How to fill out SBA Form 1919

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) requires most borrowers to complete the SBA Form 1919 – the Borrower Information Form.

This form helps the SBA and its approved lending partners to assess the background of a business and its owners, including their personal character.

The information provided on SBA Form 1919 is one way the SBA and its lending partners help determine whether or not a small business is likely to pay back a loan. Learn more about SBA Form 1919, including how to fill it out, below.

Kat Cox

Page written by Kat Cox. Last reviewed on August 12, 2024. Next review due October 1, 2025.

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What is SBA Form 1919?

Also known as the Borrower Information Form, SBA Form 1919 gives the SBA and its lenders a more thorough overview of any small business applying for an SBA 7(a) loan. The form is split into three parts:

  • Section I: Business details and purpose of the loan
  • Section II: Information about individual owners or entities 
  • Section III: Further information about the business 

The applicant will need to supply information about the reason they’re requesting the loan, what kind of debt they or the business have, any other government financing the business may have received and other information. Each owner or principal should also be prepared to answer truthfully about any criminal history or pending court cases, possible conflicts of interest including family employment and identifying information such as Social Security Number, phone number and address. 

Filling out the form properly the first time can help speed up the application process for an SBA loan and get you funding faster.

Who needs to fill out the SBA Form 1919?

Anyone applying for an SBA 7(a) loan will need to fill out SBA Form 1919. This includes all stakeholders or principals with at least 20% ownership in the business, trustors or anyone who’s been hired to run the general operations of the business.  

You’ll want to be prepared to fill out the form if you’re applying for any of the SBA 7(a) loan programs, including SBA Express, Export Express, Export Working Capital, International Trade, Veterans Advantage, CAPLines or a small loan.

What documents are needed to complete an SBA Form 1919?

Before you start filling out SBA Form 1919, it’s a good idea to gather the documents you’ll need to fill out the different sections. 

Make sure you have:

  • Your business contact details – this includes the physical address where the business is registered as well as phone numbers. 
  • Personal contact information – this includes addresses and phone numbers for every owner or stakeholder as well as their official titles. 
  • Business information – this includes the number of employees your business has, including owners, and stakeholder ownership percentages. 
  • Business tax documents – this includes tax returns from at least three previous years and your Employer Identification Number (EIN). 
  • Personal tax documents – each owner or partner should be able to provide three years of personal tax returns. 
  • Business documents – this includes any licenses or agreements your business has.
  • Affiliates – this includes a list of any affiliated companies or doing business as (DBA) or fictitious names you may be operating under. 
  • Loan details – this includes how much you’re asking to borrow and what you’re planning to use the money for. 
  • Business plan – this can help you answer questions about why you’re applying for the loan, such as how many jobs you’ll create or how you’ll expand your business. 
  • Business financial projections – it’s a good idea to have information about how you expect the business to perform in a year’s time if you receive funding through the SBA loan. 

Getting these documents gathered in advance will help you make sure you’re supplying the right information to the SBA. Make sure every owner who is filling out the form has the same information. 

How to complete the SBA Form 1919

While SBA Form 1919 can appear long and complicated, it’s easiest to go through it step by step. Understanding what they’re asking of you can help you fill it out thoroughly and accurately. If you’ve already gathered the information and documents that will provide answers to all the questions, as well as additional information, you’ll start off on the right foot. 

Step 1. Fill in your business identifying information for Section I

Section I of SBA Form 1919 establishes some information about the small business applying for the SBA loan. 

Before you start filling out the numbered questions, you’ll enter your business’s contact and identifying information. This includes:

  • The business’s legal name as it appears on your business license or registration. 
  • Whether the business is an eligible passive company (EPC) or operating company (OC). If you sell goods or services, your business is probably an OC. If you trust or lease real estate to an operating company, you’re probably an EPC. It’s a good idea to double check with your accountant to make sure.Any other names of the business, such as DBAs or tradenames.
  • Registered business address or the address of the project (if different from the business address).
  • The business’s tax ID (which can be the EIN).
  • The business phone number.
  • The name of the primary contact and their email address.

Next, you’ll provide some information about the loan and why you’re applying for it. This includes: 

  • How much you’re requesting to borrow.
  • The number of employees currently employed by the business, including owners.
  • The number of jobs you’ll create if you get the loan, including owners. If you don’t know the exact number, it’s okay to provide your best estimate. You don’t need to include contractors or freelancers in this number. 
  • How many employees you’ll keep employed if you get the loan that you wouldn’t be able to if you don’t get the loan. Once again, there’s no need to include freelancers or contractors. 
  • The purpose of the loan. For an SBA 7(a) loan, this may include getting working capital, buying real estate, getting equipment or purchasing inventory.

Finally, you’ll enter information about partners or business owners, including their full legal names, titles, how much stake they own in the business (percentage) and their addresses. You can attach extra sheets to this section if you need to. 

