Bassett Lawton E III Form 3 Ameris Bancorp / Lawton E Bassett III ownership change

SEC Form 3

FORM 3

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

INITIAL STATEMENT OF BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP OF SECURITIES

Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934
or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940

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1. Name and Address of Reporting Person^*

Bassett Lawton E III

(Last) (First) (Middle)

P. O. BOX 3668

(Street)

MOULTRIE GA 31776

(City) (State) (Zip)

2. Date of Event Requiring Statement (Month/Day/Year)
02/16/2016

3. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol
Ameris Bancorp [ ABCB ]

4. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer
(Check all applicable)

	Director	10% Owner
X	Officer (give title below)	Other (specify below)
EVP & Chief Banking Officer

5. If Amendment, Date of Original Filed (Month/Day/Year)

6. Individual or Joint/Group Filing (Check Applicable Line)

X	Form filed by One Reporting Person
	Form filed by More than One Reporting Person

Table I - Non-Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned
1. Title of Security (Instr. 4)	2. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned (Instr. 4)	3. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 5)	4. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 5)
Common Stock	35,235	D
Common Stock	168	I	By Spouse

Table II - Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned (e.g., puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities)
1. Title of Derivative Security (Instr. 4)	2. Date Exercisable and Expiration Date (Month/Day/Year)		3. Title and Amount of Securities Underlying Derivative Security (Instr. 4)		4. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security	5. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I) (Instr. 5)	6. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership (Instr. 5)
	Date Exercisable	Expiration Date	Title	Amount or Number of Shares
Employee Stock Option	05/16/2011	05/16/2016	Common Stock	800	20.18	D
Employee Stock Option	06/13/2012	06/13/2017	Common Stock	5,139	22.23	D
Employee Stock Option	02/19/2013	02/19/2018	Common Stock	3,083	14.76	D
Employee Stock Option	01/20/2014	01/20/2019	Common Stock	5,139	7.46	D

Explanation of Responses:

Remarks:

	Lawton E. Bassett, III by Angela Redd as Attorney-in-Fact	02/18/2016
	** Signature of Reporting Person	Date
Reminder: Report on a separate line for each class of securities beneficially owned directly or indirectly.
* If the form is filed by more than one reporting person, see Instruction 5 (b)(v).
** Intentional misstatements or omissions of facts constitute Federal Criminal Violations See 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 15 U.S.C. 78ff(a).
Note: File three copies of this Form, one of which must be manually signed. If space is insufficient, see Instruction 6 for procedure.
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