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.
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.
- Maximize: Advanced Strategies
The timing plays generic guides never cover: structuring debt before orders, the Guard activation cycle, fee-waived premium cards, and picking your tax state.
- 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.
Start here
- What Is the SCRA? The Military Law Worth Thousands a Year
The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act caps your pre-service debt at 6%, breaks leases penalty-free, and blocks foreclosure. Here is what it is worth.
- The SCRA 6% Interest Rate Cap: Complete Guide
How to cut every pre-service debt to 6% APR with one letter: credit cards, auto loans, mortgages, student loans, retroactive to day one of active duty.
- SCRA Eligibility: Who Qualifies, When It Starts & Ends
Active duty, Guard, Reserve, spouses: who gets SCRA protections, what paperwork proves it, and the exact windows for each benefit.
Latest guides
- Colorado SCRA Benefits: State Military Service Civil Relief
Colorado's State Military Service Civil Relief Act protects Guard and state defense force members on governor-ordered duty over 30 days.
💰 State-duty Guard: covered
- Georgia SCRA Benefits: The Honest Picture for Guard & Active
Georgia's state layer is thinner than its neighbors: strong reemployment rights for state-duty Guard, AG representation, and the federal floor.
💰 Reemployment rights + federal floor
- New York SCRA Benefits: The State's Own 6% Cap & More
New York's Soldiers' and Sailors' Civil Relief Act gives state-duty members their own 6% cap and adds foreclosure protection beyond the federal floor.
💰 State-duty members get the 6% cap
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- SCRA Life Insurance Protection: The Government Pays If You Can't
Under SCRA Title IV, your private life insurance cannot lapse during service plus two years, and the U.S. government guarantees the premiums.
💰 Keeps up to $500k in force
- South Carolina SCRA: State-Duty Coverage & the Car Tax Win
South Carolina's Servicemembers Civil Relief Act extends federal protections to Guard on 30+ day state duty and makes violations state-law violations.
💰 State-duty Guard + car tax
- Washington SCRA Benefits: Residents Covered, 180-Day Tail
Washington's state SCRA covers members stationed in OR residing in the state, includes Guard on governor call-ups, and runs 180 days past release.
💰 Protection 180 days past release
Every claim cited to the U.S. Code · Reviewed for accuracy · Free forever
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