It is well -known that while SBA loans offer low interest rates and long payment terms, they need time to demand a heavy application from time to demand and paperwork.
Before you dive into your application, you should know yourself in a list of factors that can automatically disqualify you from someone SBA Lone.
We will start with a brief questionnaire to better understand the unique needs of your business.
Once we expose your personal matches, our team will advise you in the process of moving forward.
1. Your business is partially owned by a non -American citizen.
Earlier, the business owned by non-US citizens was partially eligible for SBA loans-unless at least 51 % of the business was owned by a US citizen or a permanent resident. But, in the first half of 2025, the Trump administration created multiple people Changes to SBA loan guidelinesA business, including 100 % of US citizens, citizens or legal permanent residents, needs to be owned.
Moreover, if you are a US citizen but your business is located in a foreign country, then you have no meaning to move forward with the request of the SBA loan. The SBA requires that your business be in the United States and be eligible for a loan program.
2. You employ a lot of people or receive a lot of taxes.
It is a more complex to automatically remove incompetence. The SBA has strict guidelines that classify a business “small”. But the exact requirements vary in terms of industry and either rely on the total number of employees or total annual revenue. SBA gets incredibly granular with industries, each one assigns a number of code and publishes its chart Small business size standards in terms of industry. Use the chart to determine whether your business is automatically disqualified on the basis of its size.
3. You run a non -profit, MLM or other incompetent business.
The non -profit business is on top SBA list of incompetent business types. The full list contains more than a dozen different business varieties that are automatically disqualified from the SBA loan. There are some you can expect: illegal activities, pyramids, companies working in the pornographic industry. But many more business types that make this list can surprise you. To determine the dropdown below, see if your business falls under one of the incompetent categories.
Businesses are ineligible for SBA loan
4. You have a lot of cash.
The SBA uses the exact language in the list of eligibility requirements that you should not be able to “get the desired credit on the appropriate terms from a non -federal, non -state and non -state government sources.” However, that language is a bit vague and vague.
Perhaps the obvious way to think about this is that you should not be able to get a reasonable credit anywhere else. Your personal liquid assets are an important piece of need. If the lender or the SBA includes your personal financial statement included in your application, you will be denied the SBA loan. Therefore, if you have a spare, 000 500,000 hanging anywhere in an account, and you are angling for a SBA loan of 000 100,000, you are likely to refuse.
5. You haven’t been in business for a long time.
Generally, lenders look at three key standards to determine your “reputation imports”: business, credit score and time in annual revenue. Since many different lenders – with the standard of their ability – releases SBA loans, it is difficult to describe the minimum requirements needed to qualify for the SBA loan.
SBA Funding Advisor FundraisHowever, the following general qualifications have minimized shared:
Personal Credit Score: 690
Annual Tax: 7 167,000
Time in business: More than two years (requires a two -year business tax statement)
6. You plan to use funds to pay business tax.
Like the list of incompetent business types, there is a clear list of SBA goals for which you cannot use the loan amount. Check the list in the dropdown below to see if your planning for loan funds automatically disqualifies you.
Incomplete use of income
7. You are in the middle of the divorce proceedings.
It may be clear that if your business is currently engaged in litigation, you will be disqualified from a government -backed loan. What may be less clear is that even in legal matters legal matters – for example, divorce – SBA loan can keep you out of reach. So if you are active in the court that complies with any personal or business case, it is better to wait for a SBA loan until the legalization is stopped.
8. You have previously defaulted government -backed loans.
If you have ever borrowed a government loan in the past and some part or completely failed to pay it, you will not be approved for SBA loans.
9. You have filed three times for bankruptcy.
The requirements around the bankruptcy vary by the lender – some will consider your request if you have filed once, if you have filed twice, while others will not consider borrowers in their history. But the two bankruptcy is maximum. Disable you three or more from the SBA loan.
What if you automatically disqualified the SBA loan?
If you mark the box on any of these automatic incompetence, take the fund to fund your small business needs here are some next steps:
If your business type is ineligible for SBA loan, Consider ReplacementWhich can open a long list of non -bank lenders and debt types with less rigorous needs.
If you have reached the end of this list and none of these automatic incompetence apply to you and your small business, then proceed with confidence to apply for SBA loans. Use our SBA Lone Resources Library to be ready:
We will start with a brief questionnaire to better understand the unique needs of your business.
Once we expose your personal matches, our team will advise you in the process of moving forward.
