Leaving active duty does not necessarily close the door on an SCRA interest review.
If you have qualifying pre-service debt, the federal 6% interest cap has a written-request window that reaches 180 days beyond the end of military service. A qualifying mortgage can also have an additional year of rate protection. Those are two different clocks.
Start here if you are separating, retiring, or finishing a qualifying Guard or Reserve activation. For questions about which service period counts, use the Guard and Reserve guide and confirm your records before counting dates.
One date, two different clocks
Check the dates after service
Use the end date of the qualifying military-service period you want reviewed. This helper counts dates; it does not decide whether your service or debt qualifies.
Your date stays in this page's memory. Orders First does not send, save, or track it. Clear it here or close the page.
First, protect the interest-cap request deadline
Under 50 U.S.C. § 3937, provide the creditor written notice and service proof no later than 180 days after your qualifying military service ends. Day 180 is included. Send early enough to confirm receipt; dropping a letter in the mail on the last day is a risk.
Service proof can be the orders calling you to service and any extensions, or another appropriate service indicator, including a certified commanding officer's letter. Use an official route that accepts those documents. The Banks directory distinguishes a request route from a general help contact.
Some creditors use military-status information for independent verification. Still, keep your own copies of the written request, supporting proof and confirmation. A timely request can reach qualifying interest charged earlier in the service period; the refund guide explains how that review works.
If the date has passed, do not assume an earlier timely request disappeared or that every other protection ended. Ask your creditor or servicer about its separate military program and get legal help if coverage is disputed. This helper does not decide a late request, a prior request, or a provider's voluntary policy.
Still serving? You can request the cap now. You do not need to wait for separation, and you should not enter a planned future end date in this helper.
The mortgage year is coverage, not a filing extension
Section 3937 gives a qualifying pre-service mortgage, trust deed or similar mortgage security interest-cap coverage during service and for one year afterward. For other qualifying obligations, including ordinary credit cards and auto loans, the federal cap covers the military-service period. A provider may separately offer more.
The CFPB confirms the extra mortgage year. It does not move the 180-day written-request deadline. Ask the servicer how it classified your debt and which dates it used, especially for a home-equity loan or line of credit; this page does not classify that account for you.
If the mortgage year is still running, future interest is not already-paid interest to refund. The date helper shows both the one-year reference and the latest date that can enter a review today. Our estimator also stops an interest estimate at today. Your creditor or servicer decides eligibility and performs the final calculation.
Keep a small record for each account
- Identify the right service period. Keep orders, extensions and the actual end date together. Separate Guard or Reserve activations may need separate review.
- Match the account. Check when the debt began and who currently owns or services it. A refinanced or consolidated loan can change the pre-service-debt question.
- Keep evidence of your request. Save what you sent, where you sent it and the creditor's confirmation in your own secure records. Do not send orders or statements to Orders First.
- Read the answer. Ask for the covered dates, rate, forgiven or refunded interest and how the adjustment was applied. The adjustment guide gives questions to ask.
Use the account organizer to print the relevant provider instructions. If your dates fit the federal request window, you can prepare a basic request without estimating an amount, then review and send it yourself.
Other protections have their own rules
There is no single SCRA countdown for everything. The Justice Department's housing guidance covers separate lease, foreclosure, repossession and court protections. Start with the issue you face:
An unlisted state does not mean no relief exists. This date helper calculates no state-law deadline.