no matter what any contract says. The federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (50 U.S.C. § 3937) caps interest at 6% per year on debts a servicemember, or the servicemember and their spouse jointly, incurred before entering active duty.⁵ “Interest” is defined broadly and includes service charges, renewal fees, and most other charges tied to the obligation.

For mortgages and similar secured debts, the 6% cap runs through the period of military service plus one additional year. For other debts, it applies for the duration of active duty. Interest above 6% is forgiven outright, not deferred, and the monthly payment must be reduced to reflect the lower rate.⁵ A lender who knowingly violates the cap faces criminal penalties, including up to one year of imprisonment. This federal rule overrides Utah’s contract-freedom approach for qualifying servicemembers.

How to Push Back on an Interest Charge

Utah’s framework is permissive, but it does not leave borrowers with nothing. Two main paths exist.

Fighting a Rate When Nothing Was Agreed To

If a lender tries to collect more than 10% on a debt where no rate was ever specified, you can challenge it in court. A judge can reduce the interest to the 10% statutory default and recalculate the balance.¹ These cases usually turn on whether the lender can prove a specific rate was agreed to. Payment records, texts, and emails become key evidence. The burden sits with the lender to show you consented to a rate above the default.

Unconscionability Under the Consumer Credit Code

For consumer credit agreements with extremely high rates, Utah Code § 70C-7-106 lets a court refuse to enforce all or part of a contract it finds unconscionable, meaning so one-sided it shocks the conscience.⁶ The court can throw out the whole agreement or strike only the unconscionable portion.

No specific rate automatically triggers an unconscionability finding. Courts look at the circumstances when the contract was made, the relative bargaining power of the parties, and whether the borrower had a meaningful choice. One important limit: a charge or practice expressly permitted elsewhere in the Utah Consumer Credit Code is not, by itself, considered unconscionable.⁶ That carve-out makes these claims hard to win in a state where almost any rate is already permitted by statute.

If a court does find unconscionability, the borrower can recover a penalty between $100 and $5,000, plus attorney’s fees and litigation costs.⁶ Class actions are not available under this section. Only individual claims and suits seeking injunctive or declaratory relief qualify.

Interest After a Court Judgment

If a Utah court enters a judgment and the underlying contract does not specify a post-judgment rate, state law supplies one. For 2026, the standard post-judgment rate for civil and criminal judgments is 5.51%. Judgments under $10,000 in lawsuits involving the purchase of goods or services carry a higher rate of 13.51%.⁷ If your contract did specify a rate, the contract rate generally controls even after judgment.

Why Utah’s Rules Can Follow You to Other States

Utah’s lack of a ceiling reaches well past its borders. Under Section 85 of the National Bank Act (12 U.S.C. § 85), a federally chartered bank can charge interest at the rate allowed by the state where it is located.⁸ A national bank headquartered in Utah can lend to borrowers in states with strict usury caps and still charge whatever the contract specifies. State-chartered FDIC-insured banks have the same power under 12 U.S.C. § 1831d.⁹ That is a major reason many large credit card issuers and online lenders charter in Utah or partner with Utah-based banks. If you carry a high-rate credit card, there is a reasonable chance a Utah-chartered institution sits somewhere in the lending chain, even if you have never set foot in the state.

1
Utah Legislature. Utah Code 15-1-1 – Interest Rates – Contracted Rate – Legal Rate
2
Utah Legislature. Utah Code 7-23-401 – Operational Requirements for Deferred Deposit Loans
3
Utah Legislature. Utah Code 7-23-403 – Extended Payment Plans
4
Utah Legislature. Utah Code Title 7 Chapter 24 – Title Lending Registration Act
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 3937 – Maximum Rate of Interest on Debts Incurred Before Military Service
6
Utah Legislature. Utah Code 70C-7-106 – Unconscionability
7
Utah State Courts. Post Judgment Interest Rates
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 12 USC 85 – Rate of Interest on Loans, Discounts and Purchases
9
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 12 USC 1831d – State-Chartered Insured Depository Institutions and Insured Branches of Foreign Banks