SBA Loan Guide
What you need for an SBA loan, in the order you need it.
The package builder turns your business facts into a lender-ready business plan and pre-fills SBA Form 1919 and IRS Form 4506-C. This page is the guide to everything else you’ll need.
The Small Business Administration does not lend the money itself. It guarantees part of a loan that a bank or other lender makes to you, so the lender takes less risk. The lender still decides, and the lender asks for the paperwork. This page walks you through picking the program, checking the basics, gathering every document, and testing the one number that decides most applications. Your checkmarks and numbers save in this browser only.
Step 1
Pick the loan that fits what the money is for
Most small businesses end up in one of these. The program is driven by what you are buying and how much you need.
| Program | Up to | Good for | Not for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7(a) standard | $5 million | Buying a business, working capital, equipment, real estate, refinancing business debt | Speculation, passive investment |
| 7(a) small | $350,000 | The same uses as standard 7(a), with simpler lender processing | Amounts over $350,000 |
| SBA Express | $500,000 | Faster decisions, often lines of credit; the SBA guarantees 50 percent, so lenders are pickier | Large projects |
| 504 | $5.5 million (SBA portion) | Buying or building real estate, long-life machinery (10 year useful life or more) | Working capital, inventory |
| Microloan | $50,000 | Startups and small needs: working capital, inventory, supplies, equipment | Paying off existing debt, buying real estate |
Sources: 7(a) program and loan types1,2, 5044, microloans6. Limits last checked on sba.gov September 2026.
Step 2
Check the basics before you spend time on paperwork
Every SBA program starts from the same tests.1,4 If one of these is a no, talk to a lender or an SBDC advisor before going further.
Step 3
Gather the package
This is what lenders ask for on a typical SBA application. Your lender may add items, but almost nothing on this list gets skipped. Tick the boxes that apply to you and the list adds what your deal needs.
Step 4
Test your numbers the way a lender will
Rules as of SBA SOP 50 10 8.1, effective Oct 1, 2026.7,13,14
Two numbers decide most applications. Debt service coverage asks whether the cash the business throws off covers every loan payment with room to spare. Equity injection asks how much of your own money is in the deal.
Debt service coverage ratio (DSCR)
Cash flow before loan payments is net profit plus interest, depreciation and amortization, taken from your tax return or projections. For a business purchase or buyout, use the business's historical results: projections cannot be used to meet the minimum.
SBA's minimum debt service coverage depends on the loan:7,10,13,14
- 1.25x for buying a business or buying out an owner, measured on the business's historical results.
- 1.15x for a standard 7(a) loan for any other purpose.
- 1.10x for a 7(a) small loan (up to $350,000) for any other purpose. 7(a) small loan processing is not allowed for any change of ownership.
Many lenders want 1.25x or better on every loan.
Equity injection
SBA's lender rules require at least 10 percent of total project cost from the owner for startups and for a complete change of ownership; for buying a business that minimum cannot be waived. A seller note counts toward it only if it is on full standby for the life of the SBA loan, and standby debt plus outside investors can cover no more than half of the required amount. 504 projects need at least 10 percent (more for startups and special-purpose buildings).5,7,11,13,14
Step 5
Write the business plan and projections
Lenders read the plan to see that you know your market, your costs and how the loan gets paid back. SBA's own guide lists the sections a lender expects: executive summary, company description, market analysis, organization and management, products or services, marketing and sales, funding request, and financial projections.8
The Business Plan Wizard walks you through every one of those sections with plain questions and example answers, then builds the plan as a Word document and a financial workbook with a 3-year profit and loss, cash flow, break-even, loan payment, debt coverage and a personal financial statement summary laid out like SBA Form 413.
Step 6
Find a lender and free help
- SBA Lender Match sends your request to SBA lenders who serve your area.12
- Your local Small Business Development Center reviews plans and projections at no charge.
- SCORE matches you with a volunteer mentor, also free.
- Start with the bank that holds your business account. A lender that knows your deposits is the easiest first conversation.
- For a 504 loan, you work with a Certified Development Company and a bank together.5
Sources
- U.S. Small Business Administration, "7(a) loans."
- U.S. Small Business Administration, "Types of 7(a) loans."
- U.S. Small Business Administration, "7(a) terms, conditions, and eligibility."
- U.S. Small Business Administration, "504 loans."
- U.S. Small Business Administration, "CDC/504 loan program."
- U.S. Small Business Administration, "Microloans."
- U.S. Small Business Administration, SOP 50 10 8.1, "Lender and Development Company Loan Programs," effective October 1, 2026.
- U.S. Small Business Administration, "Write your business plan."
- U.S. Small Business Administration, "Size standards."
- Starfield & Smith, "SOP 50 10 8 Update: New 7(a) Small Loan Underwriting Requirements," January 2026.
- Starfield & Smith, "A Review of Equity Injection Requirements Under SOP 50 10 8," May 2025.
- U.S. Small Business Administration, "Lender Match."
- Cantrell Law Firm, "New SBA Rules Change How Businesses Sell" (SOP 50 10 8.1), 2026.
- OpsFi, "SBA SOP 50 10 8.1: Acquisition QoE and 1.25x Coverage," 2026.