Credit card surcharge laws by state: a guide for restaurants

Most US states let a restaurant add a surcharge for paying by credit card, but never on debit or prepaid cards, and Visa caps it at 3% or your actual card cost, whichever is lower. As of October 2026, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Maine ban card surcharges, Colorado caps them at 2%, New York requires the total card price to be posted, and California's honest-pricing law treats an unavoidable fee as part of the price. Building your card cost into menu prices works in every state.

Create your free ordering pageBook a demo (opens in a new tab)

The card network rules (everywhere in the US)

The debit ban comes from the card networks' own rules. In practice, a restaurant that surcharges both brands works to the lower Visa limit of 3%.

State laws on card surcharges (as of October 2026)

Only states we could confirm on the state's own statute or agency site are listed. A state that's not here may still have rules, so check before you start.

This is general information as of October 2026, not legal advice. Check your state's current law or ask an attorney before you add any surcharge.

Worked example: surcharge or price it in?

Prices as of October 2026. A restaurant sells a US$40.00 to-go order (before tax) and pays its processor about 3% on credit cards.

The higher menu price is the original price divided by 0.97, so after a 3% fee you still keep US$40.00. Folding the cost in also covers debit cards, which you can never surcharge, and avoids signage, processor notice and state-by-state rules.

With Stripe on Menuthere (2.9% + 30¢ per US card payment), a US$40.00 order costs US$1.46 in fees. To keep US$40.00 you'd price the order at US$41.50: Stripe's fee on US$41.50 is US$1.50. Work out new prices for a whole menu with the menu price calculator.

Checklist if you still want to surcharge

1. Check your state against the table above and your state's current law.
2. Apply it to credit cards only, never debit or prepaid.
3. Keep it at or below your actual card cost and 3% (2% in Colorado).
4. Notify your processor at least 30 days ahead.
5. Post signs at the entrance and the register, and before checkout online.
6. Show the surcharge on the receipt as its own line.
7. In New York, post the card price including the surcharge; in California, show any mandatory fee wherever prices appear.

How Menuthere handles card fees

• No surcharge at checkout, ever. Menuthere doesn't add a card fee, a convenience fee or a percentage for paying by card.
• Your own Stripe account (Lite, US$17 a month): customers pay by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay on Stripe's checkout; the money goes to your Stripe balance and Stripe deducts its own fee. Menuthere takes 0% commission. See connect Stripe.
• Pay at the counter (Free plan): customers order online and pay in person, where your own terminal rules apply.
• Optional service charge and tips: you can switch on an optional service charge (dine-in by default, removable by the customer) and tips at checkout. Neither is a card surcharge. See tips and service charge.

More on online orders: can I add a card fee or surcharge to online food orders?. Setting menu prices with tax? Read sales tax on restaurant food. For what the delivery apps take instead, see DoorDash vs Uber Eats vs Grubhub, commission-free online ordering, the online ordering system for the USA and pricing.

Create your free ordering pageBook a demo (opens in a new tab)