Georgia Promissory Note
Georgia promissory note template with usury caps up to 16% under $3,000 and no cap above it, plus a 6-year SOL. Free template. Attorney review available.
Introduction
Georgia's usury cap is not one number, it is a ladder that depends on both how much is being borrowed and whether the lender is actually in the business of lending. On a written note of $3,000 or less made by a lender in the business of lending, the cap is 16% per year. Without a written rate agreement, the rate is 7% per year; a private person not in the business of lending who makes only an occasional loan under $3,000 (a loan to a relative, say) is capped lower, at 8% per year, without needing an Installment Loan Act license; and once the loan passes $3,000, and again once it reaches $250,000, the cap drops entirely, letting the maker and payee agree to any rate in writing. Confirm the current statute (O.C.G.A. Section 7-4-2) before relying on any figure beyond the $3,000-or-less tier. A promissory note itself is a written, signed promise by one party, the maker, to pay a definite sum of money to another party, the payee, either on demand or by a set date; the template below turns Georgia's specific rate tiers into an actual fillable note rather than just describing them. A Georgia note does not need to be notarized or witnessed to be enforceable. Confession-of-judgment clauses are not banned under Georgia law, though a federal rule bars them in a note for personal, family, or household purposes regardless of state law. You generally have 6 years from a missed payment or the note's due date to sue to collect on a written note in Georgia.
Key Things to Know
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A promissory note is a written, signed promise by one party (the maker) to pay a definite sum of money to another party (the payee), either on demand or by a set date.
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Georgia's usury cap depends on both loan size and lender status. On a written note of $3,000 or less, a lender in the business of lending may charge up to 16% per year. Without a written rate agreement, the rate is 7% per year; a private person making only an occasional loan under $3,000 is capped at 8% per year without needing a lender's license; and above $3,000, and again above $250,000, the parties are free to agree to any rate in writing. Confirm the current statute before relying on any figure beyond the $3,000-or-less tier. (O.C.G.A. Sections 7-4-2, 7-3-4, 7-4-10)
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A Georgia promissory note does not need to be notarized or witnessed to be enforceable. O.C.G.A. Section 11-3-104 lists what makes a note a valid negotiable instrument (an unconditional promise, a fixed amount, a signature, payable on demand or by a definite date), and notarization isn't one of the requirements.
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Georgia has not banned confession-of-judgment clauses (a clause letting the payee get a court judgment without a lawsuit) the way some states have. O.C.G.A. Section 9-12-18 lets either party confess judgment, entered in the county where the maker resided when the case was filed, once the case is regularly filed and docketed. For a note used mainly for personal, family, or household purposes, though, a federal rule (the FTC Credit Practices Rule, 16 C.F.R. Section 444.2) bars a confession-of-judgment clause regardless of state law.
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You generally have 6 years from a missed payment or the note's stated due date to sue to collect on a written promissory note in Georgia. (O.C.G.A. Section 9-3-24)
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If a Georgia promissory note is secured by personal property rather than real property, the lender generally needs to file a UCC-1 financing statement to protect its priority against other creditors. Unlike states that file with the Secretary of State, Georgia financing statements are filed with the Clerk of Superior Court of any county, indexed statewide by the Georgia Superior Court Clerks' Cooperative Authority. (O.C.G.A. Section 11-9-501)
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Promissory notes are commonly used in Georgia for family loans, small business loans, and LLC loans between members. Which usury tier applies (the default rate, the general $3,000-or-less rate, the occasional-lender $3,000-or-less rate, or the uncapped rate above $3,000) turns on the loan's size and whether the lender is in the business of lending, not on the relationship between the parties.
Key decisions before you file
Before you file a Promissory Note in Georgia, a few decisions shape the document: which option to choose and what each one means. The Promissory Note guide walks through them.
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Georgia Requirements for Promissory Note
On a written note of $3,000 or less, a lender in the business of lending may charge up to 16% per annum. Without a written rate agreement, the rate is 7% per annum; a private person making only an occasional loan of that size is capped at 8% per annum; above $3,000, and again above $250,000, the parties are free to agree to any rate in writing. Confirm the current statute before relying on any figure beyond the $3,000-or-less/16% tier.
