SBA Form 1919: How to Fill out the Borrower Information Form

As part of the rigorous SBA loan application process, the SBA and your intermediary lender don’t only evaluate your business’s financials and your plans for the loan; they also evaluate the business owner and its principals’ personal characters. SBA Form 1919, the Borrower Information Form, plays a major role in that assessment.

As you likely know, SBA loans are disbursed by banks or other partner lenders, but they’re backed by the U.S. Small Business Administration. Thanks to that government guarantee, lenders can offer approved SBA borrowers some of the most generous and affordable loans on the market—which also means these loans are highly competitive. As a result, the SBA can afford to hold their borrowers to incredibly high standards. What that means for applicants? Piles of paperwork—like SBA Form 1919—that dive deep into your and your business’s finances and history.

Here’s a comprehensive guide to the Borrower Information Form, including tips on how to fill it out accurately so you can ensure the smoothest SBA application process possible.      

What Is SBA Form 1919, and Why Is It Important?

SBA Form 1919, the SBA 7(a) Borrower Information Form, collects a range of background information about SBA 7(a) loan applicants, other principals of the applicant’s business, and the business in general.

Expect to answer questions about the purpose of your loan request, current or previous government financing, your involvement in any current or pending legal action, and other crucial details about the nature of your business. All of the data you provide here plays a part in determining your loan eligibility, and it also facilitates background checks.     

Who Needs to Fill out Form 1919?

If you’re a business owner applying for any variation of an SBA 7(a) loan or the Community Advantage program, you’ll need to complete SBA Form 1919.

The following stakeholders will also need to complete their own versions of this form, according to your business entity:

• Sole proprietors
• For partnerships: All general partners, all limited partners with 20% or more stake in the business, anyone involved in the business’s daily operations
• For corporations: All owners of 20% or more of the business and all officers and directors
• For LLCs: All members owning 20% or more of the business, every officer, director, and managing member

Regardless of your business’s legal organization, anyone hired to manage daily operations will need to fill out their own SBA form 1919, as will any guarantors, trustors, and co-applicants involved in your SBA loan application.

A Closer Look at SBA Form 1919

SBA Form 1919 is divided into two sections: The first asks for information about the business, and the second digs into the principals’ personal histories. We’ll go through each of these sections in greater detail here.

Section I: Applicant Business Information

Identifying Information

Before launching into the form’s yes-or-no/true-or-false questions, you’ll need to provide basic information about your business, including your business name as it appears on your tax returns, your address, your EIN, and your DBA if your business operates under a name other than its legal name. Applicants also need to mark whether they’re an operating company (OC), or eligible passive company (EPC).

Next you’ll answer a few questions about your loan request, including:

• The amount of your loan request
• The number of existing employees, including owners
• The number of jobs that will be created as a result of the loan, including owners
• The number of jobs that would be retained as a result of the loan, that would have otherwise been lost
• The purpose of the loan

The answers to these questions will give the SBA a better understanding of why you’re applying for an SBA loan, and how the loan will benefit your business. (Because these loans are so competitive, the SBA needs to ensure that they’re going to the businesses that truly need these funds, and will use them positively.) Note that if you don’t know the exact number of jobs that would be created or lost, you can make your best estimate. You also don’t need to include contract workers or freelancers in your headcount.

The final field in this top section is dedicated to information about your business’s ownership. Here, you’ll list all owners, their titles, the percentage of their stake in this business, and their addresses. If you need more room to complete this section, you can attach additional sheets.

SBA Form 1919, Questions 1-11

The first 11 questions on SBA Form 1919 are yes-or-no questions. If you mark “yes” to any of these questions, you’ll need to provide additional details on a separate sheet of paper.  

1. Are there co-applicants? Co-applicants are other businesses applying for an SBA loan along with the applying business. If there are co-applicants, then they’ll each need to complete their own versions of SBA Form 1919 Section I.
2. Has the business previously applied for an SBA loan? If so, you’ll need to provide details about that loan request, including the amount, purpose, loan program, when you applied, and whether your application was accepted or denied.
3. Has a federal department or agency deemed the business ineligible for an SBA loan due to regulatory action? If you answer “yes” to this question, your loan application might be denied
4. Does the business operate under any type of agreement? If you operate under a franchise, license, distributor, membership, dealer, or jobber agreement, attach a copy of the agreement, plus any other documents that would be helpful in letting the SBA understand the nature of that agreement.
5. Does the business have any affiliates? The SBA defines affiliated businesses as “when one business controls or has the power to control another, or when a third party (or parties) controls or has the power to control both businesses.” If your business has affiliates, include their names on an attached sheet.
6. Have any applicants or affiliates ever filed for bankruptcy? If yes, attach details about the bankruptcy.
7. Is the business or any of its affiliates currently involved in pending legal action? If so, provide details about the lawsuit on a separate sheet.
8. Has the business or its affiliates ever obtained or been a guarantor for a federally backed loan? If you answer “yes,” you’ll also need to note whether any of these loans are currently delinquent or if you defaulted on these loans, in addition to providing salient details about the loan (including the amount and the purpose of the loan).
9. Are any of the business’s products or services exported? If you ship your products or services abroad, or if you plan to as a result of the loan funds, check “yes.” You’ll also need to provide an estimate of the total export sales the loan would facilitate.
10. Is the business using a third party to help with their SBA application? If you’re hiring a packager, broker, lawyer, accountant, or other professional to prepare your SBA loan, or if you were referred to a lender by an agent, check “yes.” On a separate form, include the name of the professional and any compensation they’re earning. Then, you’ll need to fill out Form 159 for every agent receiving compensation for their role in your loan application.
11. Does the business earn revenue through vice activities? The SBA can’t fund businesses involved in vice industries (or their other ineligible industries), including gambling, pornography, or loan packaging.

