The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, in plain English
Know the law. Keep your money.
Federal law caps your pre-service debt at 6% APR, breaks leases when orders move you, and shields your home and car. Most service members never claim a dollar of it. Claiming takes one letter.
- Issuer SCRA desks
- 44 verified
- State add-ons
- 50 states
- Plain-English guides
- 185
- Cost to you
- $0
The protections
Where your money is hiding
- The 6% Interest Rate Cap
Cut every pre-service debt (credit cards, auto loans, mortgages, student loans) to 6% APR and claim refunds.
- Break Leases & Contracts Penalty-Free
End apartment leases, auto leases, and phone contracts without fees when orders move you.
- Protect Your Home & Car
Foreclosure and repossession protections that keep your biggest assets safe during service.
- Eligibility & Timing
Who qualifies, what paperwork proves it, and exactly when protections start and stop.
- Military Money Moves
Beyond the rights, the money plays that maximize your benefits: combat-zone tax, the SDP, choosing a military bank, deployment and PCS money, aid societies, and the timing moves generic guides never cover.
- Defend Your Rights in Court
Sued, served, or facing eviction while you serve? Default-judgment shields, the 90-day stay, the rights you can be tricked into waiving, and how to make a lender that broke the law pay.
- The Military Lending Act (36% Cap)
The SCRA covers debt from before you served; the Military Lending Act caps NEW consumer credit taken out while you serve at a 36% MAPR, and bans the predatory terms that target troops.
- SCRA for Landlords, Lenders & Courts
The other side of the desk: what a landlord, lender, servicer, collector or court must do under the SCRA. The military affidavit, the DMDC status check, the notices, the deadlines, and what DOJ has fined for getting them wrong.
- State-by-State SCRA Benefits
Your state stacks its own protections on top of the federal SCRA: state-duty Guard coverage, longer rate caps, broader lease exits. What applies where you live.
The receipts
Checked against the source, on a date
Military blogs repeat SCRA rates and phone numbers no bank publishes. We fetch every issuer's own page, stamp what we find with the date we found it, and re-check monthly.
-
The SCRA department directory
Every major issuer's SCRA desk: phone, fax, mailing address, portal. Call the right desk the first time.
-
The rate tracker
What each bank's own page actually states, re-verified monthly, every change logged with a date.
-
The scorecard
Banks say "two billing cycles." Servicemembers report what actually happened. Add yours.
The enforcement desk
What it costs to break this law
Every Justice Department SCRA action, transcribed from the DOJ record: 65 cases, who paid, how much, and for what. If your lender or landlord is on this list, read the order before you call them.
-
2026 · repossession
CarMax SCRA Settlement: 28 Vehicles Repossessed Without Court Orders28 vehicles
-
2026 · repossession
Holmes Motors SCRA Settlement: Repossessions and Kept DepositsThree vehicles repossessed, five leases terminated
-
2026 · consumer contract
ADT SCRA Settlement: $1.26 Million to 3,400 ServicemembersAt least 3,400 servicemembers
-
2026 · default judgment
Rental Marketing Solutions: $60,000 for One False Military AffidavitOne active-duty Navy sailor; DOJ calls it the largest amount it has ever obtained for a single servicemember in a false-affidavit case
Browse the full enforcement ledger Landlord, lender or court? Start with the compliance desk
New to the SCRA
Start here
-
What Is the SCRA? The Military Law Worth Thousands a Year
The SCRA (Servicemembers Civil Relief Act) caps pre-service debt at 6%, ends leases on orders, and blocks foreclosure without a court order. How it works.
-
SCRA Interest Rate Cap: The 6% Rule, How It Works, How to File
The SCRA 6% rule (50 U.S.C. § 3937): pre-service debt capped at 6%, excess forgiven, retroactive, mortgages one year after service. Who goes lower, how to file.
-
SCRA Eligibility: Who Qualifies, When It Starts & Ends
Who qualifies for the SCRA under 50 U.S.C. § 3911: active duty, Guard, Reserve, spouses, veterans, and which debts count. Status table, start and end dates.
Fresh off the desk
Latest guides
-
ADT Military Cancellation Under the SCRA: Orders, Email, No ETF
ADT's SCRA page (effective April 9, 2026): email notice and orders to docs6273@adt.com. No early termination fee, refund in 60 days, free reinstatement in 90.
No ETF on a 36-month monitoring plan
-
Affirm SCRA: 6% Cap on Pre-Service Loans, Filed by Webform
Affirm publishes a 6% SCRA cap for loans opened before active duty. File through the Help Center support form with your loan ID and orders; phone 855-423-3729.
The statutory 6% cap on pre-service Affirm plans
-
American Credit Acceptance SCRA: 6% Cap, Request Form, 180-Day Window
American Credit Acceptance (not Credit Acceptance Corp.) publishes an SCRA rate reduction form: 6% from your duty start date, filed to Spartanburg, SC.
The 6% cap against a subprime dealer-arranged rate
-
AT&T Military Cancellation and Number Hold: The SCRA Rules
AT&T cancels wireless with no ETF on deployment or transfer orders, holds a number up to 39 months, and can stop device installments. Online path, fax, forms.
No ETF, installments can stop
-
Carrington Mortgage SCRA: Servicemembers Connection 888-267-5474
Carrington routes SCRA requests to its Military Liaison: (888) 267-5474, 8 to 8 ET, or ServicemembersConnection@carringtonms.com. No rate printed; 6% applies.
6% cap for service plus one year
-
Citizens Bank SCRA: Email the Military Assistance Team, 30-Day Answer
Citizens takes SCRA requests by email (MilitaryAssistance@citizensbank.com), fax 855-872-1791, or mail to Johnston, RI, and answers in writing within 30 days.
The 6% cap on cards, auto, student loans, mortgage, and home equity
Beyond the federal floor
What your state adds on top of the federal SCRA
The SCRA is the federal floor. Most states stack their own protections on top: a state SCRA of their own, National Guard coverage on state active duty, longer rate caps, or broader lease exits. Find yours on the map, then open its page.
- Cited to the U.S. Code Every protection links to the statute
- Written by a veteran Air Force vet, banking background
- Tools that do the work Letter generator, deadline checker, rate-cap lookup
Read our editorial policy. General information, not legal or financial advice.