Create a Promissory Note Online Free
🚀 Build Your Promissory Note
Choose a note type below — the payment calculation and amortization schedule update live. Nothing leaves your device.
📑 Note Type
👤 Lender & Borrower
💲 Loan Details
🧮 Payment Calculation
📋 Additional Terms
PROMISSORY NOTE
Lender
Lender Name
Borrower
Borrower Name
Borrower promises to pay as described above.
Quick answer: Choose Lump-Sum, Installment, or Demand, enter the principal, interest rate, and the dates or schedule for your note type. For an installment note, the periodic payment amount is calculated automatically using the same standard formula lenders use for mortgages and car loans, with a full amortization schedule showing every payment's principal and interest split. A lump-sum note shows the total amount due at maturity, including simple interest. Add late fee, default, security, and prepayment terms, then click Download PDF. Everything runs locally in your browser with jsPDF and jsPDF-AutoTable - not a screenshot image. This is a general template, not legal or tax advice, and doesn't check your state's usury limits.
- Cost: Free, unlimited notes, no signup.
- Where it runs: 100% in your browser — no upload, no server storage.
- Three note types: Lump-sum, installment, and demand, each calculated correctly.
- Real amortization math: The standard loan-payment formula, not a rough estimate.
- AFR-aware: Flags the IRS Applicable Federal Rate consideration for private loans.
- Customizable terms: Late fees, default, security, and prepayment all selectable.
⚖️ General Template, Not Legal or Tax Advice: This tool fills in a general-purpose note and calculates standard loan math. It doesn't check your state's usury limits or your personal tax situation.
💡 Private Loans and the IRS: Loans between family or friends below the Applicable Federal Rate can have gift-tax or imputed-income consequences — check the current AFR before setting a low or 0% rate.
🧮 Real Loan Math: The installment payment and amortization schedule use the same formula as a mortgage or auto loan calculator, not a simplified approximation.
✅ Privacy: Your loan details are processed locally — never uploaded, transmitted, or stored anywhere.
✅ 100% Private: Your note and amortization schedule are generated locally in your browser using JavaScript. No data is ever uploaded to a server or stored anywhere.
Note: Your data will be cleared once you close or refresh the page, so download your PDF before leaving.
How to Create a Promissory Note PDF
Choose the Note Type
Lump-sum, installment, or demand note.
Enter Lender & Borrower
Both parties' names and addresses.
Enter Loan Details
Principal, interest rate, and your note type's schedule.
Download the PDF
Review the payment calculation, then save your note.
🔒 Your Loan Details Never Leave Your Device
This tool builds the entire note and amortization schedule using jsPDF and jsPDF-AutoTable running inside your browser tab. There is no upload step, no server-side processing, and no network request containing your loan amount or terms.
Who Uses a Promissory Note?
Family Loans
Formalize a loan between relatives with clear terms and AFR awareness.
Loans Between Friends
Avoid misunderstandings by documenting the amount, rate, and repayment plan.
Small Business Loans
Document a loan from an owner, partner, or investor to the business.
Private Vehicle Financing
Set installment terms when financing a private vehicle sale directly.
Seller Financing / Down Payment Help
Structure a private repayment arrangement tied to a larger purchase.
Bookkeepers & Accountants
Produce a clean amortization schedule to support loan records.
Why Use This Promissory Note Generator?
- Fully Client-Side: jsPDF and jsPDF-AutoTable both run in your browser — no upload.
- Real Vector Text: Sharp, selectable, searchable PDF output — not a flattened screenshot.
- Side-by-Side Preview: Check your note and schedule next to the form as you build it.
- Standard Loan Math: The same amortizing-loan formula used by mortgage and auto-loan calculators.
- Three Note Structures: Lump-sum, installment, and demand, each with the right fields.
- AFR Awareness: A built-in reminder about IRS rules for family and private loans.
- Customizable Default Terms: Late fees, acceleration, security, and prepayment all selectable.
- 100% Free & Private: No account, no watermark, no server storing your data.
