Updated October 12, 2026. Quick answer: The Wyoming sections read set a rate ceiling (36% per year on the first $1,000 and 21% on the rest) only for consumer loans as defined in 40-14-304, made by a person regularly engaged in making loans, and the rate of interest of money is 7% a year when no other rate is agreed or provided by law (Wyo. Stat. 40-14-106 and 40-14-304).
Wyoming promissory note at a glance
| Item | What the documents say |
|---|---|
| Maximum interest rate on a private loan | No ceiling found for a one-off private note in the sections read; the consumer credit code reaches lenders regularly engaged in making loans |
| Rate if the note names none | 7% a year |
| Penalty for charging too much | For a consumer loan under the consumer credit code, the debtor owes no charge above the allowed amount and may recover it, plus a penalty up to the greater of the finance charge or ten times the excess charge if a refund is refused (Wyo. Stat. 40-14-521), and willfully charging more than the code allows on a consumer loan is a misdemeanor (40-14-540); no penalty was found for a one-off private note outside the code |
What Wyoming law says about interest
If there is no agreement or provision of law for a different rate, interest of money is 7% per annum.
A consumer loan under the code is a loan by a person regularly engaged in the business of making loans, to a debtor who is not an organization, incurred primarily for personal, family or household purposes, payable in installments or carrying a loan finance charge, with principal not over $75,000, and not primarily secured by a first mortgage on land (40-14-304); for those loans the finance charge may not exceed 36% per year on the first $1,000 of unpaid balances and 21% per year on the rest (40-14-310(g)). Excess charges carry a refund and a penalty up to the greater of the finance charge or ten times the excess charge (40-14-521), and willful excess charges on a consumer loan are a misdemeanor (40-14-540).
The sources in their own words
- Rate when none is agreed: “shall be at the rate of seven percent (7%) per annum” (Wyoming Statutes Title 40 (Trade and Commerce)).
- Exemption or penalty: “made by a person regularly engaged in the business of making loans” (Wyoming Statutes Title 40 (Trade and Commerce)).
- Time limit to sue: “Within ten (10) years, an action upon a specialty” (Wyoming Statutes Title 1 (Code of Civil Procedure)).
- Time limit to sue: “must be commenced within six (6) years after the due date” (Wyoming Statutes Title 34.1 (Uniform Commercial Code)).
- Signature: “person is not liable on an instrument unless (1) the person signed” (Wyoming Statutes Title 34.1 (Uniform Commercial Code)).
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Signing the note: signature, witness, notary
Under Wyo. Stat. 34.1-3-401 a person is not liable on an instrument unless the person signed it or an agent signed for them. A note is signed by the person who promises to pay.
None of the sections read for Wyoming requires a witness or a notary for the note itself. A note secured by real property is a separate question; see what an intra-family mortgage requires.
How long a lender has to sue
Wyoming gives six years after the due date to sue on a note payable at a definite time (Wyo. Stat. 34.1-3-118), and ten years on other written contracts (1-3-105).
A worked example: a $20,000 note
Suppose a relative lends you $20,000 and you sign a note for 5 years at 8% a year, paid monthly. With r = 8%/12 and n = 60 months, the level payment is principal times r divided by (1 minus (1 + r) to the power of negative n): $405.53 a month, computed here from these assumed inputs, not quoted. Over the 60 payments that is $24,331.80 in total, of which $4,331.80 is interest.
The 8% rate is an assumed figure for the illustration, not a recommended or typical one; the Wyoming rules above decide what a lender may charge. The federal side of a loan between relatives is covered at family loan minimum interest rate and AFR rates by month.
A loan or a gift?
A loan that may never be repaid is taxed differently; see family loan vs gift, forgiving a family loan and gift tax by state.
What the documents do not say
- Section 40-14-106 is part of the Consumer Credit Code, not a general usury statute, so no ceiling for a private note appears in the sections read; that is a statement about those sections, not a statement that Wyoming has no rule.
- A general criminal usury statute outside the consumer credit code was not read.
- Silence on a witness or notary in the sections read is not proof that no other Wyoming law requires one.
Common mistakes
- Assuming that no stated cap means no rule: the Wyoming table above gives the limit as No ceiling found for a one-off private note in the sections read, and the page lists what the documents do not say.
- Leaving the rate out: the legal rate of 7% applies when a note names none, and it is rarely what the parties meant.
- Waiting too long to enforce: Wyoming allows 6 years (note); 10 years (other written contract) to sue on a written note.
Related: promissory notes by state, promissory note requirements, family loan minimum interest rate, and gift tax by state.
Sources
- Wyoming Statutes Title 40 (Trade and Commerce): https://wyoleg.gov/statutes/compress/title40.pdf
- Wyoming Statutes Title 1 (Code of Civil Procedure): https://wyoleg.gov/statutes/compress/title01.pdf
- Wyoming Statutes Title 34.1 (Uniform Commercial Code): https://wyoleg.gov/statutes/compress/title34.1.pdf
Sources: the primary documents linked above, read on October 12, 2026. General information, not legal or tax advice. Statutes change and courts read them, so confirm anything consequential with a lawyer licensed in your state.