Can I Get a Cash Advance on My Lawsuit in Oklahoma?

By Michael Shemtoub, trial attorney, Beverly Law. Updated November 2026.

What Oklahoma’s law covers

The Oklahoma Legislature added consumer litigation funding to the Uniform Consumer Credit Code in 2013 (Laws 2013, c. 386, SB 1016), effective November 1, 2013 (14A O.S. 3-801). A “consumer” is an individual with a pending legal claim who either lives in Oklahoma or has a legal claim in Oklahoma. The covered agreement provides money “for a purpose other than prosecuting the consumer’s legal claim,” in exchange for a non-recourse sale of a contingent right to part of the proceeds.

A legal claim includes a civil action, an alternative dispute resolution proceeding, and an administrative proceeding before a state agency, but not a workers’ compensation claim, which the statute calls not assignable. If your case is a workers’ comp claim, see our page on workers’ comp settlement advances. The law also does not treat your own lawyer, your accountant or an immediate family member as a funder.

Section 3-801 defines “charges” broadly: anything paid to the funder beyond the money you received, including administrative, origination and underwriting fees and amounts called interest. Under 3-803, a funder may deal with a consumer only through an agreement that follows these sections.

Licensing through the Department of Consumer Credit

A funder must get a license from the Administrator of Consumer Credit before doing business in Oklahoma, filing an application with a $290 fee (3-809). The Department’s license page says applicants also need a $50,000 surety bond or irrevocable letter of credit and that approval can take up to 60 days. Its rules, including a model agreement form, are in Okla. Admin. Code Title 160, Chapter 75.

No charge cap in the current text

In the Oklahoma sections we read, we found no rate cap. The Oklahoma Senate’s Title 14A table of contents shows section 3-808 as repealed by Laws 2014, c. 252, effective July 1, 2014; we could not read what it said before repeal. Without a cap, the disclosures are your main protection, so read the payment schedule closely and compare it with what we explain on how much pre-settlement funding costs.

What the agreement must disclose

Section 3-807 requires clear and conspicuous disclosures in at least 12-point bold type. The front page must show:

• the funded amount
• an itemized list of one-time charges
• the total amount you assign to the funder
• a payment schedule listing the amount due at the end of each 180-day period

The agreement must also say that the funder may not take part in deciding whether, when or for how much the claim settles, and may not interfere with your attorney’s independent professional judgment. It must tell you that you have to notify the funder of a settlement or judgment before the resolution date. A boxed notice in capital letters begins, “THE FUNDED AMOUNT AND AGREED TO CHARGES SHALL BE PAID ONLY FROM THE PROCEEDS OF YOUR LEGAL CLAIM.” Above your signature, it warns you not to sign before reading the whole agreement or while it has blank spaces.

Cancelling within 5 business days

Under 3-806, the agreement must include a right of rescission in a bold box. You may cancel “without penalty or further obligation” if, by the fifth business day after the funding date, you either deliver the funder’s uncashed check to its office or mail a cancellation notice with the full amount by insured, certified or registered U.S. mail. Mailed payment must be the funder’s uncashed check, a registered or certified check, or a money order.

Your lawyer and the funder

Under 3-804, your attorney has no duty to pay the funder any part of a settlement, judgment, award or verdict “unless the attorney has agreed to do so in writing.” In the sections we read, we did not find a requirement that the attorney sign an acknowledgment. The funder must promptly send a copy of the signed agreement to your attorney. Ask your lawyer whether they will agree in writing to pay the funder, because many funders will want that, and how a lawsuit advance is paid back explains how the payoff usually works.

What funders may not do

Section 3-814 bars a licensed funder from:

• paying or accepting referral fees with attorneys, medical providers, chiropractors or physical therapists, or their employees
• intentionally advertising materially false or misleading information
• referring you to a specific attorney or provider, other than a local or state bar referral service
• failing to promptly supply the executed agreement to your attorney
• knowingly funding you after you assigned proceeds to another funder, unless that funder is paid or agrees in writing to less, or the funders fund you together with your written consent
• making any decision about how your claim is conducted, settled or resolved, which stays “solely with the consumer and the attorney”
• knowingly paying court costs, filing fees or attorney’s fees from the funding

If you already have an advance, see can you get a second lawsuit advance.

Penalties and complaints

If a court finds that a funder was not properly licensed, or that it intentionally violated these sections, the funder “is entitled to recover the funded amount” and “may not receive any additional charges” (3-815). After notice and a hearing, the Administrator may fine a funder that knowingly and willfully violates the law up to $5,000, on top of the Consumer Credit Code’s other enforcement tools.

To complain, use the Department of Consumer Credit’s online complaint form, email okstate@okdocc.ok.gov, or write to 629 N.E. 28th Street, Oklahoma City, OK 73105. The main line is 405-521-3653, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The Department says it may share your complaint with the business and may decline to act on a purely private dispute that does not affect the public.

Your deadline to sue

An advance does not extend the time to sue. Oklahoma sets 2 years for “an action for injury to the rights of another, not arising on contract” (12 O.S. 95(A)(3)); other periods apply to some claims.

What to ask before you sign

• What is your Oklahoma consumer litigation funder license number?
• What will I owe at 6, 12, 18 and 24 months, and is there any point when the amount stops growing?
• Which charges are one-time, and which keep adding up?
• Will you require my lawyer to agree in writing to pay you from the settlement?
• How do I return the money if I change my mind within 5 business days?

Our contract red flags checklist lists more terms to read. The state law table compares states, and the lawsuit cash advance guide covers how advances work.

Common questions

Related pages

Cash advance on a lawsuit · Laws by state · Injury law FAQs

Important: This page is general information, not legal or medical advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Every case is different; talk to a lawyer about yours. Texas cases are handled by the firm’s Texas-licensed attorneys, Joyce Ondich and John Efstathiou. Last reviewed: November 7, 2026.