History. Laws 1822, Cobb’s 1851 Digest, p. 393; Laws 1845, Cobb’s 1851 Digest, p. 393; Code 1863, § 2022; Code 1868, § 2023; Ga. L. 1873, p. 52, §§ 2-4; Code 1873, § 2050; Ga. L. 1878-79, p. 184, § 3; Code 1882, §§ 2050, 2057a; Civil Code 1895, §§ 2876, 2886; Civil Code 1910, §§ 3426, 3436; Code 1933, § 57-101; Ga. L. 1975, p. 370, § 1; Ga. L. 1979, p. 355, § 1; Ga. L. 1983, p. 1146, § 1; Ga. L. 1984, p. 22, § 7; Ga. L. 1987, p. 268, § 2; Ga. L. 1988, p. 534, § 1; Ga. L. 1997, p. 143, § 7; Ga. L. 2014, p. 213, § 1/HB 824; Ga. L. 2020, p. 156, § 9/SB 462.
The 2020 amendment, effective June 30, 2020, substituted “Georgia Installment Loan Act” for “Georgia Industrial Loan Act” in subsection (c).
Cross references.
Credit Card and Credit Card Bank Act, § 7-5-1 et seq.
Georgia Industrial Loan Act, § 7-3-1 et seq.
Insurance Premium Finance Company Act, § 33-22-1 et seq.
Retail Installment and Home Solicitation Sales Act, § 10-1-1 et seq.
Illegal payday loans, § 16-17-1 et seq.
Editor’s notes.
Ga. L. 2014, p. 213, § 3/HB 824, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that: “It is not the intent of the General Assembly to affect the law applicable to litigation pending as of February 19, 2014.”
Law reviews.
For note discussing the reservation of interest at highest lawful rate as constituting usury, see 1 Ga. L. Rev. No. 2 p. 38 (1927).
For note discussing problems with profits generated by escrow account, and proposing federal legislative reform, see 10 Ga. St. B.J. 618 (1974).
For note discussing whether a holder in due course takes free of claims of violations of the usury laws, see 12 Ga. L. Rev. 814 (1978).
For article surveying 1979 legislative developments in commercial law, see 31 Mercer L. Rev. 13 (1979).
For article on Georgia’s usury laws and interest on interest, see 8 Ga. St. U.L. Rev. 291 (1992).
For annual survey on construction law, see 65 Mercer L. Rev. 67 (2013).
Structure Georgia Code
Chapter 4 - Interest and Usury
§ 7-4-4. Advertisement of Rates of Interest or Finance Charge
§ 7-4-8. Commission to Third Person Does Not Make Lawful Interest Usurious
§ 7-4-9. Back Interest May Be Stipulated in Contract and Recovered
§ 7-4-11. Usury Is Personal Defense; No Collection From Insolvent to Prejudice of Others
§ 7-4-12. Interest on Judgments
§ 7-4-12.1. Interest on Arrearage on Child Support; Settlement of Unreimbursed Public Assistance
§ 7-4-13. Law of Place of Contract Governs Interest Unless Otherwise Provided
§ 7-4-14. Interest Runs From Default Unless Otherwise Agreed; When Demand Necessary
§ 7-4-15. When Interest Runs on Liquidated Demands; Promissory Notes Payable on Demand
§ 7-4-16. When Interest Runs on Commercial Accounts; Maximum Interest Rate on Commercial Accounts
§ 7-4-17. Payment Applied First to Interest; No Interest on Unpaid Interest; Exceptions
§ 7-4-18. Criminal Penalty for Excessive Interest
§ 7-4-19. Civil Action to Enforce Chapter
§ 7-4-20. Election to Forgo Application of Federal Usury Laws