Payday loans in Georgia
In Georgia, payday loans are against the law. The Payday Lending Act makes lending $3,000 or less a crime unless the lender holds a licence issued in Georgia or other legal authority. Licensed installment lenders must follow the pricing rules in the Installment Loan Act.
- Payday lending
- Banned
- Max cost
- None in the law
- Top amount
- None allowed
Are payday loans legal in Georgia?
No, the Georgia Payday Lending Act makes payday loans in Georgia illegal by treating unlicensed loans of $3,000 or less as crimes. Only installment loans may be offered by state-licensed lenders. The term is capped at 36 months and 15 days, and you pay the balance back over time. Georgia Installment Loan Act rules cap interest for each year at 10 percent of the amount named in the contract. On top of that, lenders may charge three dollars a month, eight percent of the first $600, and four percent of anything above that.
Loans by mail, phone, or online fall under the ban, which a 2016 Georgia Supreme Court ruling extends to out-of-state internet lenders. Any loan that breaks the law is void automatically. As a result, the contract lacks any legal effect. Confirm the lender holds a licence by contacting the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance before you borrow. The Georgia Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division accepts online complaints regarding illegal lenders as well.
- Georgia treats payday lending as a crime: every illegal loan counts as a high and aggravated misdemeanor, and any conviction after three prior ones becomes a felony carrying up to five years in prison.
- Any business that lends $3,000 or less falls under the ban, whether the loans are made by mail, electronically, or over the internet, unless the lender has a licence or other authorisation.
- The Attorney General says any loan breaking the payday ban is void automatically.
- The Georgia Supreme Court ruled in 2016, in Western Sky Financial v. State, that the law reaches out-of-state Internet lenders; a 2017 settlement with Western Sky and CashCall brought relief of more than $40 million.
- The Payday Lending Act began in 2004 (Ga. L. 2004, p. 60); the latest change came in 2024 through SB 448, effective July 1, 2024, as a code cleanup.
Georgia payday loan laws
- Law in force
- Georgia Payday Lending Act
- Cited as
- O.C.G.A. 16-17-1 through 16-17-10
- Fees under the law
- Payday fees are not permitted; installment licensees may set interest no higher than 10 percent per annum of the contract’s face amount, and may add a loan fee plus a $3.00 monthly maintenance charge
- Installment lending limits
- The Georgia Installment Loan Act is found in O.C.G.A. 7-3-11) allows lending as high as $3,000 over a term no longer than 36 months and 15 days. Interest may be charged each year up to 10 percent of the face amount. A loan fee is permitted, equal to 8 percent of the first $600 with 4 percent on the excess, plus a $3.00 monthly maintenance charge.
Also checked against consumer.georgia.gov. Full statute text.
Online lenders that list Georgia
Seven companies we track say they lend in Georgia: 3 online installment lenders, 3 tribal lenders and 1 loan broker.
| Lender | Kind | Posted APR |
|---|---|---|
 NetCredit | Installment | 34.99% to 99.99% |
 OppLoans | Installment | 99% to 195% |
 Rise Credit | Installment | 60% to 299% |
 Viva Payday Loans | Broker | Partner lenders quote 4.99% to 1,386% |
Tribal loans in Georgia
Tribal immunity is no defence against the state payday lending law, says Georgia's Attorney General, and in 2016 the Georgia Supreme Court decided that the Payday Lending Act covers out-of-state Internet lenders like Western Sky.
On the immunity claim tribal lenders make, see are tribal loans legal.
Three tribal lenders we track list Georgia as a state they lend in. Two of the three publish an APR, from 99% to 725%.
| Lender | Posted APR |
|---|---|
 Spotloan | 99% to 490% |
 BrightLending | 325% to 725% |
 Minto Money | Not published |
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Georgia and the states around it
| State | Payday lending | Max cost | Top amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Georgia | Banned | None in the law | None allowed |
| Alabama | Allowed | $17.50 per $100 borrowed | $500 |
| Florida | Allowed | $10.00 per $100 borrowed | Both figures exclude fees: $500 is the face amount for single-payment loans, and $1,000 is for deferred presentment installment transactions. |
| North Carolina | Banned | None in the law | None allowed |
| South Carolina | Allowed | $15.00 per $100 borrowed | $550 |
| Tennessee | Allowed | $15.00 per $100 borrowed | The total face value for outstanding checks is $500. |
Georgia loans with no credit check
Installment loan rates: The Georgia Installment Loan Act is found in O.C.G.A. 7-3-11) allows lending as high as $3,000 over a term no longer than 36 months and 15 days. Interest may be charged each year up to 10 percent of the face amount. A loan fee is permitted, equal to 8 percent of the first $600 with 4 percent on the excess, plus a $3.00 monthly maintenance charge.
See no credit check loans: the checks lenders still run, and the price.
Verify a lender's license in Georgia
- Look the lender up on the license list before you hand over any bank details.
- Lenders here answer to the Georgia Department of Banking and Finance (installment lenders); Georgia Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division (payday lending).
- Had trouble with a lender? Report the lender.
Sources for Georgia
- Unless the lender has legal authority like a licence, making loans of $3,000 or less, even online, is unlawful.; Each violation is a high and aggravated misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment.; After three prior convictions, any later conviction is a felony.law.justia.com
- The legislature stated that usury law already made payday loans illegal.; Loans involving interstate commerce are not exempt under the Act, the Georgia Supreme Court held (Western Sky, 2016).law.justia.com
- The Attorney General says any business lending $3,000 or less falls under the payday ban.; The Attorney General says Georgia's payday law cannot be avoided through tribal immunity.; Loans that break the payday ban are void automatically.consumer.georgia.gov
- For terms as long as 36 months and 15 days, installment licensees can provide loans up to $3,000.; Interest on an installment loan is capped each year at 10 percent of the face amount.; A loan fee is permitted at rates up to 8 percent on the first $600 and 4 percent on the remainder.law.justia.com
- Lenders of $3,000 or less need a licence from the Department of Banking and Finance, and you can check them on NMLS Consumer Access.dbf.georgia.gov
- Following the October 31, 2016 Supreme Court decision regarding Internet lenders, Western Sky and CashCall reached a settlement exceeding $40 million.; Interest on Western Sky's Georgia loans ran from 140% to 340%, and the settlement called for $23.5 million as restitution while canceling every loan.law.georgia.gov
- Residents can file complaints online with the AG's Consumer Protection Division.consumer.georgia.gov