Payday loans in Colorado: the rules and your way out

Colorado's rules, line by line

Largest loan

$500: a lender may not lend more than $500, and the amount financed by any one lender to a consumer may not exceed $500 at any time (C.R.S. § 5-3.1-106(1)).

Shortest term

Six months from the loan transaction date (C.R.S. § 5-3.1-103).

Longest term

No maximum loan term (C.R.S. § 5-3.1-103).

Fee or rate cap

"A lender may charge a finance charge for each deferred deposit loan or payday loan that must not exceed an annual percentage rate of thirty-six percent" (C.R.S. § 5-3.1-105, as amended by Proposition 111); all finance charges count toward the APR (§ 5-3.1-102(1.5)); only charges expressly authorized by the Act may be charged; prorated refund of the finance charge on prepayment.

Renewals and rollovers

A deferred deposit loan may not be renewed more than once; after that the consumer must pay in cash or its equivalent or the lender may deposit the instrument (C.R.S. § 5-3.1-108(1)); renewal finance charge also capped at 36% APR (§ 5-3.1-108(2)).

Waiting period between loans

A lender may make more than one loan to a consumer only if the total financed stays at or under $500 and there is at least a thirty-day waiting period between loans (C.R.S. § 5-3.1-106(1)).

Loans at once

No count limit stated; total amount financed by any one lender may not exceed $500 at any one time (C.R.S. § 5-3.1-106(1)). No cross-lender limit.

Payment plan if you cannot pay

No statutory payment plan: the former payment-plan provision (C.R.S. § 5-3.1-108(5)) was deleted in 2010 and Rule 16 on payment plans was repealed for loans made after August 11, 2010. By rule, loans may be repaid in a single installment or multiple substantially equal installments, and the lender must disclose that option (4 CCR 902-1, Rule 17(B)). A lender may refinance a payday loan as a supervised loan (§ 5-3.1-108(4)). Prepayment in full or in part is allowed at any time without penalty (§ 5-3.1-103; Rule 17(I)).

State loan database

No

Limits on collection

One returned-instrument charge of no more than $25 per loan, plus court costs and court-awarded reasonable attorney fees that may not exceed the loan amount; no other default fees (C.R.S. § 5-3.1-112; Rule 17(J)(2)). Colorado's civil bad-check damages statute (§ 13-21-109) does not apply (§ 5-3.1-112). No criminal penalty for entering a payday loan or for a dishonored instrument unless the account was closed before the agreed negotiation date (§ 5-3.1-120). On loans with 5 or more installments the lender must give the UCCC right-to-cure notice before accelerating or depositing remaining instruments (Rule 17(J)(1)).

Other rights

Right to rescind on or before 5 p.m. the next business day after the loan (C.R.S. § 5-3.1-106(2)), with a refund of all charges (Rule 17(I)(4)). Right to redeem the instrument by paying it in full before it is presented (§ 5-3.1-111). Prepayment without penalty and a prorated refund of finance charges (§ 5-3.1-103, -105).

How Colorado's rules changed

Before today's rules, Colorado allowed single-payment payday loans. A June 15, 2004 memo from the Uniform Consumer Credit Code administrator to deferred deposit lenders described amendments that took effect July 1, 2004 (House Bill 04-1069): the loan had to be due on or after the borrower's next payday unless the borrower asked in writing for a shorter term, shorter loans could not be renewed, and a lender could not lend more than 25% of the borrower's gross monthly income. Those rules no longer describe a Colorado payday loan. The law now requires a term of at least six months, caps the loan at $500 per lender, and since Proposition 111 (effective February 1, 2019) caps all finance charges at 36% APR, as the table above shows. The 2004 memo is history only; the statute controls.

If you are behind on a payday loan in Colorado

1. Stop the automatic withdrawals if they are emptying your account. You can revoke the lender's permission to debit your account and tell your bank. How to do it.
2. Look at a credit union payday alternative loan. Federal credit unions can lend $200 to $2,000 at much lower cost. How they work.
3. Talk to a nonprofit credit counselor. A counselor can look at all your bills, not just this one. How to find a real one.

Check a lender, or report one

• Check whether a lender is licensed in Colorado
• File a complaint with the Colorado Department of Law (Attorney General), Consumer Credit Unit - Administrator of the Uniform Consumer Credit Code
• File a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Sources

• Colorado Revised Statutes 2024, Title 5 (Article 3.1, Deferred Deposit Loan Act), Colorado General Assembly, read 2026-10-24
• Uniform Consumer Credit Code Rules, 4 CCR 902-1 (Colorado Secretary of State), read 2026-10-24
• Colorado Attorney General: UCCC Consumers page, read 2026-10-24
• Colorado Attorney General: UCCC General Information (administrative opinions list), read 2026-10-24
• Colorado Attorney General: Consumer Credit Unit License Holders Report, read 2026-10-24
• Colorado Attorney General: Credit and Debt complaint, read 2026-10-24

This page summarizes the law; it is not legal advice. Laws change, and the statute and regulator control. If something here is out of date, write to hello@paydayloan.help.