FOIA

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) gives you the right to request access to records from any federal agency. The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is required to disclose information requested under the FOIA unless it falls under one of nine exemptions and three exclusions.

Please note that SBA is experiencing a significant increase in the number of FOIA requests since the onset of the pandemic. This increase is due in part to the agency’s administration of COVID-19 relief programs including the Paycheck Protection Program, COVID Economic Injury Disaster Loans, Restaurant Revitalization Fund and Shuttered Venue Operators Grant. Your request will be processed in the order in which it was received. Should you wish to discuss the status of your request or should you wish to narrow your request in order to reduce the time needed to respond to your request, please feel free to contact FOIAstatus@sba.gov.

• COVID-19 relief programs data
  • Paycheck Protection Program data
  • COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) and EIDL Advances
  • Restaurant Revitalization Fund data
  • Shuttered Venue Operators Grant data
• SBA 7(a) and 504 loan data
• SBA FOIA Annual Reports
• Congressional correspondence
• SBA credit card holder data
• SBA loss reports

The publicly released PPP data is based on information submitted by the lender to SBA. Use the PPP data feedback form to request an update to PPP loan information. For concerns about publicly released EIDL data, please email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov.

In addition to frequently requested records above, many documents are readily available on SBA.gov.

Examples include:

• Lists of SBA’s headquarters and field offices
• All SBA procedures and formal guidance
• Final opinions rendered in the adjudication of administrative cases
• Additional program data can be found in our open data store (data.sba.gov)

SBA does not require a special form to make a FOIA request. Requests for existing records must be in writing.

There are several ways to submit a request for SBA records.

When making a proper FOIA request, we ask that you provide:

• Your name
• Your complete mailing address
• Your personal email address
• Your telephone number
• A detailed description of the records you are seeking. If applicable, it is helpful if you provide the type of record, the time frame for search, the location or address of a business, associated loan numbers, and any other information pertinent to your request. Please note there is no obligation under the FOIA for federal agencies to create records or respond to questions.
• The format in which you wish to receive the responsive records (if desired)
• Your willingness to pay fees for the processing of the requested information and your desired requester fee category (required by SBA regulations)

In the case of third-party information requests, SBA regulations require a written statement from the first party, verifying his or her identity, and certifying that individual’s agreement that records concerning them — including proprietary business information — may be accessed, analyzed and released to a third party requester.

If you wish to be treated as a first-party requester, please provide this office with a signed release from the owner of the records you are seeking at the time of submission. The release should authorize the disclosure of personal information and proprietary business information. If we do not receive a first-party privacy waiver, you will be treated as a third-party requester.

We process all requests under, both, the FOIA and the Privacy Act to provide greater disclosure. If you are seeking records on yourself, you must provide either a notarized statement or a statement signed under penalty of perjury stating that you are the person you claim to be.

You may have your signature on the notarized request or pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 1746 (2) include the following statement just before the signature line: “I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct. Executed on [date].” This is to ensure that private information is not improperly disclosed.

If you have any questions regarding submitting a FOIA request, please contact the FOIA Office at 202-401-8203 or FOIA@sba.gov.

• A reasonable search failed to locate responsive records.
• Request is referred to the federal agency that possesses the responsive records.
• Request is withdrawn by the requester.
• Information requested is not a record within the meaning of the FOIA.
• Access to the record is denied in whole or in part pursuant to nine FOIA exemptions and three exclusions.

The FOIA requires that agencies respond to requests within 20 working days excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays. This period begins once the correct SBA office is in receipt of the request and once any issues such as processing fees are resolved. We recommend that you submit FOIA requests through the online system.

SBA’s written acknowledgment of the request will provide contact information for you to check the status of a request. The FOIA provides the right to invoke a 10 working-day extension when responsive records are voluminous, require two or more offices to confer about the records, and/or are located off-site.

Please be aware that due to COVID-19, SBA’s response time to certain FOIA requests may be delayed. We apologize for any inconvenience and appreciate your patience during this time.

Under certain conditions, the FOIA allows a request to be processed on an expedited basis — within 10 calendar days from the date on which the request was received. You must demonstrate one of the following compelling needs:

• Failure to obtain requested records on an expedited basis could pose a threat to the life or physical safety of an individual.
• The requester is primarily engaged in disseminating the information and has an urgency to inform the public on an actual or alleged federal government activity.

SBA search and review processing fees range from $43 to $86 per hour. Duplication fees are 10 cents per page and computer searches are $100 per hour.

Please see 13 CFR 102.8 for more information regarding fees.

The following disclosure determinations will be affected by business status and the relation of the requester to the information. A first-party requester, such as the submitter of the information or the subject of the record, will be privy to more information than a third party. Disclosure of segregable records is required.

• Non-statistical information on pending, declined, withdrawn, or canceled applications
• Non-statistical information on defaults, delinquencies, losses, etc.
• Loan status, other than charged-off or paid-in-full
• Home disaster loan status and interest rate
• Personal and business tax returns
• For viable, ongoing businesses: Financial statements, credit reports, business plans, plant layouts, marketing strategy, advertising plans, fiscal projections, pricing information, payroll information, private sector experience and contracts, purchase information, banking information, corporate structure, research plans and client list of applicant/recipient
• For viable, ongoing businesses: Commercial and financial information contained in certificate of competency records, Requests for Size Determinations, 8(a) Business Development plans, loan applications, SBIC applications and loan officer’s reports
• Internal documents not incorporated into final agency action, pending internal recommendations on applications for assistance, SBA/attorney-client communications, pending litigation documents and investigatory documents. Discretionary disclosure policy must be utilized
• Personal history and financial statements, tax forms, resumes, all non-government career experience, communications about applicant’s character, home and email addresses and telephone numbers, social security numbers, birth dates and medical records
• Portions of Inspector General reports, audit reports, program investigation records and any other records which, if released, would interfere with the government’s law enforcement proceedings and/or would reveal the identity of a confidential source and documents relating to pending litigation and investigations
• Financial information on portfolio companies
• Information originating from other agencies should be referred to those agencies for disclosure determinations

• Names and commercial street and email addresses of recipients of approved loans, SBIC licenses, Certificates of Competency, lease guarantees, surety bond guarantees and requests for counseling
• Names of officers, directors, stockholders, or partners of recipient firms.
• Kinds and amounts of loans, loan terms, interest rates (except on home disaster loans), maturity dates, general purpose, etc.
• Statistical data on assistance, loans, defaults, contracts, counseling, etc.
• Decisions, rulings, and records showing final agency actions in specific factual situations, if identifying details exempt from disclosure are first deleted
• Awarded contracts: name of contractor, contract amounts, contract dates and contracting agencies
• Identity of participating banks
• List of 8(a) participants, date of entry into the 8(a) program, projected graduation date from the 8(a) program and North American Industry Classification System codes
• Office of Hearings and Appeals opinions and decisions and grievances in redacted form
• Names of SBA employees, grades, titles, and duty stations

• SBA’s Disclosure of Information regulations
• FOIA.gov
• Record Retention Schedules