Credit Card Surcharge Laws by State (2026)

Surcharging — adding a fee to credit card transactions to cover your processing cost — is legal in most of the United States. But the rules aren't just state-by-state. The card networks have their own requirements that apply everywhere, and a handful of states ban or restrict the practice entirely.

The nationwide rules that always apply

Regardless of where you operate, the card networks set their own rules that apply in every state:

• Debit and prepaid cards can never be surcharged. This is federal law under the Durbin Amendment. You can only surcharge credit cards.
• Visa caps surcharges at 3% of the transaction amount.
• Mastercard caps surcharges at 4%, but since most merchants accept both, the effective cap is 3%.
• Never charge more than your actual cost. Your surcharge can't exceed what you pay to process the card.
• Give 30 days notice to Visa and Mastercard before you start surcharging.
• Disclose the surcharge with an entrance sign, a point-of-sale notice, and a line item on the receipt showing the surcharge amount.

State-by-state status

Click your state to see the specific rules that apply: