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Personal Loans in Kansas: What Licensed Lenders May Charge

Kansas sets its personal loan limits in the Uniform Consumer Credit Code: one rate ceiling and a small cap on upfront fees. Here is how they work since the 2025 change, who needs a supervised lender license, and where to check a lender.

Cap above 36%, by LendCedar Editorial Team Updated 5 minute read

In short

Kansas caps closed-end consumer loans in K.S.A. 16a-2-401, part of the Kansas Uniform Consumer Credit Code. Since January 1, 2025, the finance charge may not exceed 36% a year, computed by the actuarial method, and upfront prepaid finance charges are limited to 2% of the amount financed or $300, whichever is less. A company that makes these loans needs a supervised lender license from the Office of the State Bank Commissioner (OSBC). That allows about 38% APR on a $2,000 two-year loan, the figure the National Consumer Law Center gives, and about 37% on a $10,000 five-year loan.

$2,000 loan cap
38% APR
$10,000 loan cap
About 37% APR
Rate limit
36% + fee up to $300
Licensed by
Kansas OSBC
Map of the United States with Kansas highlighted

Kansas at a glance

Cap on a $2,000 loan Above 36%
$2,000 two-year loan About 38% APR, fees included NCLC calculation for a licensed non-bank lender, September 2025
$10,000 five-year loan About 37% APR, fees included, under the 2025 law Own calculation; NCLC's 23% (August 2023) predates the January 1, 2025 change
Lender license Supervised lender license, K.S.A. 16a-2-301
Regulator Office of the State Bank Commissioner (OSBC)

How the Kansas rate limit works

A 2024 law (L. 2024, ch. 6) rewrote K.S.A. 16a-2-401 with effect from January 1, 2025. Before it, Kansas used two tiers: 36% on the part of the unpaid balance up to $860 and 21% on the part above. Now one ceiling applies to the whole unpaid balance of a closed-end consumer loan.

Limits on Kansas closed-end consumer loans, K.S.A. 16a-2-401 (from January 1, 2025)
ChargeLimit
Finance charge, actuarial method36% a year
Prepaid finance charges, such as an origination fee2% of the amount financed or $300, whichever is less

The statute treats prepaid finance charges as fully earned when paid and not refundable unless you and the lender agree otherwise in writing. Because they count in the finance charge, the APR on your Truth in Lending disclosure will be higher than the 36% contract rate.

How Kansas compares with its neighbors

On the National Consumer Law Center's comparison of a $2,000 two-year loan, Nebraska caps the loan at about 30% APR and Colorado at about 31%, while Oklahoma allows about 56%. Missouri sets no numeric cap. The state rules map shows every state side by side.

Who needs a license and who does not

Under K.S.A. 16a-2-301, a person may not make supervised loans, or take assignments of them and collect on them, without a license. In Kansas that license comes from the Office of the State Bank Commissioner. The exemptions are listed in K.S.A. 16a-2-311.

  • Banks and credit unions answer to their own regulators, and a bank may charge the rates its home state allows.
  • Online lenders that partner with a bank may make loans through that bank, which can put the loan under the bank's home-state rules rather than the Kansas tiers. Ask who the lender of record is.
  • Payday and title loans follow separate rules. Our sister site Lendmira covers them on its Kansas lending laws page.

Fees and other borrower protections

On a $5,000 loan, the 2% limit works out to $100; the $300 dollar cap takes over from $15,000 up. If a Kansas offer shows a larger origination fee, ask under which law the lender is making the loan. A lender that asks you to pay a fee before it will approve or fund the loan is a warning sign; how to verify a lender explains what to check.

Before you sign, compare the finance charge and the total of payments on the federal disclosure with the figures in the agreement. Use the offer comparison calculator to set two offers of different lengths side by side. If an offer quotes a contract interest rate above 36% for a loan made in Kansas after January 1, 2025, ask the lender to show the authority it lends under.

Check a lender and file a complaint

  1. Look up the license with the OSBC company lookup at osbckansas.gov/online, or on NMLS Consumer Access, before you apply.
  2. Keep the loan papers: the Truth in Lending disclosure, the agreement and any messages about fees.
  3. Complain to the OSBC by calling the main office at (785) 380-3939; its complaint page asks you to leave your name, the company, a phone number and a short summary.
  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.

Sources

  1. K.S.A. 16a-2-401, Finance charge for consumer loan, 2025 edition with L. 2024, ch. 6 (Justia)
  2. Senate Substitute for HB 2247 (2024), amending the Uniform Consumer Credit Code (Kansas Legislature)
  3. K.S.A. 16a-2-301, Authority to make supervised loans, 2025 edition (Justia)
  4. Office of the State Bank Commissioner: file a complaint
  5. State APR caps for $500, $2,000 and $10,000 installment loans, December 2025 (National Consumer Law Center)

We checked the facts on this page against these sources on October 27, 2026. The 36% ceiling and the $300 fee cap took effect on January 1, 2025; offers and older guides may still show the former $860 tier.

Questions people ask

What is the maximum interest rate on a personal loan in Kansas?

Since January 1, 2025, K.S.A. 16a-2-401 lets a closed-end consumer loan carry up to 36% a year, plus prepaid finance charges of no more than 2% of the amount financed or $300, whichever is less. Before 2025 the limit was 36% on the first $860 of the balance and 21% above it.

Who licenses personal loan companies in Kansas?

The Office of the State Bank Commissioner issues supervised lender licenses under the Kansas Uniform Consumer Credit Code. The exemptions are in K.S.A. 16a-2-311.

Do the Kansas caps apply to banks?

Banks answer to separate charters and regulators, and a bank can often charge the rate allowed in its home state. Ask any online lender who the lender of record is.

How do I check a Kansas lender?

Search the company in the OSBC company lookup or on NMLS Consumer Access. See how to verify a lender for the other checks.

Ask lenders for real offers

Describe the loan you have in mind. LendCedar passes your request to lenders and loan brokers who may contact you with offers; you compare them and decide.

  1. The loan you have in mind: amount, purpose, credit and income.
  2. Your contact details and your consent to be contacted.
  3. A lender or loan broker may contact you with an offer. Nothing is decided until you sign with a lender.

LendCedar is not a lender or a loan broker and does not make credit decisions.

Step 1 of 2

The loan you have in mind

Between $1,000 and $50,000.

Your credit, as best you know

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