To be a valid negotiable instrument, a note must be an unconditional promise to pay a fixed amount, signed by the maker, and payable on demand or at a definite time.
Generally 6 years from a missed payment or the note's stated due date to sue to collect on a written promissory note.
The maker may generally prepay a note without penalty unless the parties stipulate a prepayment penalty in writing, and unearned interest on a prepaid balance is rebated to the maker.
If a note is secured by personal property, the lender generally must file a UCC-1 financing statement with the Clerk of Superior Court of the applicable Georgia county, not the Secretary of State, to perfect and prioritize its security interest against other creditors. Filings are indexed statewide by the Georgia Superior Court Clerks' Cooperative Authority.
Georgia state law permits confession of judgment, entered in the county where the maker resided when the case was filed, once the case is regularly filed and docketed. Federal law (the FTC Credit Practices Rule, 16 C.F.R. Section 444.2) separately bars this clause in a note for personal, family, or household purposes, regardless of state law.
A person generally needs an Installment Loan Act license to make loans of $3,000 or less, unless an exemption applies for a private person not in the business of lending who makes only an occasional loan under $3,000, up to 8% per annum, without needing a license. Confirm the current statute before relying on the rate figure.
Georgia does not require a promissory note to be notarized or witnessed to be enforceable. O.C.G.A. Section 11-3-104's list of what makes a note a valid negotiable instrument does not include notarization or witnessing; notarization is optional and used only for evidentiary purposes.
Frequently Asked Questions
It depends on the loan's size and who is lending. On a written note of $3,000 or less, a lender in the business of lending may charge up to 16% per year. Without a written rate agreement, the rate is 7% per year; a private person making only an occasional loan under $3,000 is capped at 8% per year; and above $3,000, and again above $250,000, Georgia places no statutory cap on the rate the parties agree to in writing. Confirm the current statute before relying on any figure beyond the $3,000-or-less tier.
No. O.C.G.A. Section 11-3-104 lists what makes a note a valid, enforceable negotiable instrument, and notarization isn't one of the requirements. Notarizing a note is optional and can help as evidence of who signed it, but it doesn't affect enforceability.
Include the principal amount, an interest rate within the applicable Georgia usury tier, the repayment schedule, what counts as default, and the signatures of the maker and payee. A confession-of-judgment clause is optional and legal under Georgia state law, but federal law bars it in a note for personal, family, or household use, so leave it out of a family loan.
Yes, as long as it meets the basic requirements of a valid contract and, if it's meant to be a negotiable instrument, the elements in O.C.G.A. Section 11-3-104: an unconditional promise to pay a fixed amount, a signature, and payment on demand or by a definite date. It doesn't need to be notarized to be enforceable.
An unsecured note relies only on the maker's promise to pay. A secured note is backed by collateral, and if it's secured by personal property rather than real estate, the lender generally needs to file a UCC-1 financing statement with the Clerk of Superior Court of the applicable Georgia county, not the Secretary of State, to protect its priority against other creditors.
The payee can declare the remaining balance immediately due (if the note includes an acceleration clause) and can sue to collect. For a business-purpose note, Georgia law permits a confession-of-judgment clause that can speed up entry of a judgment, entered in the maker's county of residence, but federal law bars this clause in a personal, family, or household loan.
Generally 6 years from a missed payment or the note's stated due date, under O.C.G.A. Section 9-3-24, Georgia's statute of limitations for a simple written contract. Waiting too long can mean losing the right to sue on the note.
Yes. Promissory notes are commonly used for both family loans and business or LLC loans in Georgia. Which usury tier applies differs: an occasional family loan of $3,000 or less tops out at 8% per year, while a note from a lender in the business of lending is capped at 16% per year at that same loan size; a loan above $3,000 follows a different tier. Confirm the current statute before relying on any figure beyond the $3,000-or-less/16% tier.