When does SOP 50 10 8.1 apply?

SBA Information Notice 5000-880695 says SOP 50 10 8.1 is effective 1 October 2026 for applications issued a loan number on or after that date. Applications submitted through 30 September 2026 stay on SOP 50 10 8. Change-of-ownership updates are in Appendix 15. Confirm which version the lender is using before you rely on a structure.

The notice is the SBA's own issuance of the SOP, dated in the way the SBA posted it, telling lenders and SBA employees which version to use. It says users should read the SOP to understand the changes. It is not a summary you can underwrite from. This site uses it for the effective date and for the location of the change-of-ownership rules, and stops there. Equity injection, seller-note treatment, coverage, and diligence thresholds are in the appendix. They are not restated here.

A deal signed in the summer of 2026 and a deal whose loan number is issued in November 2026 can sit under different versions. That is why 'the new rules' is not a single switch you can flip from a headline. Ask the lender which applications they have submitted, and which SOP they will underwrite yours to. If they cannot point at the appendix, you do not have an answer yet.

The notice, as described on this site's rules page, also points at other policy the SOP integrates, including a policy notice on coordination of 7(a) and 504 for maximum loan limits. Separately, the SBA's July 2026 announcement describes combining those programs for up to $10 million in defined cases. Read the announcement and the notice. Do not add them together into a structure this page has not quoted.

The notice draws the line at the loan number and at the application, not at the headline date you remember. SOP 50 10 8.1 is effective 1 October 2026 for applications issued a loan number on or after that date. Applications submitted through 30 September 2026 stay on SOP 50 10 8. A deal discussed in the summer and a loan number issued in November can sit under different versions. Ask the lender which applications they have already submitted and which SOP they will underwrite yours to. Change-of-ownership updates for the loans the notice covers are in Appendix 15. The notice says to read the SOP. Equity, coverage, and diligence figures are not copied onto this site.

The notice, as the rules page describes it, also points at policy the SOP integrates, including coordination of 7(a) and 504 for maximum loan limits. The July 2026 announcement is a separate public description of combining those programs for up to $10 million in defined cases. Read them. Do not add them into a structure this page has not quoted.

Siddwell is an AI-native investment bank for privately held US companies with $1M to $100M in revenue, doing sell-side M&A and capital advisory.

Siddwell points to the notice and tells clients to read Appendix 15 with the lender. Siddwell cannot approve a structure, and it will not invent the thresholds the SOP was not quoted for.