Title 5

(a) Books and records. -Each licensee shall keep and use in his business such books, accounts and records as will enable the supervisor to determine whether such licensee is complying with the provisions of this chapter and with the orders and regulations lawfully made by the sup…

(a) Rules, regulations, and orders. - The supervisor shall have authority to make reasonable rules, regulations, and orders for the administration and enforcement of this chapter, in addition hereto and not inconsistent herewith. The regulation or order shall be referenced to the…

(a) Advertising, etc. No licensee or other person subject to this chapter shall advertise, display, distribute, or broadcast or cause to permit to be advertised, displayed, distributed, or broadcast in any manner whatsoever any false, misleading, or deceptive statement or represe…

(a) Other business in same office. - No licensee shall conduct the business of making loans under this chapter within any office, suite, room or place of business in which any other business is solicited or engaged in or in association or conjunction with any other business until…

THIS SECTION WAS AMENDED BY ACT 2022-207 IN THE 2022 REGULAR SESSION, EFFECTIVE APRIL 4, 2022. TO SEE THE AMENDED VERSION, SEE THE VERSION LABELED PENDING. (a) Maximum rates of interest and charge. Every licensee under this chapter may contract for and receive as interest on any …

Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (e) of Section 5-18-15, for contracts entered into after June 7, 2007, the additional late charge a licensee licensed under this chapter, the Alabama Small Loan Act, may charge when a scheduled payment is in default or delinquent for 1…

(a) Copy of contract or statement; receipts; payment in advance; release of obligation and security. - Every licensee shall: (1) At the time a loan is made deliver to the borrower or, if there are two or more borrowers, to one of them a copy of the loan contract, executed by the …

(a) With respect to any insurance written in connection with any credit transaction under this chapter, the creditor shall be subject to the same restrictions, prohibitions, powers, and allowances as any creditor bank, retail establishment, sales finance company, licensee, or any…

Licensees may charge to a borrower the rates permitted by this chapter only on principal loan balances less than one thousand dollars ($1,000). No licensee shall induce or permit any person, jointly or severally, to become obligated directly or contingently, or both, on more than…

Any loans made outside this state in accordance with the law applicable to such loan in the state in which the loan was made may be collected in this state. (Acts 1959, No. 374, p. 966, §17.)

(a) The Legislature finds as facts and determines that: (1) There exists among citizens of this state a widespread demand for small loans. The scope and intensity of this demand have been increased progressively by many social and economic forces; (2) The expense of making and co…

In addition to any other remedy he may have, any licensee and any person considering himself aggrieved by any act or order of the supervisor under this chapter may, within 30 days from the entry of the order complained of, or within 60 days of the act complained of if there is no…

Except where other specific remedies are provided in this chapter for violations, in which event those remedies shall apply, any provision of a loan contract which violates this chapter shall be unenforceable by the licensee to the extent, but only to the extent, of the violation…

This chapter or any part thereof may be modified, amended or repealed so as to effect a cancellation or alteration of any license or right of a licensee hereunder; provided, that such cancellation or alteration shall not impair or affect the obligation of any preexisting lawful c…

(a) The supervisor shall cause to be kept on file in the Bureau of Loans, open to public inspection during business hours, an alphabetical listing of all licensees doing business in Alabama, and such list shall reveal the true ownership of the licensee companies. If the company i…

The following terms, when used in this chapter, shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly requires a different meaning. The meaning ascribed to the singular form shall apply also to the plural. (1) PERSON. Such term shall include individuals, copartnerships, a…

(a) License required. No person shall engage in the business of lending in amounts of less than one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500) and contract for, exact or receive, directly or indirectly, on or in connection with any such loan, any charges whether for interest, insuran…

Application for a license shall be in writing, under oath and in the form prescribed by the supervisor. The application shall give the approximate location where the business is to be conducted and shall contain such further relevant information as the supervisor may require, inc…

(a) Investigation of application. - Upon the filing of such application and the payment of such fees, the supervisor shall investigate the facts concerning the application and the requirements provided for in subsection (b) of this section. The supervisor shall grant or deny such…

(a) Contents of license; posting. - Each license shall state the address at which the business is to be conducted and shall state fully the name of the licensee and, if the licensee is a copartnership or association, the names of the members thereof and, if a corporation, the dat…

(a) Separate license for each place of business. - Not more than one place of business shall be maintained under the same license, but the supervisor may issue additional licenses to the same licensee upon his compliance with all the provisions of this chapter governing the issua…

(a) Revocation of license. - The supervisor shall, upon 10 days’ written notice to the licensee stating the contemplated action and in general the grounds therefor and upon reasonable opportunity to be heard, revoke any license issued under this chapter if he finds that: (1) The …

This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Deferred Presentment Services Act.” The purpose of this chapter is to protect consumers who enter into short-term cash advances from abuses that occur in the marketplace. This chapter shall be liberally construed to effectuate …

