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ProhibitedLast verified: 2026-08-25

Is credit card surcharging legal in Connecticut?

No. Connecticut prohibits merchants from adding a credit card surcharge at checkout. Connecticut is one of the few states with a live, enforced ban. Conn. Gen. Stat. § 42-133ff prohibits surcharges outright, and the legislature strengthened it in 2023 and again in 2024 (Public Act 24-142), broadening the definitions and formalising the Department of Consumer Protection's power to investigate and fine. Cash discounts and dual pricing remain lawful: you may post a lower cash price, but you may not add a fee for choosing a card. Certain government entities collecting taxes and fees are excepted.

The statute

Citation: Conn. Gen. Stat. § 42-133ff (as amended by P.A. 24-142)

“No person may impose a surcharge on any transaction.”

Conn. Gen. Stat. § 42-133ff (as amended by P.A. 24-142)

How much you can charge

No cap exists because no surcharge is permitted. The compliant alternative is a discount for cash or a dual-price display.

Disclosure requirements

If you use a cash discount instead, the Department of Consumer Protection expects the discounted cash price to be clearly and conspicuously posted. Violations are treated as an unfair or deceptive trade practice.

Not legal advice

This page is a research summary for merchants, not legal advice, and no attorney-client relationship is created by reading it. Surcharge rules change, they interact with card-network rules and federal law, and they can turn on facts specific to your business. Consult licensed counsel in Connecticut before you implement or change a surcharge.

Putting this into practice on Shopify

Rules like these only help if your checkout can actually enforce them, including on Shop Pay, Apple Pay and Google Pay.

Shopify surcharge guideSee FeeLayer