Credit Card Surcharge Laws by State

3%Visa cap
4%Mastercard cap
NeverDebit & prepaid
RequiredDisclosure

Pressing "Credit" Does Not Change the Card

A debit card run as credit at the terminal is still a debit card underneath. The network rule on debit, prepaid, and gift cards follows the card itself, not the button an advisor or customer presses at checkout. There is no workaround, and no state law overrides this.

All 50 States at a Glance

Status, cap, and the one line that matters for each state.

Last reviewed July 2026. This is general information, not legal advice.

Hover or tap a state to see where it stands.

A state name in orange is a live link. Click through for that state's full dealer guide: the statute, the cap, the disclosure rules, and what they mean at your counter.

State	Status	Cap	Notes
Alabama	Allowed	Card network caps	No state statute. Card network rules set the ceiling and the disclosure standard.
Alaska	Allowed	Card network caps	No state statute on surcharging. Network rules apply.
Arizona	Allowed	Card network caps	No state law for private merchants. A 2026 ban attempt did not pass.
Arkansas	Allowed	Card network caps	No state cap. State guidance points merchants to network rules and clear disclosure.
California	Allowed	Card network caps	The old state ban is still on the books but unenforceable since a 2018 federal ruling. Disclose clearly and match posted prices at checkout.
Colorado	Limited	2% state cap	State law caps surcharges at 2 percent or your actual processing cost, with required customer notice.
Connecticut	Banned	No surcharging	Flat statutory ban, actively enforced with civil penalties. Cash discounts remain legal.
Delaware	Allowed	Card network caps	No state statute. A proposed cost cap bill died in committee.
Florida	Allowed	Card network caps	The state ban was declared unconstitutional in 2015 and cannot be enforced. Disclose clearly.
Georgia	Limited	Actual processing cost	The attorney general holds surcharges to your actual card cost, with advance notice and receipt disclosure.
Hawaii	Allowed	Card network caps	No state statute. Network rules apply.
Idaho	Allowed	Card network caps	No state statute. Network rules apply.
Illinois	Allowed	Card network caps	No state cap. A widely cited 1 percent cap comes from a bill that never became law.
Indiana	Allowed	Card network caps	No state statute. Network rules apply.
Iowa	Allowed	Card network caps	No state statute limits surcharging. Network rules apply.
Kansas	Allowed	Card network caps	The old ban ended in 2021. Since January 1, 2025 state law allows surcharging with clear advance disclosure. No state cap.
Kentucky	Allowed	Card network caps	No state statute. Network rules apply.
Louisiana	Allowed	Card network caps	No state statute for private merchants. Network rules apply.
Maine	Banned	No surcharging	State law bans surcharges for private sellers. A repeal bill failed in 2025. Cash discounts remain legal.
Maryland	Allowed	Card network caps	No state statute. Network rules apply.
Massachusetts	Banned	No surcharging	Flat statutory ban, never struck down. Cash discounts remain legal.
Michigan	Allowed	Card network caps	No state statute. A 2013 ban attempt never passed.
Minnesota	Limited	5% state cap	State law caps surcharges at 5 percent and requires oral notice plus posted signage. Network caps are lower in practice.
Mississippi	Allowed	Card network caps	No state statute. Network rules apply.
Missouri	Allowed	Card network caps	No state statute. A proposed cost cap died in committee.
Montana	Allowed	Card network caps	No state statute. Network rules apply.
Nebraska	Allowed	Card network caps	No state law for private merchants. Cost caps you may see cited apply only to government offices.
Nevada	Limited	Actual processing cost	Attorney general guidance holds surcharges to your actual processing cost, with posted notice and receipt itemization.
New Hampshire	Allowed	Card network caps	No state statute. A 2013 ban attempt never passed.
New Jersey	Limited	Actual processing cost	State law caps surcharges at your actual processing cost, with disclosure posted before the customer pays.
New Mexico	Allowed	Card network caps	No state statute, though Albuquerque has its own local disclosure ordinance.
New York	Limited	Actual processing cost	The surcharge cannot exceed what processing actually costs you, and the full card price must be posted up front.
North Carolina	Allowed	Card network caps	No state statute. Network rules apply.
North Dakota	Allowed	Card network caps	No state statute. Network rules apply.
Ohio	Allowed	Card network caps	No state statute today. A point of sale disclosure bill is pending in the legislature.
Oklahoma	Limited	2% or actual cost	The old ban ended November 2025. Surcharges are allowed up to 2 percent or actual cost, with posted disclosure.
Oregon	Allowed	Card network caps	No general state statute. Vehicle price advertising rules still require honest totals.
Pennsylvania	Allowed	Card network caps	No state statute yet. A disclosure and cost cap bill is moving through the House.
Rhode Island	Allowed	Card network caps	No state statute. The state cap you may see cited traces to a bill that never passed.
South Carolina	Allowed	Card network caps	No enacted state law. A 2013 ban attempt failed.
South Dakota	Allowed	Card network caps	No state statute. State consumer guidance mirrors network rules: actual cost and clear posting.
Tennessee	Allowed	Card network caps	No state statute. Network rules apply.
Texas	Allowed	Card network caps	The ban still written in state law is permanently enjoined. Surcharging is available with clear disclosure.
Utah	Allowed	Card network caps	A short lived ban expired in 2014 and was never renewed. Network rules apply.
Vermont	Allowed	Card network caps	No state statute. Network rules apply.
Virginia	Allowed	Card network caps	No surcharge cap. A 2025 total price law targets mandatory fees, so keep the surcharge clearly optional and disclosed.
Washington	Allowed	Card network caps	No state statute. Network rules apply.
West Virginia	Allowed	Card network caps	No state statute. Network rules apply.
Wisconsin	Allowed	Card network caps	No state statute. Network rules apply.
Wyoming	Allowed	Card network caps	No state statute. Network rules apply.

