To help business owners who received Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans apply for forgiveness of loan funds used for approved expenditures, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has launched a streamlined application portal. Live since August 4, 2021,  the new portal allows borrowers who received loans of $150,000 or less through participating lenders to apply for forgiveness directly through the SBA. 

The program provided loans to millions of business owners to help them survive the pandemic and the business restrictions that public health orders placed on them, starting in March, 2020. Loans are forgivable if the funds were mostly used for covering payroll costs during the pandemic.

“The SBA’s new streamlined application portal will simplify forgiveness for millions of our smallest businesses -- including many sole proprietors -- who used funds from our Paycheck Protection Program loans to survive the pandemic. SBA staff noted the vast majority of businesses waiting for forgiveness have loans under $150,000. The portal will help rush relief to over 6.5 million smallest of small businesses.  Lenders are required to opt-in to this program through the website -- https://directforgiveness.sba.gov.

In addition to the technology platform, the SBA is standing up a PPP customer service team to answer questions and directly assist borrowers with their forgiveness applications.  Borrowers that need assistance or have questions should call (877) 552-2692, Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. - 8 p.m. EST.

Established by the CARES Act in 2020, the PPP was among the first COVID-19 small business economic aid programs and provided more than $798 billion in economic relief to small businesses and nonprofits across the nation, keeping employees working, and helping businesses come back stronger than ever.  View the Interim Final Rule on PPP Forgiveness.

Other programs include Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL), EIDL Advance, Targeted EIDL Advance, Supplemental EIDL Advance, Restaurant Revitalization Fund, Shuttered Venue Operators Grant, and SBA Debt Relief program. To learn more about these programs, please visit www.sba.gov/relief