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

1. Fill in the identifying business information in Section I.
2. Complete questions 1 through 11 in Section I.
3. Complete questions 12 through 16 in Section I.
4. Review Section I and sign and date at the bottom of page 3 of the form.
5. Fill in the identifying personal information in Section II.
6. Complete questions 17 through 26 in Section II.
7. Review Section II and the attached statements; sign and date the 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 business 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.

Here’s a comprehensive guide to SBA Form 1919, the Borrower Information Form, including a step-by-step breakdown on how to fill it out—so you can ensure the most efficient SBA loan application process possible.

With this overview in mind, let’s break down the steps you can follow in order to complete SBA Form 1919. As we mentioned above, this essential SBA form is divided into two sections—the first section asks for information about the business, and the second requests information about the principals’ personal histories. We’ll explain each of these sections in greater detail through these steps.

As you’ll see in the photo below, before launching into the form’s actual numbered 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.

You’ll also need to indicate whether you’re an operating company (OC) or an 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

In essence, the answers to these questions will give the SBA a better understanding of why you’re applying for this business loan, and how an SBA loan will benefit your business.

It’s important to 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.

After you’ve filled in the initial part of Section I, you’ll move on to the next part, the yes or no questions. These first 11 questions will complete page 2 of SBA Form 1919 (shown below).

This being said, if you mark “yes” to any of these questions, you’ll need to provide additional details on a separate sheet of paper.

• Question 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.
• Question 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.
• Question 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 SBA loan application might be denied.
• Question 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.
• Question 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.
• Question 6: Have any applicants or affiliates ever filed for bankruptcy? If yes, attach details about the bankruptcy.
• Question 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.
• Question 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).
• Question 9: Are any of the business’s products or services exported? If you ship your products or services abroad, or if you plan to do so 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.
• Question 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 SBA Form 159 for every agent receiving compensation for their role in your loan application.
• Question 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.^[1]

Next, you’ll move on to the final part of Section I, questions 12 through 16. As shown below, these questions will be listed on page 3 and will have true-or-false answers. In short, 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.

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 SBA 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.

At this point, you’ll have completed Section I. Next, you’ll enter your signature, date, title, and printed name in the provided fields (shown below). Before signing off on this portion, you’ll want to 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).

You’ll also want to read over the representations and certifications to which you’re bound after you sign. These include complying with the SBA’s stipulations—only using your SBA loan for business purposes, and purchasing American-made equipment and products whenever possible.

Next, you’ll start filling out Section III of SBA Form 1919—in which 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. As we mentioned above, all of these individuals (or entities) are responsible for filling out their own versions of SBA Form 1919, Section II.

This being said, the first part of Section II requests personal identifying information about the business’s principals.

You’ll need to provide standard information here, including your legal name, date and place of birth, contact information, SSN or employer identification number, aka 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.

Next, you’ll move on to the remainder of Section II. In this part, you’ll 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.

• Question 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.
• Question 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.

You’ll want to remember that Questions 17 through 19 all require your intitals on the response, in addition to your answer of “yes” or “no.”

• Question 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.
• Question 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.
• Question 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.
• Question 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.
• Question 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.
• Question 25: re you currently involved in legal action, including divorce? Include details about any pending civil cases filed against you or your business.
• Question 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 government 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.

Finally, you’ve reached the last step in completing SBA Form 1919. At this point, you’ll want to review your answers—as well as any additional details you may need to provide—and the representations and authorizations (which are the same as in Section I).

You may also consult with a business attorney or accountant to ensure that you’ve completed everything completely and correctly.

Then, you’ll sign, date, and print your name and your title at the bottom of page 5, shown below.

At the end of the day, 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.

This being said, SBA Form 1919 is just one of many documents that you’ll need to include in your SBA loan package.

If you’re overwhelmed by the prospect of organizing, fulfilling, and packaging all these documents to send along to your lender, you should know that there are a variety 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.

For help completing other forms for your SBA loan application, check out our additional guides:

• SBA Form 159
• SBA Form 355
• SBA Form 413
• SBA Form 912

1. Law.Cornell.edu. “13 CFR & 120.110 – What Businesses are Ineligible for SBA Business Loans?“