SBA Form 413, explained

Where Form 413 is used

SBA loans are made by banks and other lenders, with the SBA guaranteeing a portion. Form 413 is part of the standard application package across the SBA's main programs:

• 7(a) loans — the SBA's primary program for working capital, equipment, acquisitions, and real estate
• 504 loans — long-term fixed-asset financing through certified development companies
• Surety bond guarantees — where the SBA backs bonding for small contractors
• The 8(a) business development program — where personal financial information helps determine eligibility

The current version of the form is available from sba.gov, and most lenders send applicants their own fillable copy. Because the lender underwrites the loan, it may also layer its own PFS form or additional detail requests on top — the SBA form is the floor, not always the ceiling.

Who has to complete one

For 7(a) and 504 loans, the SBA generally requires a personal financial statement from:

• Each proprietor, in a sole proprietorship
• Each general partner
• Each owner of 20% or more of the business's equity
• Anyone providing a personal guarantee on the loan

Lenders can and do ask for statements from others when it helps the credit picture. Spouses come up constantly: when assets are jointly held, or in community-property states, the statement typically reflects the couple's position and lenders commonly require spousal information or signature. The lender will tell you exactly whose statements it needs — ask early, because chasing a co-owner's Form 413 late in underwriting is a common source of delay. If several owners each need one, they each complete their own form.

What the form asks for, section by section

Form 413 opens with identifying information — name, address, the business applying, and how the statement is held (individually or jointly) — followed by the core of every PFS: an assets column, a liabilities column, and net worth.

• Assets: cash on hand and in banks, savings accounts, IRA and other retirement accounts, accounts and notes receivable, the cash surrender value of life insurance, stocks and bonds, real estate, automobiles, and other personal property and assets.
• Liabilities: accounts payable, notes payable to banks and others, installment accounts (auto and other), loans against life insurance, mortgages on real estate, unpaid taxes, and other liabilities.
• Income and contingent liabilities: annual sources of income (salary, net investment income, real estate income, other) and contingent liabilities — debts you'd owe only if something happens, such as loans you've endorsed, co-signed, or guaranteed, and pending legal claims.

The rest of the form is supporting schedules that break out the summary lines: notes payable to banks and others; stocks and bonds; real estate owned, with each property's value, mortgage balance, and payment; other personal property and assets; unpaid taxes; other liabilities; and life insurance held. The schedules are where most of the effort goes — each real estate entry, for instance, wants the original cost, present value, mortgage holder, balance, and payment status.

The form closes with a signature block: you certify the statement is true and accurate, and the form is explicit that false statements can carry federal criminal penalties. Sign it, date it, and make sure the date is recent — an unsigned or stale Form 413 goes straight back to you.

How lenders review it

An SBA lender reads Form 413 the way any commercial underwriter reads a PFS, with a few program-specific angles:

• Liquidity for the equity injection — many SBA deals require the borrower to put cash in, and the statement shows whether that cash exists.
• The strength of the guarantee — net worth and its composition, since owners of 20% or more are generally required to guarantee 7(a) loans personally.
• Consistency — the form is compared against tax returns, business financials, and the credit report. Contradictions cost time and credibility.
• Freshness — the statement generally must be no more than 90 days old at submission. SBA underwriting can take weeks or months, so if the file goes stale mid-process, you'll be asked to update it.

Keeping it current (you'll likely do this twice)

The 90-day window and real-world underwriting timelines mean many applicants complete Form 413 more than once per loan — once at application, and again if closing slips. Owners of multiple entities feel this most: every mortgage payoff, business value, and account balance has to be re-gathered each time.

The practical fix is to maintain the underlying statement continuously rather than reconstructing it per request. If your assets, liabilities, and ownership percentages live in one maintained place — with current balances — filling out Form 413 becomes transcription instead of research. That's the approach real estate investors with many mortgages tend to land on, and it's what LivePFS automates: how often a PFS should be updated covers the cadence question in detail.