§ 51-13-02 — Requirements as to retail installment contracts

1. A retail installment contract must be dated and in writing, and must contain all the
agreements of the parties with respect to the cost and terms of payment for the
personal property, including any promissory notes or other evidences of indebtedness
between the parties relating to the transaction.
2. If the retail installment sale for which the retail installment contract is made is not
subject to the Truth in Lending Act [15 U.S.C. 1601-1667f], or if the retail installment
sale is subject to that Act and the seller does not comply with all the requirements of
that Act, this subsection applies.
a. The printed portion of the contract must be in at least eight-point type. The
contract must contain printed or written in a size equal to at least ten-point bold
type:
(1) Either at the top of the contract or directly above the space reserved for the
signature of the buyer, the words "RETAIL INSTALLMENT CONTRACT".
(2) A specific statement that liability insurance coverage for bodily injury and
property damage caused to others is not included, if that is the case.
(3) The following notice: "NOTICE TO THE BUYER: 1. Do not sign this contract
before you read it or if it contains any blank space. 2. You are entitled to a
completely filled-in copy of this contract when you sign it. 3. Under the law,
you have the following rights, among others: (a) to pay off in advance the full
amount due and to obtain a partial refund of the finance charge; (b) to
redeem the property if repossessed for a default within the time provided by
law; (c) to require, under certain conditions, a resale of the property if
repossessed. 4. If you desire to pay off in advance the full amount due, the
amount of the refund you are entitled to, if any, will be furnished upon
request."
b. The seller shall deliver to the buyer a legible copy of the contract or any other
document the seller has required or requested the buyer to sign. Until the seller
does so, a buyer who has not received delivery of the personal property has an
unconditional right to cancel the contract and to receive immediate refund of all
payments made and redelivery of all goods traded in to the seller on account of or
in contemplation of the contract. Any acknowledgment by the buyer of delivery of
a copy of the contract must be printed or written in a size equal to at least
ten-point bold type and, if contained in the contract, must also appear directly
above the space reserved for the buyer's signature. The buyer's written
acknowledgment of delivery of a copy of a contract is conclusive proof of such
delivery and of compliance with this subdivision in any action or proceeding by or
against an assignee of the contract without knowledge to the contrary when the
assignee purchases the contract.
c. The contract must contain:
(1) The names of the seller and the buyer, the place of business of the seller,
the residence or place of business of the buyer as specified by the buyer
and a description of the personal property including its make, year model,
model and identification numbers or marks, if any, and whether it is new or
used.
(2) The cash price of the personal property which is the subject matter of the
retail installment sale.
(3) The amount of the buyer's downpayment, itemizing the amounts paid in
money and in goods and containing a brief description of the goods, if any,
traded in.
(4) The difference between paragraphs 2 and 3, which is the unpaid balance of
cash price.
(5) The amount, if any, included for insurance, specifying the coverages.
(6) The amount, if any, of official fees.
(7) The amount financed, which is the sum of paragraphs 4, 5, and 6.
(8) The amount of the finance charge, if any.

(9) The total of payments, which is the sum of paragraphs 7 and 8, payable by
the buyer to the seller, the number of installments required, the amount of
each installment expressed in dollars, and the due date or period thereof.
(10) The deferred payment price, which is the sum of the amounts determined in
paragraphs 2, 5, 6, and 8.
(11) If any installment substantially exceeds in amount any prior installment other
than the downpayment, the following legend printed in at least ten-point bold
type or typewritten: "THIS CONTRACT IS NOT PAYABLE IN
INSTALLMENTS OF EQUAL AMOUNTS", followed, if there be but one
larger installment, by: "AN INSTALLMENT OF $_______ WILL BE DUE ON
_____", or, if there be more than one larger installment, by: "LARGER
INSTALLMENTS WILL BE DUE AS FOLLOWS: _____", in such latter case
inserting the amount of every larger installment and its due date.
(12) Any balloon payments. If any payment under a contract is more than twice
the amount of an otherwise regularly scheduled equal payment, the seller
shall identify the amount of such payment by the term "balloon payment".
The items need not be stated in the sequence or order set forth above; additional
items may be included to explain the calculations involved in determining the
amount to be paid by the buyer.
d. If the cost of any insurance is included in the contract and a separate charge is
made to the buyer for the insurance:
(1) The contract must state whether the insurance is to be procured by the
buyer or the seller.
(2) If the insurance is to be procured by the seller or holder, the seller or holder
shall within thirty days after execution of the retail installment contract send
or cause to be sent to the buyer a policy or policies or certificate of
insurance, written by an insurance company authorized to do business in
this state and sold by a licensed insurance agent.
If any such policy or certificate is canceled, the unearned insurance premium
refund received by the holder of the contract must be credited to the final
maturing installments of the retail installment contract except to the extent applied
toward payment for similar insurance protecting the interests of the buyer and
holder of the contract or either of them.
e. A contract may provide for the payment by the buyer of a delinquency and
collection charge on each installment in default for a period of more than ten days
in an amount equal to ten percent of the delinquent installment payment or ten
dollars, whichever is less; provided, that only one such delinquency and collection
charge may be collected on each installment in addition to interest accruing
thereon.
f. No retail installment contract may be signed by any party thereto when it contains
blank spaces to be filled in after it has been signed except that, if delivery of the
personal property is not made at the time of the execution of the contract, the
identifying numbers or marks of the property or similar information and the due
date of the first installment may be inserted in the contract after its execution.
3. If a retail installment sale is also subject to the Truth in Lending Act [15 U.S.C.
1601-1667e], the seller may, instead of complying with the disclosure requirements of
subsection 2, comply with all requirements of the Truth in Lending Act. A seller who
complies with the Truth in Lending Act still must comply with the provisions of this
section governing matters other than disclosure.