How to use Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) protections — the 6% interest cap, lease termination, eviction and foreclosure protections, and default judgments
The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (50 U.S.C. 3901 and following) gives people on active duty — including Guard and Reserve members on federal active-duty orders — and in some provisions their spouses and dependents, a set of financial and legal protections. The main ones: interest on debts incurred before service is capped at 6% during service (and for one year after for mortgages) once you send the creditor written notice and a copy of your orders; residential and vehicle leases can be terminated on entry to service or on PCS or deployment orders; a landlord cannot evict a service member's family from a residence under a rent threshold without a court order; a pre-service mortgage cannot be foreclosed during service or for one year after without a court order; and courts must check for military status before entering default judgments and must stay proceedings on request. Most protections require you to act — in writing, with orders attached — and the installation legal assistance office will help for free.
What you'll need
- Your military orders (and any extensions), or a certified letter from your commanding officer
- A written notice to the creditor, landlord or court citing the SCRA section you are invoking
- Your SCRA status report from the Defense Manpower Data Center (scra.dmdc.osd.mil) if a business asks for verification
- The installation legal assistance office (free) or Military OneSource, 800-342-9647
Step-by-step
Step 1: Confirm who is covered and for how long
The SCRA covers members of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Space Force and Coast Guard on active duty, Guard and Reserve members on federal active-duty orders, commissioned officers of the Public Health Service and NOAA on active service, and National Guard members called to full-time duty for more than 30 consecutive days under 32 U.S.C. 502(f) in response to a national emergency declared by the President and funded by the federal government. Most protections run for the period of military service; some extend afterward — the 6% cap on a mortgage for one year after service, foreclosure protection for one year after, and the right to reopen a default judgment for 90 days after release. Spouses and dependents are covered by the eviction protection and by joint obligations.
Step 2: The 6% interest cap (50 U.S.C. 3937)
A debt you (or you and your spouse jointly) took on before entering military service cannot bear interest above 6% a year during your service — and for one year after service for a mortgage, deed of trust or similar security. Interest above 6% is forgiven, not deferred, and your payments must be reduced accordingly. To get the cap you must give the creditor written notice and a copy of your orders (or another indicator of service, such as a certified letter from your commander) no later than 180 days after your release from service; the cap then applies back to the date your service began. Creditors may instead verify your status through the Defense Manpower Data Center. The creditor can ask a court to deny the cap only by showing that your ability to pay the higher rate is not materially affected by your service.
Step 3: Ending a lease (50 U.S.C. 3955)
Residential leases: you may terminate a lease you signed before entering service, or one you signed during service if you then receive permanent-change-of-station orders or orders to deploy for at least 90 days (or a stop-movement order of 30 days or more that keeps you from occupying the premises). Vehicle leases: a lease signed before service, or during service if you receive PCS orders to a location outside the continental United States (or from a location outside it) or deployment orders for at least 180 days. Deliver written notice and a copy of the orders to the landlord or lessor; a residential lease ends 30 days after the first date the next rent payment is due after delivery, and a vehicle lease ends when you return the vehicle within 15 days of the notice. Rent paid in advance for the period after termination is refunded, early-termination charges cannot be imposed, and a dependent's obligation on a joint lease ends too. A spouse or dependent may also terminate within one year of a service member's death in service or of a catastrophic injury.
Step 4: Eviction, foreclosure and repossession
Eviction (3951): during military service a landlord may not evict a service member or the service member's dependents from a residence whose monthly rent is at or below the threshold the Defense Department publishes each year in the Federal Register (set at $2,400 in 2003 and adjusted for housing inflation) except by court order, and the court may stay the eviction for up to three months or adjust the obligation. Foreclosure (3953): a mortgage on property you owned before service cannot be sold, foreclosed or seized for default during service or within one year after it without a court order, and the court must stay or adjust the obligation when your ability to pay is materially affected by service; a knowing violation is a federal misdemeanor. Installment contracts (3952): property bought on an installment contract before service, on which you made a deposit or payment, cannot be repossessed without a court order.
Step 5: Court proceedings, enforcement and help
Default judgments (3931): before entering a default judgment in any civil case, including child custody, the court must require the plaintiff to file an affidavit about the defendant's military status and must appoint an attorney for a defendant in service; a default judgment entered during service or within 60 days after can be reopened on application within 90 days after release if service materially affected your defense and you have a meritorious defense. Stays (3932): on a written request showing how service affects your ability to appear and when you can appear, with a letter from your commander, the court must stay the case at least 90 days. If a business violates the SCRA, contact your installation legal assistance office, file a report with the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division (civilrights.justice.gov), or complain to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau; the Act also allows private lawsuits with attorney fees.
Critical tips
- Put every request in writing, attach your orders, keep copies and send by a method that proves delivery.
- The 6% cap covers only debts that existed before you entered service; the separate Military Lending Act caps most new consumer credit to active-duty members and dependents at a 36% Military Annual Percentage Rate.
- A waiver of SCRA rights is valid only if it is in writing and signed during or after service — never before.
- Military OneSource (800-342-9647) and the installation legal assistance office provide free help; veterans past the one-year post-service window should ask a county veterans service officer about free civil legal aid: warriorsfund.org/find-cvso.
- In crisis: dial 988 then press 1, or text 838255.