Update to SOP 50 45 4 – Surety Bond Guarantee Program Citizenship Requirements
Summary
SBA Procedural Notice, Control No. 5000-877355, published March 9, 2026 and effective April 1, 2026, to SBA employees, surety bond companies and surety bond agencies, updating SOP 50 45 4 on Surety Bond Guarantee Program citizenship requirements. It announces that SBA is incorporating into SOP 50 45 4, Surety Bond Guarantee (SBG) Programs, the policy changes issued in SBA Policy Notice 5000-877134, Citizenship Requirements. The notice sets out the updated policy requirements.
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SBA Procedural Notice
TO: All SBA Employees, Surety Bond CONTROL NO.: 5000-877355
Companies, and Surety Bond Agencies
PUBLICATION: March 9, 2026
SUBJECT: Update to SOP 50 45 4 – Surety Bond
Guarantee Program Citizenship Requirements EFFECTIVE: April 1, 2026
The purpose of this notice is to announce that SBA is incorporating into Standard Operating
Procedure (“SOP”) 50 45 4, Surety Bond Guarantee (SBG) Programs, recent policy changes issued
in SBA Policy Notice 5000-877134, Citizenship Requirements. The updated policy requirements
that 100% of all direct and/or indirect owners of a small business Applicant be U.S. Citizens or
U.S. Nationals who have their Principal Residence in the United States, its territories, or
possessions; or be U.S. Citizens or U.S. Nationals applying for an SBA bond guarantee for work
located in an extraterritorial area under U.S. jurisdiction.
These changes will apply to all surety bond guarantees approved (i.e., issuance of the SBA
guarantee number) on or after April 1, 2026.
This Notice removes from SOP 50 45 4 the SBG Program eligibility of Businesses with ownership
of any percentage by individuals who are:
1) Foreign nationals;
2) Legal Permanent Residents (LPRs); or
3) U.S. Citizens and U.S. Nationals whose Principal Residence is outside the United States, its
territories, or possessions except when applying for an SBA bond guarantee for work
located in an extraterritorial area under U.S. jurisdiction.
SOP 50 45 4 Chapter 5, section 5(c) “Businesses Owned by Non-Citizens” is amended as
follows:
c. Businesses Ownership Eligibility
1) Businesses eligible to receive a surety bond guarantee are limited to businesses owned 100
percent by U.S. Citizens and U.S. Nationals that have their Principal Residence in the
United States, its territories, or possessions. Principal Residence is defined by IRS
Publication 523. Eligible businesses also include those owned 100% by U.S. Citizens or
U.S. Nationals that are applying for an SBA bond guarantee for work located in an
extraterritorial area under U.S. jurisdiction. A business owned by an ineligible person is not
eligible to receive a surety bond guarantee. Ineligible persons include, but are not limited
to, foreign nationals, those granted asylum, refugees, visa holders, nonimmigrant aliens
under 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(15), those under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals
PAGE 1 of 2 EXPIRES: 4 /1/27
SBA Form 1353.3 (4-93) MS Word Edition; previous editions obsolete
Must be accompanied by SBA Form 58
Federal Recycling Program Printed on Recycled Paper
(DACA), undocumented aliens who are in the U.S. illegally, lawful permanent residents
(LPRs), and U.S. Citizens or U.S. Nationals whose Principal Residence is outside of the
United States, its territories, or possessions except when applying for an SBA bond
guarantee for work located in an extraterritorial area under U.S. jurisdiction.
2) U.S. Citizens born in an American territory: Generally, those born in an American territory
are U.S. citizens. This includes but is not limited to the fifty U.S. states, the District of
Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and
the U.S. Virgin Islands, but does not include outlying possessions of the United States. U.S.
Citizens must have their Principal Residence in the United States, its territories, or its
possessions except when applying for an SBA bond guarantee for work located in an
extraterritorial area under U.S. jurisdiction.
3) People born in American Samoa and Swains Island are considered U.S. Nationals at birth
but are not automatically U.S. citizens. 8 U.S.C. § 1408 and 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(29). When
writing a surety bond to a business owned by a non-citizen U.S. National, the Surety/Agent
must collect and retain evidence of the person’s status as a U.S. National (e.g., birth
certificate or passport), Primary Residency, and must enter the U.S. National’s Social
Security Number on the application and into eApps. U.S. Nationals must have their
Principal Residence in the United States, its territories, or its possessions except when
applying for an SBA bond guarantee for work located in an extraterritorial area under U.S.
jurisdiction.
4) Businesses owned by Naturalized Citizens are eligible when their Primary Residence is in
the United States, its territories, or its possessions. No further status verification is required
if an individual is reflected as a U.S. Citizen on the SBA application.
5) Businesses owned by Lawful Permanent Residents (LPRs) are ineligible, regardless of
percentage of ownership.
6) SBA Form 994 Part V must include individual certifications from 100 percent the
individuals who own the concern directly or indirectly through another entity. For an
indirect ownership example, if Jane Doe owns 100 percent of ABC, Inc., and ABC, Inc.
owns 50 percent of the Applicant, Jane Doe is the beneficial owner of 50 percent of the
Applicant.
a. In the event of ownership by a trust, the trustee will certify SBA Form 994 on behalf
of the beneficiaries of the trust. To collect 100% ownership in a scenario of trust
ownership, the trust’s TIN and name should be entered on SBA Form 994. Part V is
completed on behalf of the beneficiaries. The information will be electronically
collected on the Principal Information screen in SBA’s online application system.
Should any individual owners (direct or beneficial) of the trust be ineligible under
this section, the trust makes the Business ineligible in the same manner as the
individual. Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) are considered a trust for the
purpose of program requirements.
Questions
Questions concerning this Notice may be directed to SuretyBonds@sba.gov.
Thomas Kimsey
Associate Administrator, Office of Capital Access
PAGE 2 of 2 EXPIRES: 4/1/27
SBA Form 1353.3 (4-93) MS Word Edition; previous editions obsolete
Must be accompanied by SBA Form 58
Federal Recycling Program Printed on Recycled Paper
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