Two federal laws cap what a credit card company can charge you as a servicemember. In the guides we publish here, we track the pay and benefit rules readers actually run into, and military credit card rights are some of the least understood.
The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) limits interest to 6% a year on credit card debt you took on before you entered active duty. The Military Lending Act (MLA) limits the cost of new credit you take on while you're already on active duty to a 36% Military Annual Percentage Rate (MAPR), a rate that bundles interest with most fees.
Which one applies to your balance depends on when you opened the account. Your branch of service doesn't change that.
What Is the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA)?
SCRA's 6% cap only covers debt you already owed before you entered active duty, such as a credit card balance from your life as a civilian. It does not reduce the rate on new charges or cash advances you make after you're already on active duty. Those stay at whatever rate applies to your account.
The cap itself is set out in 50 U.S.C. § 3937, the specific provision inside the broader SCRA that Congress passed to protect servicemembers' finances while they serve. The law covers more than credit cards. It reaches other consumer debt too, such as auto loans and personal loans taken on before active duty.
What Is the Military Lending Act's 36% MAPR Cap?
The MLA's 36% cap applies to credit extended while you're on active duty, the opposite timing from SCRA's pre-service cap. The cap is called the Military Annual Percentage Rate (MAPR) because it rolls in interest plus most fees, not just the stated interest rate.
Credit cards weren't always covered. A 2015 Department of Defense final rule extended the MLA to credit cards, closing a gap that had let card fees sit outside the cap.
Because the MAPR bundles fees into the cap, a card whose stated interest rate looks under 36% can still breach the cap once its annual fee, cash-advance fee, and other charges are added in. When that happens, the fees have to come down, the structure has to change, or the issuer cannot extend that credit to a covered borrower at all.
How SCRA and the MLA Rate Caps Differ
SCRA and the MLA solve two different timing problems, one for debt you already owed, one for credit you take on now.
| Protection | SCRA (Pre-Service Debt) | MLA (Active-Duty Credit) |
|---|---|---|
| Legal citation | 50 U.S.C. § 3937 | 10 U.S.C. § 987 |
| What's capped | Interest rate | Interest plus most fees (MAPR) |
| Rate cap | 6% per year | 36% MAPR |
| When it applies | Debt opened before active duty began | Credit extended while already on active duty |
| Who's covered | The servicemember on that debt | Active-duty servicemember and dependents |
| How it's triggered | Written request plus a copy of orders | Applied automatically when the account opens |
If your card balance existed before you entered active duty, SCRA is the cap to invoke, and invoking it is on you. If you opened the card after you were already on active duty, the MLA's 36% MAPR cap should have applied the moment the issuer approved you, with no request required.
Who Qualifies for These Military Credit Card Protections?
SCRA covers any servicemember on active duty, including reservists and National Guard members activated to federal active duty, for debt they held before that activation. The MLA's 36% cap covers a broader group it calls a covered borrower. That group includes active-duty members of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Space Force, or Coast Guard, including those on active Guard or Reserve duty, plus their dependents.
That means a spouse's or dependent's own credit card can qualify for the MLA cap even though the servicemember's name isn't on the account.
How to Invoke Your SCRA 6% Rate Cap
Invoking the SCRA cap takes one written step. You tell your creditor, in writing, that you qualify, and you prove it with a copy of your orders.
- Send the creditor written notice that you are invoking your SCRA interest-rate protection.
- Attach a copy of your military orders showing your active-duty status.
- Send this request either while you're serving or within 180 days after your period of military service ends.
Most card issuers accept this through a letter, a fax, or a military-relief request form on their own site, and the number to call usually sits on the back of your card. Once the creditor receives both the notice and your orders, the 6% cap applies to your existing balance going forward.
Does the MLA's 36% Cap Apply Automatically?
Yes, the MLA cap applies automatically. You don't file a request the way you do for SCRA. The card issuer is required to check whether an applicant is a covered borrower before extending credit, and to structure the account so the MAPR doesn't exceed 36% from the start.
That check happens at origination, which is why the MLA mostly shows up as a rate you never see rather than a rate you had to ask for.
Do These Protections Apply If You're Stationed OCONUS?
Yes, both caps apply regardless of where you're stationed, including outside the continental United States (OCONUS). SCRA and the MLA are federal statutes tied to your active-duty status, not your duty location, so a posting in Germany or Japan doesn't reduce either protection.
The paperwork can change overseas. Getting a copy of your orders to a creditor is often slower from an OCONUS assignment, so request the cap as soon as you know your dates.
What These Protections Don't Cover
The most common mistake is assuming the SCRA cap applies automatically, the way the MLA cap does. If you never send the creditor written notice and a copy of your orders, the 6% cap does not apply, even though you qualify for it. SCRA also doesn't cover new charges you make after active duty starts, and it doesn't erase the debt itself, only the interest rate on what you already owed.
The MLA cap has its own limit. It only covers credit extended while you're a covered borrower, so a card you opened as a civilian and never used again after enlisting sits under SCRA's rules, not the MLA's. The two laws hand off at the moment you enter active duty, and debt from before that date is SCRA's job while credit from after it is the MLA's.
Neither cap pauses your monthly payment or removes the debt from your credit report. You still owe the principal, and you still make a payment every month, just calculated at a lower rate once the cap applies.
PCS Moves and Deployments Bring Old Balances Back
A permanent change of station (PCS) move is one of the most common moments an old balance resurfaces, since new orders mean packing costs, temporary lodging, and a fresh look at your finances. Our PCS Move Guide covers the move itself, and our guide to PCS entitlements covers what the government reimburses versus what comes out of your pocket.
Deployment follows the same pattern. Pay changes, family expenses shift, and a balance from before you enlisted can surface while you're overseas, which is exactly when SCRA's 6% cap matters most. See our guide to deployment pay for how your income changes during that stretch.
Exercising Your Military Credit Card Rights If an Issuer Won't Comply
If a creditor refuses to apply a cap you qualify for, put your request in writing again and keep a dated copy of the letter, your orders, and anything the creditor sends back. From there, your installation's Judge Advocate General (JAG) legal assistance office can review your case for free and often contacts the creditor directly on your behalf.
A JAG attorney or a regulator asks for that paper trail first, so a folder with every letter and confirmation saves time later.
You can also file a complaint with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the federal agency that handles consumer credit complaints, if the issuer still won't comply. If you think one of these military credit card rights applies to your balance, send your written request and a copy of your orders to your card issuer before another billing cycle passes at the higher rate.
This page is general information, not legal or financial advice. Verify your specific situation with your card issuer, a JAG legal assistance office, or a military consumer-law attorney before you rely on it.