An IOU with the following content is legally valid:

According to the relevant provisions of Chapter 12 of the "Contract Law of the People's Republic of China": Contents that a loan contract should contain The following eight items should be included.

1. Borrowing types

Loan types are mainly divided according to the borrower’s industry attributes, borrowing purposes, and fund sources and application methods. For different types of loans, the national credit policy has different provisions on loan limits, interest rates, etc., to reflect the credit principle of differentiated treatment and selective support. Therefore, the loan contract must specify the type of loan, which is an essential and main clause of the loan contract.

2. Loan currency

The loan currency is the type of the subject matter of the loan contract. In addition to RMB, the subject matter of the loan contract also includes some foreign currencies, such as US dollars, Japanese yen, euros, etc. Different currency types have different loan interest rates, and the loan contract should clearly specify the currency type.

3. Borrowing purpose

The borrowing purpose refers to the scope and content of the borrowing, that is, which factors of production the loan is combined with during the production and reproduction process. It stipulates the purpose of the loan. Use directions. The purpose of borrowing is determined by the type and conditions of the loan. The bank strictly stipulates the purpose of various borrowings and supervises the use of loans, which is conducive to ensuring the implementation of national industrial policies and the coordinated development of the national economy, and is also conducive to ensuring the safety of the loan. .

4. Borrowing amount

The borrowing amount refers to the amount of borrowed currency. Any contract must have a quantity clause. A contract with only subject matter but no quantity cannot be performed. Without the quantity, the rights and obligations of the parties cannot be determined. Without the loan amount in the loan contract, the amount of the loan currency cannot be determined, and the basis for calculating the loan interest is lost. Therefore, without the loan amount clause, the loan contract cannot be established.

5. Borrowing interest rate

Interest rate refers to the ratio of borrowing interest to borrowing principal in a certain period. The level of interest rates is crucial to determining the rights and obligations of both parties, and a loan contract cannot be without an interest rate clause.

6. Loan period

The loan period refers to the loan period agreed in the contract by the borrower and the lender in accordance with relevant regulations. The loan period shall be determined separately according to the type of loan, the nature of the loan and the purpose of the loan. In a loan contract, the loan period established by the parties must be specific, clear, and comprehensive to ensure the smooth performance of the loan contract.

7. Repayment method

Repayment method refers to the settlement method adopted by the borrower to return the loan to the lender. Borrowers can generally settle the loan at once or repay it in installments. If it is an installment payment, the specific time and amount should be clearly stated.

8. Liability for breach of contract

Liability for breach of contract refers to the legal liability borne by the parties when they fail to perform their contractual obligations. If there is no breach of contract liability clause in the loan contract, the parties' breach of contract will lose the legal basis for binding, the parties' rights will lose their protection, and the performance of the contract will be seriously affected. The default liability clause stipulated in the loan contract is of great significance to urge the parties to perform the contract in a timely, correct and comprehensive manner and to protect the rights and interests of the parties.

Extended information:

Notes on IOUs:

1. The loan procedures must be complete

(1) The relationship between the debtor and the creditor should be restructured. Well, you must also write an IOU when borrowing money. Not issuing an IOU is the biggest legal risk. When the court reviews a loan case, it should require the plaintiff to provide a written IOU. If there is no written IOU, it should provide the necessary factual basis. A request without evidence will bear the risk of losing the case.

(2) Therefore, when borrowing money, the borrower should take the initiative to write a written IOU, and the lender should also remind the other party to write the IOU. In special circumstances, if there is no legal IOU on the spot, there should be A third person testified and added an IOU afterwards. When repaying the loan, the repayer should pay attention to taking back the IOU or destroying it together. If the lender claims that the IOU is lost or damaged, the repayer should ask the lender to issue a receipt, and the repayer should keep the receipt properly.

