# Can any SBA lender make an SBA Express loan?

**Short answer:** No. Under SOP 50 10 8.1, Sec. B, Ch. 2 (p. 125), only a lender with SBA Express authority can make one. An SBA Express lender also cannot ask SBA to process the loan under non-delegated procedures.

Canonical page: https://www.sbaexpress.loans/answers/sba-express-lender-authority/
Last checked: 2026-11-08

No. Under SOP 50 10 8.1, Sec. B, Ch. 2 (p. 125), only a lender with SBA Express authority can make one. A bank can be an active SBA lender and still not offer SBA Express.

## What the authority allows

SBA Express lenders have delegated authority to process, close, service and liquidate the loan without SBA review (sba.gov/sba-lenders, read November 8, 2026). They use their own forms, credit memos, notes and collateral documents to the maximum extent practicable (Sec. B, Ch. 2, Para. C).

## What it rules out

An SBA Express lender may not ask SBA's Loan Guaranty Processing Center to process an SBA Express loan under non-delegated authority (p. 125). There is no SBA review route for an SBA Express loan if that lender declines it.

## Other routes for small loans

- 7(a) Small loans can go through non-delegated processing or a lender's Preferred Lender Program (PLP) authority (Para. C.1.a).
- Export Express needs its own authority. Those loans are processed only through an Export Express lender's delegated authority (Sec. B, Ch. 5, Para. A.4.a).

## How to confirm it

Ask the lender whether it currently holds SBA Express authority. A record of past SBA Express loans shows past activity. It does not prove current authority.

## Sources

- [SOP 50 10 8.1, Sec. B, Ch. 2 (p. 125)](https://legacy.sba.gov/sites/default/files/2026-10/SOP%2050%2010%208.1%20Technical%20Policy%20Updates%20effective%20%2010.1.2026.docx)
- [SOP 50 10 8.1, Sec. B, Ch. 2, Para. C.1 (Para. C begins p. 127)](https://legacy.sba.gov/sites/default/files/2026-10/SOP%2050%2010%208.1%20Technical%20Policy%20Updates%20effective%20%2010.1.2026.docx)
- [SOP 50 10 8.1, Sec. B, Ch. 5, Para. A.4.a (Para. A begins p. 168)](https://legacy.sba.gov/sites/default/files/2026-10/SOP%2050%2010%208.1%20Technical%20Policy%20Updates%20effective%20%2010.1.2026.docx)
- [SBA, Terms, conditions and eligibility for 7(a) lenders, sba.gov/sba-lenders (read November 8, 2026)](https://www.sba.gov/sba-lenders)