How to Apply for SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL)
How to Request an SBA EIDL Declaration
The Governor may request an SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) Declaration by certifying:
- At least five (5) businesses in the disaster area suffered SUBSTANTIAL ECONOMIC INJURY as a result of the incident; and
- The degree of Economic Injury suffered is so severe, financial assistance at reasonable rates and terms is not otherwise available thereby creating the necessity for Federal involvement in the form of subsidized loans; and
- The Governor’s certification must be received by the SBA Field Office Center East Office within 120 days of the incident period and must be accompanied by supporting documentation of individual small businesses; general industry statistics are not acceptable.
Establishing economic injury is a comparison between the financial information from the period in the prior year, to the injury period of the current year (the injury period must be associated to the disaster and cannot be attributed to a downturn in local economy or other unrelated issues). For example, if a water line break closed the business, and it was not able to re-open for two months, the business should consider how long it would take for things to normalize. If it’s three months, the analysis should show the financial data for the same three months of last year, and the anticipated financial data for the same period this year. The loans are not intended to replace lost sales or profits, rather they are intended to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable, and other expenses which could have been paid had the disaster not occurred. Analyzing a drop in sales, the length of time the business will be impacted, the type of business and typical business cycle of the industry, provides the SBA with the requisite data needed to determine if the economic injury is considered substantial.
Individual businesses must complete the Estimated Disaster Economic Injury Worksheet for Business. The form is completed to determine if there is sufficient economic injury to request a declaration.
Click here for more information.
Click here for Estimated Disaster Economic Injury Worksheet for Business.
