1. Issuance of SOP 50 10 8.1 (effective October 1, 2026)
SBA has issued version 8.1 of SOP 50 10, Lender and Development Company Loan Programs. The revised SOP was announced by SBA Policy Notice 5000-880695, Issuance of SOP 50 10 8.1 (published August 14, 2026, and effective October 1, 2026). The changes in SOP 50 10 8.1 will be effective for loans receiving an SBA loan number on or after October 1, 2026.
Key changes include:
- Incorporating, with some revisions, requirements in notices issued since the issuance of Version 8 of the SOP (including the incorporation, with changes, of the requirements relating to citizenship and residency, and the Manufacturers’ Access to Revolving Credit (MARC) and Working Capital Pilot (WCP) programs).
- Moving (with some changes) some previous requirements that were repeated in various places within SOP 50 10 8 to seven new separate appendices – Appendix 14, Debt Refinancing Requirements; Appendix 15, Changes of Ownership; Appendix 16, 7(a) Maximum Guaranty Amounts and Percentages; Appendix 17, Loan Maturity Requirements; Appendix 18, 7(a) Interest Rate Requirements; Appendix 19, 7(a) Collateral Requirements; Appendix 20, Submission of Application for Guaranty.
- Within the newly established Appendix 15, revising requirements for 7(a) change of ownership (COO) loans, including, establishing four categories of COO transactions – Initial Acquisition, Business Expansion, Owner Buyout, & ESOP and Co-Op, with specific credit and other criteria for each category, including establishment of a new requirement for Quality of Earnings reports for COO loans with a purchase price of $3MM or greater.
- Making certain revisions to underwriting requirements for both Standard 7(a) Loans (over $350,000) and 7(a) Small Loans ($350,000 and less), including, among other changes, allowing lenders to refinance their own debt using delegated authority if exposure to the Applicant business will not be reduced.
- Revising SBA Express requirements to, when the original amortization of an SBA Express loan is found to be too restrictive, allow the loan to be reissued before amortization begins to provide a longer revolving period.
- Revising requirements when the borrower has ownership by a Trust, including requiring the Trust to guarantee a loan at any ownership percentage and clarifying that a Trustor must personally guarantee the loan regardless of whether the Trust has revocable or irrevocable status.
- Allowing loans to be sold on the secondary market that use Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) data or the 5-year or 10-year Treasuries as alternative base rates.
2. Information Notice FY 2027 7(a) Program Fees (effective October 1, 2026)
SBA has released SBA Information Notice 5000-881797 which announces the 7(a) fee schedule effective October 1, 2026 for all loans approved through September 30, 2027. The fee schedule provides relief for critical industries as follows:
For loans of $700,000 or less, the SBA Upfront Guaranty Fee is 0% for:
- Manufacturers (NAICS sectors 31-33)
- Food Supply Chain Businesses (including agricultural production, farm support, wholesale distribution, and refrigerated and frozen transportation and warehousing)
- Businesses located in rural areas
- Rural Area: 7(a) and 504: An area located in a county that the US Census Bureau has defined as at least 30 percent rural. The Census Bureau’s urban-rural classification and the Census Bureau’s County Classification Lookup Table can be found here: Urban and Rural (census.gov).
Continued veteran support is included in the fee notice as well with SBA Express loans to businesses owned and controlled by a veteran or veteran's spouse receiving a $0 upfront fee.
3. SBA Notice Further Expanding ITL (effective August 14, 2026)
SBA released Policy Notice 5000-881477, 7(a) International Trade Loan Program Industry Update (dated and effective August 14). This notice expands International Trade Loan (ITL) program eligibility to include certain small businesses that operate in NAICS Sector 21, Mining, Quarrying, and Oil and Gas Extraction that meet the statutory threshold eligibility requirement of “having been adversely affected and injured by international trade and increased import competition”. Per the notice, potential ITL eligibility is now extended to eligible businesses that operate in subsector 211, Oil and Gas Extraction; subsector 212, Mining (except Oil and Gas); and subsector 213, Support Activities for Mining. This is in addition to SBA’s previous extension of eligibility to Manufacturers and businesses in the Food Supply Chain. A complete list of eligible NAICS codes can be found on pages 174-175 of SOP 50 10 8.1.
