Personal Loans in Nebraska: What Licensed Lenders May Charge

How the Nebraska rate tiers work

A licensed installment lender may charge more than the general usury rate, which the department's FAQ gives as 16% a year for lenders without a license. Each part of the unpaid principal carries its own maximum rate, so a larger loan has a lower blended rate.

The lender may also charge a nonrefundable loan origination fee, collected from you or added to the principal. Section 45-349(5) caps it at the lesser of $500 or 7% of the first $2,000 of principal plus 5% of the part above $2,000: $140 on a $2,000 loan and $500 on a $10,000 loan. If the same lender made you a loan in the past 12 months, the fee applies only to the new money. Because the fee counts as a finance charge, the APR on your Truth in Lending disclosure will be higher than the contract rate. Section 45-350 adds a term limit: on a loan with a principal balance of $3,000 or less, the contract may not require principal payments more than 36 months after it is made. A lender that breaks that rule may not collect interest or charges on the loan and must refund what it took.

What changed in 2025 and 2026

• 2025, LB 474: moved the Nebraska Installment Loan Act into the Installment Sales Act, renamed the Nebraska Installment Loan and Sales Act, sections 45-334 to 45-380. Older guides that cite sections 45-1001 and following now point to repealed numbers.
• 2026, LB 717: effective July 18, 2026, raised the threshold amount used for usury purposes and changed the definition of an installment loan in section 45-335 to match.
• Refinancing disclosure: LB 717 also requires a net tangible benefit disclosure, on a form the department prescribes, when a borrower refinances certain installment loans.

The department's notice does not state the new threshold amount. If you are refinancing, ask the lender for the net tangible benefit form and compare it with the cost of keeping your current loan.

Who needs a license and who does not

The department's installment loan FAQ says any person in the business of making installment loans needs a Nebraska installment loan license, and that the requirement reaches some who hold ownership, servicing or participation rights in those loans. Licensees may not set finance charges more onerous for some borrowers than for others of similar economic background because of protected characteristics.

• Banks and credit unions answer to separate charters and regulators. An out-of-state bank may charge the rates its home state allows.
• Online lenders that partner with a bank may lend through it, which can put the loan outside the Nebraska tiers. Ask who the lender of record is.
• Payday loans follow their own Nebraska rules. Our sister site Lendmira covers them on its Nebraska lending laws page.

Paying early and insurance

Section 45-349 sets these borrower protections on a licensed installment loan:

• Prepayment: if you pay the loan in full after the first due date, you get a rebate of unearned charges, generally figured by the actuarial method.
• Late charge: up to 5% of an installment that stays unpaid in full for 10 or more days in a row.
• Returned payment: a $15 charge, unless a third party caused the error.
• Term: no more than 145 months on most loans, and no more than 36 months of principal payments on a loan of $3,000 or less (section 45-350).

The statute also allows charges for insurance premiums and some debt cancellation products. Ask for the price with and without them; see credit insurance and add-ons.

Check a lender and file a complaint

1. 1 Look up the license in NMLS Consumer Access, which the NDBF uses for its licensee search, before you apply.
2. 2 Keep the loan papers: the Truth in Lending disclosure, the agreement and any messages about fees.
3. 3 Complain to the NDBF on its consumer complaints page, through the consumer hotline at (877) 471-3445, or at the Financial Institutions Division, (402) 471-2171.
4. 4 Send a complaint to the CFPB as well if the lender is a bank or a bank partner, or if you are unsure who regulates it.

Nearby, Colorado and Wyoming cap a $2,000 two-year loan at about 31% APR, Iowa and South Dakota at 36% and Kansas at about 38% on the National Consumer Law Center's comparison, while Missouri has no cap. The state rules map shows every state, and how to verify a lender lists the checks to run.

Questions people ask