Step 2. Complete questions in Section I (questions 1 – 16)

The rest of Section I includes questions you’ll need to answer. Questions 1-11 are yes or no questions about the business and its affiliates. These questions allow the SBA to understand how the business operates, some of the business’s history and the business’s eligibility for an SBA loan based on basic SBA requirements. It also helps establish who will be filling out SBA Form 1919 for the business, such as which co-applicants are involved or if there is a paid third party helping you fill out the form. 

If you answer “yes”, you’ll have to provide more documentation or information, as specified in the question. Answering yes to some of the questions may disqualify you from receiving an SBA loan, such as question 11 regarding whether the business operates in an industry considered to be a “vice activity”, such as pornography, gambling, cannabis sales or loan packaging. 

Questions 12-16 are true or false questions regarding the appearance of a conflict of interest with the SBA, including whether or not your business is owned by anyone who currently works for the SBA or has in the past year, members of the federal government, government employees, or members or employees of a small business advisory council. Any question in this section that you answer as “false” may not necessarily disqualify you from the loan, but it may require that your SBA lender will have to process the loan differently. This could mean that the loan takes longer or that you have to provide more information, so it’s important to be aware of that when applying. 

Step 3. Review Section I: sign and date

Make sure you’ve answered all the questions in Section I and provided any additional information that may have been triggered by your answer. You should also read over the representations and certifications, as they’re legally binding. If everything is correct and all the right information is attached, you can sign and date the section. 

Step 4. Fill in your principal identifying information for Section II

In Section II, you’ll fill out the personal information for all the owners or principals for your business. Each individual is responsible for filling out their own version of Section II. 

Any of the following types of employees should be prepared to fill out information for Section II:

  • Officers
  • Partners
  • Directors
  • Trustors
  • Managing members
  • Anyone hired to manage operations on a day-to-day basis

In the top section, each individual (or entity) will provide their legal name, Social Security Number or EIN, birthday, where they were born, home address, phone number and percentage of ownership. They’ll also have the opportunity to answer data questions about their veteran status, gender, race or ethnicity, but this section is fully voluntary. 

Step 5. Complete questions in Section II (questions 17 – 26)

The rest of Section II is a series of yes-or-no questions, much like in Section I. In this instance, the questions pertain to individual personal history, such as criminal history, delinquency in obligations, citizenship, business ownership history and others.

As in Section I, if you answer “yes” to any of the questions, you’ll have to provide further information. If you answer “yes” to Question 17 regarding your current criminal history, the loan request is automatically declined. 

Step 6. Review Section II: sign and date

Once again, you’ll be asked to review the section to make sure it’s correct and that you’ve attached all the necessary additional information. Read through the representations, authorizations and certifications to make sure you understand them. When everything is in order and correct, you can sign and date the section. 

Step 7. Complete your business entity information for Section III

In Section III, you’ll be asked to provide identifying information about your business entity again. This includes the business’s physical address, EIN or tax ID and every owner’s individual contact information. 

Step 8. Answer questions in Section III (questions 27 – 31)

There are just five questions in Section III dealing with your business entity’s eligibility for an SBA loan. These are point-blank questions about whether your business is barred from participating in federal funding, what other business affiliates your business has (such as DBAs), if your business has ever filed for bankruptcy, if your business has any other legal actions pending and if your business has any other federal loans. On the last question, you’ll need to answer whether or not you’re behind on payments on those federal loans as well. 

Again, if you answer “yes” to these questions, you may be asked to provide further documentation or information. 

Step 9. Review Section III: sign and date

As with the other sections, you should review the information you supplied and make sure it’s correct and complete. You should also review the certifications and make sure you agree. Check that you’ve attached all necessary documents or information, and then sign and date. 

Step 10. Submit the completed SBA Form 1919 with your overall loan application

Once you’ve completed SBA Form 1919, you’ll print it out to sign and date each section. You’ll submit your completed SBA Form 1919 along with any other SBA forms and documents, including your application, to your lender. From there, they’ll review your documents and application and determine whether or not your loan is approved. 

It’s a good idea to get a second set of eyes on the form before you submit it. As with any loan document, having your business accountant or loan adviser review your application can help ensure it’s correct.

Also, be prepared to answer any questions that your lender or the SBA may have about your loan, especially if you answered “yes” or “false” to any of the questions throughout SBA Form 1919. 

Get started with Swoop

If you’re looking for business funding, including applying for an SBA loan, Swoop can help. Regiter online, answer a few questions and find the right financing for your small business today. 

Written by

Kat Cox

As a B2B finance content specialist, Kat Cox's goal is to distill complicated financial issues into useful information for small business owners, to save them time they could be using to build their companies. Her work has been featured in Forbes and on financial health platform Nav.com. When she's not writing blogs, web copy, or fiction, Kat can be found walking her dog or singing karaoke in Austin, Texas.

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