(a) The supervisor may promulgate reasonable rules and regulations for the implementation, administration, execution, and enforcement of this chapter. (b) Prior to adoption, amendment, or repeal of any regulation, the supervisor shall give at least 35 days’ notice of its intended…

(a) Each licensee shall keep and use in its business any books, accounts, and records that the supervisor may require to carry into effect this chapter and the administrative regulations issued hereunder. If a licensee operates any other business licensed by the department, a def…

(a) Subject to the following subsections, every licensee under this chapter may charge and collect a maximum fee on any deferred presentment transaction not to exceed 17.5 percent of the amount advanced. The maximum amount that may be advanced in any deferred presentment transact…

(a) A licensee may not knowingly enter into a deferred presentment transaction with a customer that has outstanding deferred presentment transactions from any lender at any location that exceeds five hundred dollars ($500) for the term of the loan. (b) Before a licensee shall pre…

(a) If the supervisor determines that an applicant is not qualified to receive a license, the supervisor shall notify the applicant in writing that the application has been denied, stating the basis for denial. (b) If the supervisor denies an application or if the supervisor fail…

(a) The supervisor may, after notice and hearing, suspend or revoke any license if the supervisor finds that the licensee has knowingly or through lack of due care committed any of the following actions: (1) Failed to pay the annual license fee imposed by this chapter or an exami…

If, after a hearing, the supervisor finds that a person has violated this chapter or any administrative regulation issued pursuant to this chapter, the supervisor may take any one or more of the following enforcement actions: (1) Order the person to cease and desist violating the…

(a) The supervisor may enter into consent orders at any time with any person to resolve any matter arising under this chapter. A consent order shall be signed by the person to whom it is issued, or a duly authorized representative, and shall indicate agreement to the terms contai…

(a) Any person aggrieved by the conduct of a licensee under this chapter in connection with the regulated activities of the licensee may file a written complaint with the supervisor who may investigate the complaint. (b) In the course of the investigation of the complaint, the su…

Every licensee shall conspicuously post a sign, as designed by the department, notifying the public of the pertinent provisions of this chapter and any consequences related to entering into a deferred presentment transaction pursuant to this chapter. (Act 2003-359, p. 992, §19.)

As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: (1) CHECK. A debit authorization or a check signed by the maker and made payable to a person licensed under this chapter. (2) CONTINUOUS TRANSACTION. To extend a deferred presentment transaction with …

Any person who willfully makes charges in excess of those permitted by Section 5-18A-12 or any person who willfully engages in the business of cashing deferred presentment checks in violation of Section 5-18A-3, or both, is guilty of a Class B misdemeanor for the first offense an…

All license fees and administrative penalties collected under this chapter shall be paid into the special fund provided by Section 5-2A-20, and used in the supervision and examination of applicants and licensees. (Act 2003-359, p. 992, §21.)

The provisions of this chapter shall not be construed to take away or negatively impact the customers’ claims in pending lawsuits against persons operating deferred presentment services on or before June 20, 2003. (Act 2003-359, p. 992, §22.)

(a) On or after January 1, 2004, no person shall engage in the business of deferred presentment services without having first obtained a license from the supervisor. A separate license shall be required for each location from which the business is conducted. (b) Trust companies, …

(a) Each applicant for a license shall satisfy all of the following requirements to qualify for a license: (1) Have a financial statement showing that the applicant has at least twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) in unencumbered cash assets or its equivalent available for each loc…

Each application for a license shall be in writing and under oath to the supervisor, in a form prescribed by the supervisor, and shall include the legal name, residence, business address, and telephone number of the applicant. If the applicant is a partnership, association, or co…

Each application for a license shall be accompanied by all of the following: (1) A nonrefundable license fee of five hundred dollars ($500) for each location, office, or branch at which the applicant conducts business. The license fees are subject to increase by the supervisor th…

(a) Upon the filing of an application in the form prescribed by the supervisor, accompanied by the fee and documents required pursuant to Section 5-18A-6, the supervisor shall investigate to ascertain whether the qualifications prescribed by Section 5-18A-4 have been satisfied. I…

The prior written approval of the supervisor shall be required for the continued operation of a deferred presentment services business whenever a change in control of a license is proposed. Control in the case of a corporation shall mean direct or indirect ownership, or the right…

Within 15 days of the occurrence of any one of the following events, a licensee shall file a written report with the supervisor describing the event and its expected impact on the activities of the licensee in this state: (1) The filing for bankruptcy or reorganization by the lic…

For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings respectively ascribed to them by this section: (1) FINANCE CHARGE. The sum of all charges, payable directly or indirectly by the person to whom credit is extended, and imposed directly or indi…

The Legislature finds as fact and determines that: (1) The Alabama Consumer Credit Act, Title 5, Chapter 19, (commonly referred to as the “Mini-Code”), was enacted by the Legislature by Acts 1971, No. 2052, page 3290. All, or a portion, of the provisions of the Mini-Code apply to…