Georgia merchant cash advance law: what your offer has to show
Georgia requires a cost disclosure on commercial financing of $500,000 or less, including merchant cash advances, and bars brokers from charging you advance fees. The disclosure shows the total funds, what's disbursed, the total repayment, the dollar cost, the payment frequency and whether prepayment costs anything. The attorney general enforces it under O.C.G.A. § 10-1-393.18.
Which offers the Georgia law covers
The law covers commercial financing transactions of $500,000 or less to Georgia businesses, with exemptions for banks and some others. It doesn't give you a private lawsuit; enforcement is by the attorney general, with civil penalties.
The disclosure, line by line
The Georgia disclosure lines:
| Line on the form | What it tells you | Check it against |
|---|---|---|
| Total funds provided | The headline advance | The purchase price |
| Amount disbursed | What reaches you after fees | Your funding-day deposit |
| Total repayment | The full payback | The purchased amount |
| Total cost | Repayment minus funds | Subtract it yourself |
| Payment manner and frequency | How and how often you'll pay | The ACH authorization |
| Prepayment | Any cost or discount for paying early | The contract |
Do brokers have to register?
Georgia doesn't register brokers under this law, but it limits them: a broker can't collect an advance fee from you for its services and can't make false or misleading claims.
Confession of judgment
The disclosure law doesn't address confessions of judgment. Georgia has separate rules on when a judgment can be confessed. Ask a Georgia lawyer.
Where to raise a problem
Complaints go to the Georgia attorney general's consumer protection division.
If a broker asks for money first
Say no and report it. In Georgia, as in Florida and Kansas, an up-front broker fee is itself a red flag. See broker vs direct funder.
Keep your paperwork
Keep the disclosure with your signed contract. If a question comes up later, it's the first thing a lawyer or the attorney general will ask to see.
Sources
This is general information, not legal advice. For your contract and your state, talk to a business lawyer. This page gets a legal review before it's indexed.
Funding a Georgia business?
We check which funders fit and what the offer has to show before anything goes out. Call 877-FUND-654 with any question. We call you back, usually the same business day, and we always talk with you before we shop your file.