Promissory Note Generator – Complete Guide
Money lent between people who trust each other is exactly the kind of loan that gets fuzzy later - was it $5,000 or $5,500? Was there interest? When was it due? A simple signed note with real numbers settles all of that before it becomes a disagreement.
Lump-Sum vs Installment vs Demand Notes
| Note Type | Repayment Structure | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Lump-Sum | One payment on a set maturity date | Short-term loans, bridge financing |
| Installment | Regular scheduled payments over time | Larger loans repaid gradually |
| Demand | Due whenever the lender formally demands it | Flexible, informal arrangements |
How the Installment Payment Is Calculated
This tool uses the standard amortizing-loan formula - the same one behind every mortgage and auto loan calculator:
| Input | Role in the Formula |
|---|---|
| Principal | The total amount borrowed |
| Periodic rate | Annual interest rate divided by the number of payments per year |
| Number of payments | Total scheduled payments over the life of the loan |
The payment amount stays the same each period, but the split between interest and principal shifts over time - early payments are interest-heavy, later payments are principal-heavy. The full amortization schedule in this tool shows that breakdown for every single payment.
The IRS Applicable Federal Rate (AFR)
For loans between related parties or friends, the IRS publishes a monthly minimum interest rate - the AFR - split into short-term (under 3 years), mid-term (3-9 years), and long-term (over 9 years) rates. Charging interest at or above the applicable AFR generally avoids the IRS treating the "foregone interest" as a taxable gift from lender to borrower, or as imputed income to the lender. This matters most for larger, longer-term, low-interest family loans - smaller loans often fall under a de minimis exception. Because AFR rates change monthly, this tool doesn't hardcode a figure - check the current rate directly at irs.gov/applicable-federal-rates.
How This Generator Actually Works
Selecting a note type swaps in the right fields and calculation. For an installment note, the tool computes the periodic payment using the standard formula, then builds a full amortization schedule by looping through each payment: calculating interest on the remaining balance, applying the rest to principal, and carrying the new balance forward, with the final payment adjusted to zero out any rounding residue. For a lump-sum note, it calculates simple interest based on the number of days between the issue date and maturity date. A live preview shows the first several schedule rows as you work; the full schedule is generated in the downloaded PDF using jsPDF-AutoTable, which also handles pagination automatically for schedules spanning many payments. All of the party details, terms, and the note body are drawn as genuine vector text by jsPDF, not a picture of text. Nothing ever touches a server.
Security and Privacy Considerations
- No Data Upload: Every field you fill in stays on your device.
- No Server Processing: PDF and amortization-schedule generation run entirely as client-side JavaScript.
- No Storage: Nothing about your note is saved once you close or refresh the tab.
- No Account Needed: There is no login, tracking, or usage cap.
Browser Compatibility and Technical Requirements
This Promissory Note Generator works in modern browsers that support JavaScript PDF generation (jsPDF) and Blob downloads.
- ✅ Chrome/Edge 76+
- ✅ Firefox 55+
- ✅ Safari 13.1+
- ✅ Mobile Chrome (Android), Mobile Safari (iOS) — download supported
Troubleshooting Common Issues
Explanation: The payment amount is sensitive to the payment frequency selected - monthly, biweekly, weekly, and quarterly all produce different per-payment amounts for the same loan. Solution: Double-check the frequency dropdown matches what you actually intend.
Explanation: This is expected - rounding each payment to the cent over many periods can leave a few cents of balance, which the final payment absorbs so the loan reaches exactly zero. Solution: No action needed; this matches how real amortization schedules work.
Explanation: The PDF needs both parties identified to be a meaningful note. Solution: Fill in both the lender and borrower name fields, then download again.
Explanation: This tool doesn't check usury limits, which vary significantly by state and lender type. Solution: Search your state name plus "usury law maximum interest rate" or consult an attorney before finalizing a high-interest note.
Frequently Asked Technical Questions
Question 1: What actually builds the PDF - is it a known library?
