The Small Business Administration has made a few significant changes to their Standard Operating Procedures, effective 1/1/2017, and they include the following:

*The franchisor will no longer have to submit their Franchise Disclosure Document and Franchise Agreement to the SBA for eligibility. These changes will eliminate all the paperwork submissions that would delay the loan approval process that used to occur from January through April every year.

*The franchisor and the borrower will now be required to sign a two page amendment indicating they will adhere to the SBA guidelines. If the franchisor and borrower do not agree to sign the addendum, then the loan package cannot be submitted for approval.

*No additional changes can be made to the SBA amendment.

*The SBA Registry will update the listings of franchisors that have agreed to sign the addendum and those who did not agree. You can access this list through: www.franchiseregistry.com.

*No additional changes will be visible to the borrower.

The only other changes include the name changes to the programs and they include the following:

The SBA 7A Program will be now referred to as the, “Loan Advantage Program.”

The SBA 504 Program will be referred to as the, “SBA Loan Growth Program.”

This makes the lending process much more efficient, without all the paperwork that once was required. Consider reaching out to a franchise consultant to help you with the new changes.