Questions 12-16     

The next set of questions in Section I have true-or-false answers. These questions ensure that there are no conflicts of interest between the business and an SBA or other governmental employee.

For the purposes of an SBA loan, a conflict of interest might look like:

• An SBA employee, or a household member of an SBA employee, is an employee or owner of the applying business.
• A former SBA employee, who’s left the agency under a year prior to this application, is an employee or owner of the business.
• A member of U.S. Congress or appointed official of the legislative or judicial branch of the government is an employee or owner of the business, their household member is an employee or owner of the business.

…Along with a few other scenarios. If you answer “false” to any of these questions, your loan application won’t necessarily be denied; it’ll just need to be processed directly through the SBA, rather than through your intermediary lender, and then through alternative procedures. You might also need to disclose further information about the nature of the relationship between the business and the government employee.

Once you’ve completed Section I, you’ll enter your signature, date, title, and printed name in the provided fields. Be sure to review your answers, and also ensure that you’re providing additional information whenever it’s requested (in other words, if you’ve answered “yes” to any questions between one and 11, or “false” to any questions between 12 and 16).

Also read over the representations and certifications to which you’re bound after you sign. That includes complying with SBA’s stipulations, only using your SBA loan for business purposes, and purchasing American-made equipment and products whenever possible.  

Section II: Principal Information

In the second section of SBA Form 1919, the SBA collects personal information about the business’s owners and principals.

“Owners and principals” includes the business owner, anyone who owns 20% or more of the company, partners, officers, directors, managing members, trustors, as well as anyone you’ve hired to manage your business’s daily operations. All of these individuals (or entities) are responsible for filling out their own versions of SBA Form 1919, Section II.

Identifying Information

The first part of Section II requests personal identifying information about the business’s principals. Expect to provide fairly standard information here, including your legal name, date and place of birth, contact information, SSN or EIN (if the applicant is an entity), and the percentage of ownership you have in the business.

Next, the SBA requests data about your veteran status, gender, race, and ethnicity, but you can choose whether or not you want to disclose this information. The SBA collects this information only for program reporting purposes, and your answers won’t have any impact on the loan decision.

Questions 17-26

Next, the applicant needs to answer a series of yes-or-no questions, all of which help determine the applying business’s loan eligibility.

As in Section I, if you answer “yes” to any of these questions, you’ll need to provide a more detailed explanation on an attached sheet.

17. Are you currently facing criminal charges? Unfortunately, answering “yes” to this question disqualifies you from SBA loan eligibility. According to the SBA’s standards, the agency can’t guarantee loans to businesses whose owners or principals are currently incarcerated, on probation, on parole, with a deferred prosecution, or who’ve been indicted for a felony or serious crime in the past.
18. and 19. Have you been arrested in the past six months for any criminal offense? Have you been sentenced for a criminal conviction? Answering “yes” to either of these questions doesn’t necessarily disqualify you from an SBA loan. But if you do answer “yes,” you’ll need to fill out SBA Form 912, the Statement of Personal History. In this form, you’ll provide further details about these convictions, so the SBA can then make a better-informed decision about your loan approval.

Remember to initial your response to question 19, too.

20. Has your business violated federal regulations? If “yes,” you’ll need to provide details about these violations, but know that you might be ineligible for an SBA loan.
21. Are you more than 60 days late on child support payments? You’ll only need to answer “yes” to this question if you own 50% or more of the business.
22. What is your U.S. citizenship status? Mark whether you’re a U.S. citizen, a lawful permanent resident (and your registration number), or neither. If neither, list your country of citizenship. Note that non-U.S. citizens can apply for an SBA loan, as long as they have a green card.
23. Do you own a stake in an affiliate business? If so, include the name of the affiliate business and the percentage of your ownership on an attached sheet.
24. Have you or any business you controlled filed for bankruptcy? You can still be eligible for an SBA loan, as long as it’s been discharged. If you mark “yes” here, you’ll need to provide details about the bankruptcy on an attached sheet.
25. Are you currently involved in legal action, including divorce? Include details about any pending civil cases filed against you or your business.
26. Have you or a business you’ve controlled ever obtained federal funding, or been a guarantor on a federal loan? Check “yes” if you or a business you’ve owned has received an SBA or other federal loan in the past, like federal student loans or FHA loans. Also indicate whether this financing is currently delinquent, or if the loan ever defaulted.

After reviewing your answers, any additional details you may need to provide, and the representations and authorizations (which are the same as in Section I), you’ll sign, date, and print your name and your title. And then—you’re done!

How to Fill out SBA Form 1919, Stress-Free

The government and your lender need to take every precaution available to mitigate the risk of a borrower defaulting on an SBA loan. Among those precautions is the assurance that the business owner, and its major stakeholders, are reliable and trustworthy enough (according to their standards) to honor their debt agreements. SBA Form 1919 is just one document that will help your lender and the SBA reach that conclusion.

And SBA Form 1919 is just one of many documents that you’ll need to include in your SBA loan application. If you’re overwhelmed by the prospect of organizing, fulfilling, and packaging all these documents to send along to your lender, know that there are scores of professionals out there to help you. Working with a loan specialist to guide you through this and all the other SBA forms you’re responsible for will ensure a quicker, smoother application process—and free up some of your mental energy so that you can focus on growing your business in the meantime.      

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