The SBA does not have a restriction on the amount of SBA backed loans that a business can have at one time. This means a business owner can have multiple SBA guaranteed loans from the same or multiple banks. Even though a business can be paying multiple SBA loans simultaneously, a limiting factor in accessing more SBA loans would be the debt servicing of all the current loans and a new potential loan. For example; If a business has 2 SBA loans with a cumulative payment of $5,000 per month, the business would need to show that it could afford additional debt servicing. An SBA lender will not approve an SBA loan if the business wouldn't be able to afford additional payments.
Even though the SBA does not restrict the number of SBA loans, a borrower is limited to a total of $5 million in SBA-backed financing. This limit is based on the individual owner and not based on singular business entities. For example, if an individual owns multiple businesses, the max limit in SBA funding across all entities would be $5 million.
You can apply for additional SBA loans as long as eligibility requirements are met. There is no set restriction on when a business can apply for additional SBA financing, but certain lenders do have their own restrictions. For example, some lenders require a 90 day waiting period between the last SBA funding. Other lenders can close SBA loans without a blackout period. Back to back SBA funding is most commonly seen when the SBA products are different. For example if the business receives an SBA 10 year term loan another bank can issue an SBA backed Line of Credit simultaneously.
Lenders will always evaluate your repayment likelihood, so if your monthly debt obligations are too high relative to your revenue, they may decline to approve additional financing. If your business is denied for additional SBA-backed funding, there are non-SBA guaranteed programs that could be available for the business. As always we urge applicants to speak with a SBA specialist before applying for additional funding, as each lender has different unique rules and requirements.