Eligibility

SBA 504 loan criteria

An SBA 504 loan is fixed-asset financing for land, buildings and manufacturing equipment or machinery.

Size of loan

The maximum loan size through the SBA 504 loan program is $1.5 million or $2.0 million if the project meets certain SBA economic development parameters. Manufacturing companies with certain specific NAICS codes can obtain up to $4 million in SBA funds. The minimum loan size is $50,000.

A business can obtain more than one loan from the SBA, as long as the total outstanding balances do not exceed the maximum loan amount.

For a business to qualify for an SBA 504 loan:

Business is a for-profit, owner-operated entity that has a net worth of less than $7.0 million and a net-profit-after-tax averaging less than $2.5 million for the previous two years.

The small business must create or retain one full-time equivalent job for every $50,000 loaned by the federal government ($100,000 for manufacturing).

Start-up businesses are not excluded from the SBA 504 loan program, but higher levels of financial equity participation are required for companies less than three years old.