What an SBA lender asks you for
The documents and forms a bank usually wants from a buyer applying for an SBA 7(a) loan to buy a business. Gathering them before you apply is the easiest way to speed up a loan.
We read the public SBA loan packets of six lenders. Every bank asks for a slightly different list, but these items show up again and again. Your lender's own checklist always wins.
About you
- SBA Form 413, Personal Financial Statement, from each owner of 20% or more and each guarantor. It lists your assets, debts and income; a spouse's assets are included.
- Personal tax returns, usually the last three years, and a signed IRS form so the lender can pull transcripts.
- A resume for every 20%+ owner and key manager. Lenders must judge your management experience in this industry or a related one, so make it specific.
- Personal bank statements or other proof of where your equity comes from.
- Credit authorization. The lender pulls your credit and reviews late payments, liens, judgments, bankruptcies and pending lawsuits.
About the deal
- The signed letter of intent or purchase agreement. Every lender we read asks for it.
- Sources and uses: where every dollar comes from (your cash, the loan, any seller note) and where it goes (price, working capital, closing costs, fees).
- Seller note terms, including whether it is on full standby.
- The lease, or a draft assignment, and the landlord's details.
About the business
- Three years of the seller's business tax returns and financial statements, plus an interim balance sheet and profit and loss that is recent (lenders ask for statements within 45 to 90 days).
- Receivable and payable agings as of the interim date.
- Business bank statements for recent months.
- Entity documents for the company you will buy through, and its EIN.
Your plan
- A business plan that explains the business, its customers and competition, your plans, and how you will manage the handover.
- Projections, often two years with the first year by month. The lender reviews them but cannot use them to pass the 1.25 times cash flow test.
SBA forms the lender completes with you
- SBA Form 1919, Borrower Information Form, completed by the buying company and each owner. It asks about ownership, citizenship, criminal history, federal debt and whether you paid anyone to help with the application.
- SBA Form 155 or the lender's standby agreement, if a seller note will count toward your equity.
- SBA Form 159, Fee Disclosure and Compensation Agreement, if anyone is paid to prepare or package the application for you.
Common delays
Lenders name the same slow items again and again: the landlord's lien waiver or lease assignment, assigning life insurance, proving where the equity came from, appraisals and environmental reports, and the final purchase agreement. Start them early.
Put it in one packet
The $99 Loan-Ready Packet turns your answers into a lender-style packet: sources and uses, the equity check, estimated payment and coverage, a document checklist, and a candid page on what is still missing. You download it and hand it to any bank. Humble Business Brokerage is not a lender, does not send it to lenders, and does not refer you to one.
Based on SBA SOP 50 10 8.1 (effective October 1, 2026) and six lenders' public SBA packets read in October 2026. General information, not lending advice.