Promissory Note Template with Optional Guaranty — Any State
Installments, interest-only or lump sum, amortization table, guaranty. 51 state editions, each with its state's usury ceiling.
Who it is for
A private lender and borrower — relatives, partners, an owner and his or her company, a seller financing a customer — who want a loan documented so that it can be enforced.
What is inside
- Promissory Note: Key Terms table (principal, rate, repayment option, maturity, late charge, default rate, security, guaranty) + 14 sections — payments, prepayment, late charge, events of default, acceleration, collection costs, interest limitation, waivers, transfer, governing law; Schedule A amortization table
- Personal Guaranty (optional page) with spousal consent
- Instruction Sheet: the interest-rate rules explained, installments and the amortization table, default and acceleration, negotiability, the guaranty, notarization, after-signing checklist, when the form is not enough
The first pages
Rendered from the actual form. Yellow fields are the ones you fill in; the rest is already written.
PROMISSORY NOTE
The information in this table is incorporated into the Note that follows. Where the Note refers to an item "in the Key Terms," it means the entry below.
| Item | Entry |
|---|---|
| Borrower (the "Maker") — name, entity type and address | [MAKER NAME] · [MAKER ENTITY TYPE AND ADDRESS] |
| Lender (the "Holder") — name and address | [HOLDER NAME] · [HOLDER ADDRESS] |
| Date and place of signing | [NOTE DATE], [CITY AND STATE WHERE NOTE IS SIGNED] |
| Principal amount | $[PRINCIPAL AMOUNT] ([PRINCIPAL AMOUNT IN WORDS] dollars) |
| Interest rate | [INTEREST RATE]% per year, simple interest, computed on the unpaid principal on the basis of a 365-day year |
| Repayment | [TYPE "In" AND THE NUMBER "equal monthly installments of $" AND THE AMOUNT "each, beginning on" AND THE FIRST DATE "and on the same day of each following month, with any balance due on the Maturity Date" OR "Interest only, payable monthly beginning on" AND THE FIRST DATE "with the entire principal due on the Maturity Date" OR "In a single payment of principal and interest on the Maturity Date"] |
| Maturity Date | [MATURITY DATE] |
| Late charge | [LATE CHARGE PERCENTAGE]% of any installment not paid within ten (10) days after its due date |
| Default interest | The interest rate above plus [DEFAULT RATE INCREASE]% per year, not exceeding the maximum rate the law allows |
| Security | [TYPE "None — this Note is unsecured" OR "The security interest granted by the separate security agreement dated" AND THE DATE "covering" AND THE COLLATERAL] |
| Guaranty | [TYPE "None" OR "Personal guaranty of" AND THE GUARANTOR'S NAME "attached"] |
| Purpose of the loan | [LOAN PURPOSE — e.g., "working capital for the Maker's business"] |
… the document continues for about 5 pages.
The instruction sheet
Every download includes a plain-language instruction sheet. This is how it opens.
INSTRUCTION SHEET
Promissory Note with Optional Guaranty
A promissory note is the borrower's written, unconditional promise to repay a loan on stated terms. It is the document that turns a handshake loan — to a relative starting a business, between partners, from an owner to his or her own company, or to a customer paying in installments — into an enforceable obligation that can be collected in court without having to prove the underlying deal. This form contains the note, an amortization table, and an optional personal guaranty by a third person for use when the borrower is a company or the lender wants a second signature.
Use this form if: the lender is an individual or a business that is not a bank or licensed lender; the borrower is an individual or a business; the loan is a fixed amount repaid in installments, interest-only with a balloon, or in a single payment; and the loan is unsecured or is secured by a separate security agreement.
Use a different form if: the loan is secured by real estate (a mortgage or deed of trust must be prepared and recorded — see Section 5); the lender is in the business of lending (licensing and consumer-credit rules apply); the borrower is a consumer and the loan is for personal purposes with a lender that is a business (consumer credit disclosures apply); or the "loan" is really an investment that should be documented as equity or a convertible instrument.
• Work in Microsoft Word (or any program that opens .docx files). Every field appears in yellow highlight inside square brackets, for example [MAKER NAME]. Replace the whole bracket — including the brackets themselves — with your information, and remove the yellow highlight (select the text, then Home → Text Highlight Color → No Color).
• Some fields offer choices, written as "OPTION A" OR "OPTION B", or begin with the word TYPE followed by the alternatives. Pick one, type that text in place of the entire bracket, and delete the alternatives.
• The Key Terms table carries every number; the note's text refers to it. Complete the Key Terms, then Schedule A, then the Guaranty if the Key Terms call for one; otherwise delete the Guaranty page. Delete the cover page before signing.
• Use the search function (Ctrl+F) to search for an opening square bracket when you are done. Dates: write them in full ("March 3, 2026").
State editions
All 51 editions are in the same download. Open a state to see what its edition already fills in.
AL · AK · AZ · AR · CA · CO · CT · DE · DC · FL · GA · HI · ID · IL · IN · IA · KS · KY · LA · ME · MD · MA · MI · MN · MS · MO · MT · NE · NV · NH · NJ · NM · NY · NC · ND · OH · OK · OR · PA · RI · SC · SD · TN · TX · UT · VT · VA · WA · WV · WI · WY
Questions
What file do I get?
A zip with the state-neutral form and all 51 state editions as Word (.docx) files in English and Spanish, plus the Instruction Sheet. Open in Microsoft Word, Google Docs or LibreOffice.
How do I complete it?
Open the Instruction Sheet first. Replace each yellow [BRACKETED FIELD] with your information, delete the options you do not use, delete the cover page, then print or e-sign.
Can I reuse it?
Yes. The license covers your own business and every company you own; it does not allow resale of the template itself.
Do I need a notary or a lawyer?
The Instruction Sheet says when a signature needs a notary and lists the situations where the form is not enough and an attorney should review it.
Refunds?
Digital downloads are final once delivered. The preview on this page is taken from the actual document so you can see what you are buying.