# SBA size standards

The limits, by industry, a business must be under to use SBA money.

A target above both its industry's size standard and the alternative standard is ineligible for [7(a)](https://searchspheresource.com/glossary/sba-7a) money, which quietly rules out some larger deals before you even model them. The standard runs on revenue or employee count and counts affiliates too, so a [searcher](https://searchspheresource.com/glossary/searcher) who controls other businesses checks it early rather than finding the ceiling after an [LOI](https://searchspheresource.com/glossary/loi). A proposal published in August 2026 would rewrite the whole table: it raises most ceilings, sets them at a broader industry level, and moves retail and much of construction from a dollar figure onto a headcount. It is a proposal and not law, its comment period was extended to November 20, 2026, and the table in force is still the one to check.

In numbers: Most searcher targets clear the bar easily; the alternative size standard caps at about $20M tangible net worth and $6.5M average net income, well above a typical Main Street deal.

Source: https://searchspheresource.com/glossary/sba-size-standards
Not dated: A definition is editorial: what a term means, why it matters, and an example. None of it reads a source that can go stale, so there is no date to take and a stamped one would be the build time wearing a costume.

Site index for machines: https://searchspheresource.com/llms.txt