2. Language issues

Do not use polyphonic or polysemous words when writing IOUs. Our country's culture is extensive and profound, and many Chinese characters have multiple sounds and multiple interpretations. Once these Chinese characters are used in IOUs, disputes may arise. For example, "the debt of RMB 10,000 is still owed" can be understood as "the debt of RMB 10,000 has been repaid" or "the debt of RMB 10,000 is still owed".

3. Interest issues

(1) The interest rate must comply with regulations. Private lending interest rates may be appropriately higher than bank interest rates, but may not exceed four times the bank's similar loan interest rates (including the principal interest rate). Otherwise, the excess interest is not protected.

(2) Loans are divided into interest-bearing loans and interest-free loans. The interest rates for production and business loans between citizens can be appropriately higher than the interest rates for daily loans. The "Contract Law" stipulates: "When a loan contract between natural persons stipulates the payment of interest, the interest rate of the loan shall not violate the state's regulations on restricting loan interest rates." At present, the state stipulates that the interest rate of private loans is at most 4 times the interest rate of similar loans from banks. Usury interest rates are not protected by the state.

(3) Interest can be agreed upon, but the interest must not be higher than four times the bank interest rate for the same period. The court will not support higher rates.

If there is no agreement on interest, according to the "Contract Law", if the loan contract between natural persons does not agree on the payment of interest or the agreement is unclear, it will be deemed that no interest is paid. Personal loans between citizens are deemed to be interest-free if there is no agreed interest rate. If there is no agreement on the IOU, there will be no interest. However, if the repayment date is passed and the payment is not made, you can ask for interest to be calculated based on bank interest.

4. Time issue

(1) In private lending, the time that is prone to disputes includes two points: repayment time and IOU writing time.

(2) The repayment time is the time agreed by the creditor and the debtor that the principal and interest should be returned. In reality, people often ignore this agreement or fail to make a clear agreement. The most common expression is "repayment after a certain period of time", such as "repayment after one year". "One year later" is literally a period of time, not a point in time.

(3) Repayment two, three or more years after borrowing can be understood as repayment "one year later". Although there are certain interpretation rules in law, this way of writing increases the uncertainty of realizing the creditor's rights. The unclear repayment time may easily lead to disputes over the statute of limitations in practice. Therefore, when agreeing on the repayment time, it is best to specify it to the year, month and day.

(4) The time when the IOU is formed is usually the time when the debtor writes the IOU. This time agreement should also be specific to the year, month and day. In practice, debtors often omit this date intentionally or unintentionally, or only write part of the year, month and day. For example, the debtor only states June 25th. Although this time is clear to both the creditor and the debtor when the IOU is written, as time passes, it is inevitable that disputes will arise about the time when the IOU was formed. The unclear time when the IOU was formed may make it difficult to calculate the statute of limitations.

(5) The creditor may have to face the legal issue of whether the IOU has exceeded the statute of limitations. Although it is possible to determine the time when the document was formed through the identification of physical evidence, doing so is not absolutely reliable and will increase the expenses incurred by the parties concerned.

(6) If there is no agreed repayment period, the borrower may return the loan at any time, and the lender may request return at any time.

5. Dunning issues

Dunning must be done in a timely manner. The statute of limitations for petitioning the People's Court for protection of civil rights is two years, unless otherwise provided by law. After the loan period expires, the creditor should promptly require the debtor to return the loan, and cannot fail to collect payment in time due to personal feelings or other reasons. If the debtor is temporarily unable to repay, the lender can ask the borrower to write out a repayment plan or demand certificate before the statute of limitations expires, so that the statute of limitations can be recalculated from the date of the new agreement. If the debtor still fails to perform the contract on time or flees, the creditor should file a lawsuit with the court within 2 years after the expiration of the loan period and collect the debt in accordance with the law. Otherwise, it will be regarded as giving up the creditor's rights and the law will not protect it.

Baidu Encyclopedia: IOU

Baidu Encyclopedia: Loan Contract