2022 Georgia Code
Title 13 - Contracts
Chapter 5 - Defenses
Article 2 - Statute of Frauds
§ 13-5-30. Agreements Required to Be in Writing

1. To make the following obligations binding on the promisor, the promise must be in writing and signed by the party to be charged therewith or some person lawfully authorized by him or her:
   1. A promise by a conservator, guardian, personal representative, or trustee to answer damages out of his or her own estate;
   2. A promise to answer for the debt, default, or miscarriage of another;
   3. Any agreement made upon consideration of marriage;
   4. Any contract for sale of lands, or any interest in, or concerning lands;
   5. Any agreement that is not to be performed within one year from the making thereof;
   6. Any promise to revive a debt barred by a statute of limitation; and
   7. Any commitment to lend money.
2. Any agreement to modify, alter, cancel, repeal, revoke, release, or rescind a promise, agreement, contract, or commitment provided for in subsection (a) of this Code section must be in writing and signed by all parties to such agreement; provided, however, that if the party against whom enforcement of such agreement under this subsection is sought admits in a pleading, in testimony, or otherwise in court that the agreement was made, then such agreement is enforceable if valid in all other respects.

History. 29 Car. II, c. 3, Cobb’s 1851 Digest, p. 1127.; Ga. L. 1851-52, p. 243, § 1; Ga. L. 1855-56, p. 233, § 25; Ga. L. 1855-56, p. 238, § 1; Code 1863, § 1952; Code 1868, § 1940; Code 1873, § 1950; Ga. L. 1880-81, p. 62, § 1; Code 1882, § 1950; Civil Code 1895, § 2693; Civil Code 1910, § 3222; Code 1933, § 20-401; Ga. L. 1962, p. 156, § 1; Ga. L. 1988, p. 403, § 1; Ga. L. 2018, p. 155, § 2-2/HB 190; Ga. L. 2019, p. 782, § 1/SB 37; Ga. L. 2020, p. 377, § 2-13/HB 865.

The 2018 amendment, effective July 1, 2018, inserted “or her” at the end of the introductory paragraph and near the end of paragraph (1) and deleted “, except marriage articles as provided in Article 3 of Chapter 3 of Title 19” following “marriage” at the end of paragraph (3).

The 2019 amendment, effective July 1, 2019, designated the existing provisions of this Code section as subsection (a) and added subsection (b).

The 2020 amendment, effective January 1, 2021, substituted “a conservator, guardian, personal representative,” for “an executor, administrator, guardian,” in paragraph (a)(1) and deleted a comma following “otherwise in court” in subsection (b).

Cross references.

Parol contract between employer and overseer, § 10-6-121 .

Limitation of recovery on parol contracts for sale of personal property, § 11-1-206 .

Requirement of writing to support contract for sale of goods for price of $500.00 or more, § 11-2-201 .

When part performance removes agreement from operation of this section, § 13-5-31 .

Validity of parol contracts creating landlord and tenant relationship, § 44-7-2 .

Law reviews.

For comment on Baxley Hdwe. Co. v. Morris, 165 Ga. 359 , 140 S.E. 869 (1927), see 1.Ga. L. Rev. No. 3 P. 51 (1927).

For comment on Cohen v. Pullman Co., 243 F.2d 725 (5th Cir. 1957), holding that an oral agreement to sell land which is unenforceable because of the statute of frauds cannot be the basis for recovery of damages in fraud and deceit as the purpose of the statute of frauds is to prevent persons from being liable for nonperformance of such claimed promises, see 20 Ga. B. J. 427 (1958).

For article discussing options to purchase realty in Georgia, with respect to the statute of frauds, see 8 Ga. St. B.J. 229 (1971).

For note discussing statute of frauds considerations relating to the finance clause in realty sales contracts, see 8 Ga. St. B.J. 118 (1971).

For note questioning the applicability of the statute of frauds to the facts in the case of Thomas v. Harris, 127 Ga. App. 361 , 193 S.E.2d 260 (1972), appearing below, see 8 Ga. L. Rev. 186 (1973).

For article discussing the advantages of contract rescission as a remedy for fraud, with respect to the parol evidence rule and the statute of frauds, in light of City Dodge, Inc. v. Gardner, 232 Ga. 766 , 208 S.E.2d 794 (1974), see 11 Ga. St. B.J. 172 (1975).

For article, “Promissory Estoppel and the Georgia Statute of Frauds,” see 15 Ga. L. Rev. 204 (1980).

For article, “Defending the Lawsuit: A First-Round Checklist,” see 22 Ga. St. B.J. 24 (1985).

For annual survey of law of contracts, see 38 Mercer L. Rev. 107 (1986).

For comment, “Boats Against the Current: The Courts and the Statute of Frauds,” see 47 Emory L.J. 253 (1998).

For annual survey article on commercial law, see 50 Mercer L. Rev. 193 (1998).

For survey article on labor and employment law for the period from June 1, 2002 to May 31, 2003, see 55 Mercer L. Rev. 303 (2003).

For survey article on real property law, see 60 Mercer L. Rev. 345 (2008).

For article, “The Cost of Consent: Optimal Standardization in the Law of Contract,” see 58 Emory L.J. 1401 (2009).

For annual survey on business associations, see 70 Mercer L. Rev. 19 (2018).