Answer: This tool uses jsPDF, a widely used open-source JavaScript library for generating PDF documents in the browser, together with its jsPDF-AutoTable plugin for the amortization schedule - both loaded directly in your browser.
Question 2: What's the exact formula used for the installment payment?
Answer: Payment = P \u00d7 r / (1 - (1 + r)-n), where P is the principal, r is the interest rate per payment period, and n is the total number of payments; when the rate is zero, it simplifies to Payment = P / n.
Question 3: How is the amortization schedule built?
Answer: Starting from the full principal, each row calculates that period's interest as balance \u00d7 periodic rate, subtracts that from the fixed payment to get the principal portion, and reduces the balance by that amount before moving to the next row - with the last row's principal adjusted so the balance lands exactly at zero.
Question 4: How is simple interest calculated for a lump-sum note?
Answer: Interest = Principal \u00d7 (annual rate \u00f7 100) \u00d7 (days between the issue date and maturity date \u00f7 365), added to the principal to produce the total amount due at maturity.
Question 5: Does this tool need an account, server, or API key?
Answer: No. jsPDF, jsPDF-AutoTable, and the live preview all run as ordinary JavaScript already loaded by this page — you never need an account or any API key to use it.
Glossary of Terms
- Promissory Note
- A signed, written promise by a borrower to repay a specific sum to a lender, on demand or by a set date, usually with stated interest terms.
- Amortization Schedule
- A table showing each scheduled payment on a loan, broken down into the portion applied to interest and the portion applied to principal, along with the remaining balance.
- Applicable Federal Rate (AFR)
- A minimum interest rate published monthly by the IRS, used as a benchmark for private loans to avoid imputed-interest or gift-tax consequences.
- Acceleration Clause
- A provision stating that the entire remaining loan balance becomes immediately due if the borrower defaults on a scheduled payment.
- Usury Law
- State laws that cap the maximum interest rate a lender may legally charge on a loan.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, completely free with no watermark, no signup, and no limit on how many notes you create.
No. The note and amortization schedule are built and turned into a PDF entirely inside your browser using JavaScript. Nothing is transmitted over the network.
A promissory note is a signed, written promise by one party (the borrower) to pay a specific sum of money to another party (the lender), either on demand or at a defined future date, usually with stated interest and repayment terms.
A lump-sum note is repaid in a single payment on a set maturity date. An installment note is repaid in regular scheduled payments over time, similar to a car loan or mortgage. A demand note has no fixed repayment schedule and becomes due whenever the lender formally demands payment.
This tool uses the standard amortizing-loan formula, the same calculation used for mortgages and car loans, based on the principal amount, the annual interest rate, the number of payments, and the payment frequency.
The AFR is a minimum interest rate published monthly by the IRS. For loans between family members or friends, charging less than the AFR can cause the IRS to treat the undercharged interest as a taxable gift or as imputed income to the lender. Check the current rate at irs.gov before finalizing a low- or no-interest private loan.
Generally yes, private parties can agree to an interest-free loan, though it may trigger the IRS's imputed-interest and gift-tax rules for loans above certain thresholds between related parties. It does not need to meet a commercial lender's usual lending requirements.
No. Maximum legal interest rates (usury limits) vary significantly by state and by the type of lender and borrower involved. This tool does not verify your entered rate against any state's usury cap - confirm your rate is legal in your state before finalizing the note.
Not usually for it to be valid between the parties, though notarization can make the note easier to enforce or admit as evidence if a dispute arises. This tool includes an optional notary acknowledgment block.
This depends on what the note says. This tool lets you choose whether prepayment is allowed without penalty, not allowed, or allowed subject to a penalty you describe.
Final Thoughts
A clear promissory note - with the right structure, real payment math, and the terms both sides actually agreed to - turns a handshake loan into something enforceable and easy to track. This tool builds that note with a live preview, a genuine amortization calculation, and a real vector-text PDF — all without your loan details ever leaving your device.
Choose your note type above and download your first promissory note!