The department announced today that an Interpretive Rule under the Military Lending Act Limitations on Terms of Consumer Credit Extended to Service Members and Dependents was published today in the Federal Register. The interpretive rule provides guidance on certain questions the department received regarding compliance with the July 2015 Final Rule.

The MLA better protects our service men and women from predatory credit practices by expanding financial protections provided to service members, and helping ensure military families receive the consumer protections they deserve. The MLA as implemented by the department, limits the military annual percentage rate that a creditor may charge to a maximum of 36-percent, requires certain disclosures, and provides other substantive consumer protections on “consumer credit” extended to service members and their families.

On July 22, 2015, the department amended its regulation; primarily for the purpose of extending the protections of the MLA to a broader range of closed-end and open-end credit products (the July 2015 Final Rule).

Following publication of the July 2015 Final Rule, the department received requests to clarify its interpretation of points raised in the rule. In response, the department issued this interpretive rule to inform the public of these clarifications without changing the provisions of the final rule.

The new interpretive rule is accessible through Docket ID: DOD-2013-OS-0133, RIN 0790-ZA11.