Military Reservist Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program

The purpose of the Military Reservist Economic Injury Disaster Loan program (MREIDL) is to provide emergency working capital to eligible small businesses to meet ordinary and necessary operating expenses that the business is unable to meet because an essential employee was to active duty in their role as a military reservist. These loans are intended only to provide the amount of working capital needed by a small business to pay its necessary obligations until operations return to normal after the essential employee is released from active military duty. The purpose of these loans is not to cover lost income or lost profits. MREIDL funds cannot be used to take the place of regular commercial debt, to refinance long-term debt or to expand the business.

Federal law requires SBA to determine whether credit in an amount needed to accomplish full recovery is available from non-government sources without creating an undue financial hardship to the applicant. The law calls this credit available elsewhere. Because the Military Reservist Economic Injury Disaster Loans are taxpayer subsidized, Congress intended that applicants with the financial capacity to fund their own recovery should do so and therefore are not eligible for MREIDL assistance.

Credit Requirements: SBA's assistance is in the form of loans, as such SBA must have a reasonable assurance that such loans can and will be repaid based on satisfactory credit and repayment ability.

Collateral Requirements: Collateral is required for all MREIDLs over $50,000, to the extent it is available. Real estate is the preferred form of collateral. SBA will not decline a loan for lack of collateral, but SBA will require the borrower to pledge collateral if it is available.

The interest rate on MREIDL loans is no more than 4% per year. The maximum maturity for such business disaster loans is 30 years. However, the actual maturity is based on your ability to repay the loan. The maximum loan amount is $2.0 million.

For more information about this program, please visit the Military Reservists Economic Injury Loans page.