The SBA FOIA loan files are written in codes — CHGOFF, EXEMPT, PLP — that the data dictionary defines tersely and almost nobody explains in plain English. This page does: every status code, the fields lenders actually use, and the program terms behind them, each in a couple of sentences with the lender's angle attached.
The loanstatus column is the first filter on any cut of the file — it separates live borrowers from history. The codes:
The loan has been fully repaid. The paidinfulldate column records when.
Lender's angle: a recent payoff is ambiguous in an interesting way — it can mean the borrower refinanced with a competitor, sold the business, or simply finished the schedule and now has debt capacity. Recent-PIF lists are a legitimate prospecting cut of their own.
The loan defaulted and was written off as a loss after recovery efforts. chargeoffdate and grosschargeoffamount carry the details.
Lender's angle: the standard screen-out. Note the charge-off is recorded against the loan, not the person — principals sometimes resurface at new entities, which is one reason briefs verify the operating business and not just the name.
The approval was cancelled before the money was used — by the borrower or the lender. No live loan resulted from this row.
Lender's angle: filter it out of borrower counts. But don't discard the signal entirely: a cancelled approval still tells you the business went through an SBA application recently — they wanted financing.
Approved, not yet disbursed. The loan may still fund — money just hasn't moved as of the file's as-of date.
Lender's angle: not a refinance target (there's nothing to refinance yet), but a marker of very recent credit activity at that business.
The SBA withholds this loan's detailed status from the public file. In practice, an EXEMPT row is generally an open, disbursed loan.
Lender's angle: this is the code that confuses everyone, and it's the most important one — the EXEMPT rows are the active universe. When you screen for open, seasoned, refinance-eligible borrowers, you're mostly looking at EXEMPT.
Seen mainly in older extracts: the loan defaulted and collateral recovery is underway, ahead of a final charge-off determination.
Lender's angle: treat like CHGOFF for prospecting purposes — screen out.
The current 7(a) file has 43 columns; our FOIA data reference documents all of them. These are the ones that carry the prospecting weight:
The total approved loan amount on day one. It is not the current balance — the public file never shows that.
Lender's angle: the starting point for the amortization math. We wrote up how to estimate the remaining balance from this field, the term, the rate, and elapsed time.
The portion of the approval the SBA guarantees; the lender carries the rest unguaranteed. See guaranty for the standard percentages.
The rate at origination — not necessarily the rate today. For variable loans, the current rate has moved with every Prime change since.
Lender's angle: initial rate minus Prime on the origination date reconstructs the borrower's spread; spread plus today's Prime is what they're paying now. That delta against your offer is the refinance pitch.
F for fixed, V for variable. Most 7(a) loans are variable over WSJ Prime.
Lender's angle: a V loan originated at a rate peak is still paying for it — those rows are the heart of a refinance screen.
The loan term in months. Real-estate-heavy 7(a) deals run long (up to 25 years); working-capital deals typically 10.
Lender's angle: with amount, rate, and elapsed time, the term is the last input the balance estimate needs.
When money first moved. Prefer it over approvaldate as the start of the amortization clock; blank or far from the approval date is a flag worth checking.
Whether the facility is a revolving line of credit rather than a term loan.
Lender's angle: revolvers don't amortize — exclude them before running any balance math.
The borrower's industry under the North American Industry Classification System, as a code and a label.
Lender's angle: the cleanest way to cut the file to sectors your credit box likes — much more reliable than keyword-matching business names.
Whether the guaranteed portion of the loan was sold on the secondary market — common, since selling the guaranteed strip is core economics for many SBA lenders.
The SBA's flagship program: general-purpose small-business loans — working capital, acquisitions, equipment, real estate, refinancing — made by private lenders and partially guaranteed by the SBA. Loans up to $5 million; most are variable-rate over Prime.
The fixed-asset program: long-term, fixed-rate financing for real estate and major equipment, typically structured as a bank loan (~50%), a CDC debenture (~40%), and a borrower down payment (~10%). Published in its own FOIA files alongside the 7(a) data.
A nonprofit lender certified by the SBA to administer the debenture portion of 504 loans in partnership with a bank.
Delegated authority for experienced SBA lenders: PLP lenders approve, service, and liquidate 7(a) loans without prior SBA sign-off, which is materially faster. Shows up in the processingmethod field.
Lender's angle: a loan processed PLP tells you which competitor desks in your market move fast.
A streamlined 7(a) subprogram: faster turnaround and more lender autonomy in exchange for a lower (50%) SBA guaranty. Shows up in the subprogram field.
The share of the loan the SBA repays the lender if the borrower defaults. Standard 7(a): 85% for loans of $150,000 or less, 75% above that; SBA Express: 50%. The dollar figure is the sbaguaranteedapproval field.
The base rate most variable 7(a) loans float over, surveyed from major banks and published by the Wall Street Journal. SBA rules cap the spread a lender can charge over the base rate.
Lender's angle: a loan written at Prime + 2.00% has repriced with every Prime move since origination — which is why the origination date, not the initial rate alone, tells you whether a borrower is overpaying today.
How long a loan has been outstanding. A seasoned loan has payment history — and, because early amortization is mostly interest, still carries most of its principal.
Lender's angle: on a 10-year loan around 10%, roughly 80% of principal remains after 3 years. That's the arithmetic that makes seasoned loans refinance targets — the balance-math guide works the example.
When a guaranteed loan defaults, the lender can ask the SBA to honor the guaranty and buy back the guaranteed portion. Purchase precedes final liquidation and any charge-off you see in the data.
Charged off: the loan defaulted and was written off as a loss after recovery efforts. chargeoffdate and grosschargeoffamount carry the details. For prospecting it's the standard screen-out.
The SBA withholds that loan's detailed status from the public file. In practice an EXEMPT row is generally an open, disbursed loan — which makes EXEMPT the code refinance prospecting mostly runs on.
COMMIT is approved but not yet disbursed — it may still fund. CANCLD was cancelled before the money was used — it never became a live loan. Neither is an active borrowing relationship today.
Work by elimination: drop PIF, CHGOFF, CANCLD, and COMMIT. What remains — predominantly EXEMPT rows — is generally the open, disbursed universe. Confirm against the official data dictionary published with the files.
Paid in full, with the date in paidinfulldate. A recent PIF can mean a refinance elsewhere — or capacity for new credit.
Curt already speaks this file. Describe the borrower you want — industry, geography, an active SBA loan — and get verified candidates and cited, banker-ready briefs with the refinance math run.
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