Georgia Code
Article 2 - Operating Procedures
§ 7-3-11. Maximum Loan Amount, Period, and Charges; Deferments

Every authorized licensee location under this chapter may lend any sum of money not to exceed $3,000.00, with the term for any individual loan not to exceed a period of 36 months and 15 days or less and may charge, contract for, collect, and receive interest and fees and may require the fulfillment of conditions on such loans as provided in this Code section:
provided, however, that any such insurance shall be reasonably related to the type and value of the property insured and to the amount and term of the loan and shall be obtained from an insurance company authorized to conduct such business in the State of Georgia and at rates lawfully filed by such company with the Commissioner of Insurance and through a regular insurance agent licensed by the Commissioner of Insurance; provided, further, that the amount of life, health, or accident insurance required as security for loans made under this chapter shall not exceed the amount of the loan, including charges, to be secured; and the premiums on such insurance required of the principal party obligated shall be limited to premiums reasonably based upon reliable actuarial experience and sound insurance practice; and the Commissioner of Insurance is authorized and directed to promulgate rules and regulations to effectuate this provision related to insurance obtained by the borrower in accordance with the spirit and intent thereof. It shall be the duty of the Commissioner of Insurance to determine and promulgate by rule and regulation the rates and maximum premiums permissible to be charged for life, health, and accident insurance required as security for a loan made under this chapter and to make regulations incident thereto necessary to effectuate the same; such premiums, when thus established and as changed from time to time in the manner aforesaid, shall be the maximum effective and permissible charges under this paragraph. Premiums paid or to be paid pursuant to the authority of this paragraph shall not constitute interest. The insurance company in turn may pay to the party writing the insurance policy sold in connection with the loan a fee or commission in an amount which is reasonable in relationship to the transaction and in no event in excess of the amount of fee or commission customarily paid within the industry where comparable insurance is sold in a transaction not involving credit, as determined by the Commissioner of Insurance;
History. Ga. L. 1904, p. 79, §§ 10, 12; Civil Code 1910, §§ 3458, 3459, 3461; Ga. L. 1920, p. 215, §§ 13, 14; Code 1933, §§ 25-213, 25-214, 25-216, 25-301, 25-313, 25-315, 25-317; Ga. L. 1935, p. 394, § 1; Ga. L. 1955, p. 431, § 15; Ga. L. 1964, p. 288, § 5; Ga. L. 1975, p. 393, §§ 2, 3; Ga. L. 1977, p. 288, § 1; Ga. L. 1980, p. 509, §§ 1, 3; Code 1981, § 7-3-14 ; Ga. L. 1981, p. 621, § 1; Ga. L. 1989, p. 14, § 7; Ga. L. 1997, p. 143, § 7; Ga. L. 2001, p. 205, § 1; Code 1981, § 7-3-11 , as redesignated by Ga. L. 2020, p. 156, § 2/SB 462; Ga. L. 2020, p. 493, § 7/SB 429; Ga. L. 2021, p. 323, § 37/HB 111; Ga. L. 2022, p. 220, § 39/HB 891.
The first 2020 amendment, effective June 30, 2020, redesignated Code Section 7-3-14 as present Code Section 7-3-11, and substituted “lend” for “loan” near the beginning of the introductory paragraph; in the last sentence of paragraph (2), substituted “obtains” for “makes” and “from” for “with; rewrote the ending undesignated paragraph of paragraph (3), which read: “provided, however, that any such insurance shall be reasonably related to the type and value of the property insured and to the amount and term of the loan and shall be obtained from an insurance company authorized to conduct such business in the State of Georgia and at rates lawfully filed by such company with the Commissioner of Insurance and through a regular insurance agent licensed by the Commissioner of Insurance; provided, further, the amount of life, health, or accident insurance required as security for loans made under this chapter shall not exceed the amount of the loan, including charges, to be secured; and the premiums on such insurance required of the principal party obligated shall be limited to premiums reasonably based upon reliable actuarial experience and sound insurance practice; and the Commissioner is authorized and directed to promulgate rules and regulations to effectuate this provision in accordance with the spirit and intent thereof. It shall be the duty of the Commissioner from time to time under the foregoing direction, after public hearing in the manner provided in subsection (b) of Code Section 7-3-7, to determine and promulgate the rates and maximum premiums permissible to be charged for life, health, and accident insurance required as security for a loan made under this chapter and to make regulations incident thereto necessary to effectuate the same; such premiums, when thus established and as changed from time to time in the manner aforesaid, shall be the maximum effective and permissible charges under this paragraph. Premiums paid or to be paid pursuant to the authority of this paragraph shall not constitute interest. The insurance company in turn may pay to the party writing the insurance policy sold in connection with the loan a fee or commission in an amount which is reasonable in relationship to the transaction and in no event in excess of the amount of fee or commission customarily paid within the industry where comparable insurance is sold in a transaction not involving credit, as determined by the Commissioner;”; and substituted “Code Section 7-3-14” for “Code Section 7-3-17” in the second sentence of paragraph (5). The second 2020 amendment, effective July 29, 2020, part of an Act to revise, modernize, and correct the Code, substituted “provided, further, that the amount” for “provided, further, the amount” at the beginning of the second proviso of the undesignated ending paragraph in paragraph (3). See Editor’s notes at the beginning of this chapter for applicability.
The 2021 amendment, effective July 1, 2021, added paragraph (6).
The 2022 amendment, effective July 1, 2022, inserted “authorized” and “location” and substituted “to exceed $3,000.00, with the term for any individual loan not to exceed” for “exceeding $3,000.00 for” in the introductory language of this Code section.
Editor’s notes.
Former Code Section 7-3-11, concerning failure to begin business or suspending activities after license issued, was repealed by Ga. L. 2020, p. 156, § 2/SB 462, effective June 30, 2020. The former Code section was based on Ga. L. 1964, p. 288, § 3; Ga. L. 1989, p. 14, § 7.
Law reviews.
For article, “Acceleration Clauses in Georgia: Consumer Installment Contracts and the Federal Truth-In-Lending Act,” see 27 Mercer L. Rev. 969 (1976).
For article discussing methods of computation of finance charges in Georgia consumer credit contracts, see 30 Mercer L. Rev. 281 (1978).
For article, “Business Associations,” see 53 Mercer L. Rev. 109 (2001).

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