After 43 days, the longest government shutdown in U.S. history has finally ended. We are thrilled to announce that the Small Business Administration (SBA) is officially re-opening the 7(a) and 504 loan programs, effective immediately.
This is welcome news for lenders and the small business community. We understand that this restart creates an immediate need to process backlogs and navigate new guidance while simultaneously managing a surge in new applications.
The Windsor Advantage team is ready to help your institution manage this transition. Whether you need full-service SBA loan processing, closing, and servicing to handle the queue, or our efficient Windsor Accel platform to streamline your small loans, we are here to help you get capital to small businesses faster.
Below is the full preliminary guidance memo issued by the SBA’s Office of Capital Access on November 12, 2025.
OFFICE OF CAPITAL ACCESS
U.S. SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION WASHINGTON, D.C. 20416
Date: November 12, 2025 – 10:25 PM
To: Internal and External Stakeholders
From: Thomas Kimsey, Associate Administrator – Office of Capital Access
Subject: Preliminary Re-Opening Guidance for the SBA 7(a) and 504 Loan Programs
Based on President Trump’s signature of Senate Amendment to H.R. 5371, SBA’s Office of Capital Access (OCA) provides this immediate guidance regarding existing and new loan actions for the 7(a) and 504 programs.
SBA is working to schedule a Lender Connect call (additional details to follow) to engage with stakeholders on the orderly return to operations. We appreciate your patience and continued participation as the SBA team is committed to providing resources necessary to support a seamless restart, working through the current inventory and processing new activity as timely as possible.
OCA will open the ETRAN loan system at 12:01 AM November 13, 2025, to accept new loan applications for the 7(a) and 504 programs.
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- As a reminder, all loans approved on or after October 1, 2025, regardless of when the application was received for both 7(a) and 504 will be subject to the new Guaranty Fee Schedules as published via Notice:
- 7(a) Fees Effective October 1, 2025, for Fiscal Year 2026. This will give the manufacturing fee relief to those that did not receive approval prior to October 1, 2025.
- 504 Fees Effective October 1, 2025, for Fiscal Year 2026
- Pending Applications. SLPC and LGPC (for non-delegated 7(a) loans) will process residual loan applications, loan modification requests, USCIS verifications and compliance check reviews first, then process new applications in order of receipt.
- New Loan Approvals. 7(a) and 504 loan approvals will be placed in funding queue for a brief period as funds are made available from OMB. Once in this stage, as funds are received, the status will automatically update, and the loan will move to funded.
- 7(a) and 504 Questions, Servicing and Guaranty Purchase Actions. OCA will proceed to answer those currently in the queue first. Please do not re-submit any actions already in the queue, OCA will process in order of receipt.
- Franchise Reviews. The Office of Capital Access and Office of General Counsel will prioritize processing based on whether there is a pending loan/application related to a franchise that is in for review and otherwise will review submissions based on the order in which they are received.
- November Secondary Market Pools. SBA will extend the pooling deadline to November 20, 2025, to facilitate November pool formations.
- December 504 Debenture Sale. SBA Counsel is currently working through the inventory submitted by CDCs for the December sale. While the normal cutoff date for submission of packages was today, November 12th, OCA has extended the timeline until 5 PM Eastern Standard time on Friday November 14, 2025.
- As a reminder, all loans approved on or after October 1, 2025, regardless of when the application was received for both 7(a) and 504 will be subject to the new Guaranty Fee Schedules as published via Notice:
Navigate the Re-Opening with Confidence
Have questions about the new fee schedules or how to manage your application queue? Contact Windsor Advantage today to learn how our lender services can help you streamline your SBA operations.