Three states carry a flat ban: Connecticut, Maine, and Massachusetts. Seven more allow surcharging but cap it below or alongside the network ceilings: Colorado, Georgia, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, and Oklahoma, fresh off its own 2025 repeal. Every other state defers to Visa and Mastercard's own caps and disclosure rules.

For Your Dealership

What This Means at the Counter

A 50-state table is useful for a compliance binder. What your front desk actually needs is simpler than that.

Your service drive does not need to memorize which of the three states ban surcharging, which eight cap it below the network ceiling, and which thirty-nine defer to the card networks' own caps. That is not a realistic ask for an advisor closing out a repair order between customers. We track the state, not your front desk.

Disclosure Runs the Same Way Everywhere

Signage at the point of entry, notice at the point of sale, and the surcharge itemized as its own line on the receipt, the three requirements every surcharging state and every card network agree on. Your terminals and signage handle it the same way at every location, in every state you operate in.

Debit, prepaid, and gift cards never carry a surcharge, in any of the 50 states, full stop. That protects the customer paying with debit and it protects you from a compliance question that never needed to come up. Credit cards run under the standard 3% program, disclosed before the charge and itemized on the receipt afterward.

See the full mechanics of the credit and debit fork on the surcharge program page, or walk through exactly what happens at the terminal on the how it works page.

Law FAQ

Straight Answers on State Rules

Which states ban credit card surcharging?

Three: Connecticut, Maine, and Massachusetts. Surcharging is legal in the other 47 states, either under card network rules alone or with an added state cap. Cash discounts remain legal in all three banned states.

Is a 3% surcharge legal?

In most states, yes. Visa caps credit card surcharges at 3 percent, and the surcharge always has to stay at or under your actual cost of acceptance. A handful of states set a lower ceiling, like Colorado at 2 percent, and three states ban surcharging entirely. Check the table above for your state.

Can debit cards be surcharged?

No. Debit, prepaid, and gift cards can never carry a surcharge, in any state, under a hard card network rule. Running the card as credit at the terminal does not change what kind of card it is underneath.

What disclosure does the law require?

Notice posted at the point of entry, notice again at the point of sale before the charge runs, and the surcharge shown as its own line item on the receipt. That standard holds across every surcharging state and both major card networks.

My state has a cap. What happens if I go over it?

You risk a state law violation on top of a card network violation, since the network caps sit at 3 to 4 percent while some states set a lower ceiling. Talk to us about your state's specific cap before you set your rate. For the full list of questions we get on pricing and the program itself, see the FAQ page.

Straight Answers on Your State

Know Where Your Dealership Stands

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