A scope note first: SBA disaster loans are not in our funded-loan data, and they never will be under our current methodology. Every other program on this site (7(a) and 504) runs through a participating bank or Certified Development Company, which is what makes bank-level FOIA data possible. Disaster loans are different: the SBA lends the money directly, with no lender in between. There is no bank-level record to aggregate. Everything below is the current official program, verified against SBA’s own pages, not our data.
The program is not dormant. SBA typically has multiple disaster declarations open at any given time, each with its own application deadline. As of July 8, 2026, these included Louisiana (Tropical Storm Arthur, declared July 2, 2026). Check SBA’s disaster assistance site for the declarations that currently apply to your area.
Two loan types, one direct lender
Physical disaster business loans repair or replace disaster-damaged real property, machinery, equipment, inventory, and leasehold improvements. Maximum loan amount is $2 million. Businesses pursuing mitigation improvements, upgrades that reduce the risk of future damage, can add up to 20% above the real estate damage amount. The interest rate does not exceed 4% for applicants unable to obtain credit elsewhere, or 8% for those who can. Terms run up to 30 years based on ability to repay, the first payment is deferred 12 months with no interest accruing in that period, and there is no prepayment penalty.
Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) fund working capital and normal operating expenses, rent, payroll, debt payments, after a declared disaster, whether or not the business suffered any physical damage. EIDL is available only when SBA determines the business cannot obtain credit elsewhere. The interest rate does not exceed 4%, with the same up-to-30-year term and 12-month deferral as physical loans. A business that qualifies for both a physical loan and an EIDL on the same disaster shares a combined $2 million cap across the two, not $2 million each.
Where COVID-19 EIDL stands now
The COVID-19 EIDL program, a distinct, time-limited version of EIDL tied to the pandemic, is closed. SBA stopped accepting new COVID-19 EIDL applications on January 1, 2022, stopped processing loan increase and reconsideration requests on May 6, 2022, and closed the application portal entirely on May 16, 2022. If you are dealing with an existing COVID-19 EIDL loan today, that is a servicing matter (payments, portal access), not a new-application one; the current disaster loan programs above are unrelated, ordinary-course SBA disaster relief, not a continuation of COVID-19 EIDL. And if the problem is that you cannot make the payments, see can’t pay your EIDL loan for how COVID EIDL default actually works.
How this differs from every other program on this site
Because SBA funds disaster loans directly, there is no “find a lender” step and no guarantee percentage to negotiate; see how SBA loans work for the direct-lending distinction versus 7(a) and 504. You apply straight to SBA through its disaster loan portal for a declared disaster covering your area, not through Lender Match, which is built for our 7(a) and 504 lender data. If your financing need is not disaster-related, or you want financing that is not tied to a specific declared event, the types of SBA loans overview covers the programs we do track.
Before you rely on this
Disaster loan availability is tied to specific, active SBA disaster declarations that open and close on their own schedules, and interest rates and terms are set by statute and can change. Confirm current declarations, deadlines, and terms directly at sba.gov/disaster before applying.