Here’s a question I’ve been getting more and more, and it’s not the one you’d expect from people who run businesses. It’s some version of: “The SBA says I owe this. A collector is circling. Who do I even call?”
Let me tell you what almost nobody stops to ask first.
Just because the SBA says you owe the money doesn’t mean you actually do — or that you owe what they say.
Millions of small-business owners took an SBA EIDL — the Economic Injury Disaster Loan — to survive COVID. Those were a lifeline when the world shut down. Now they’re in repayment, the SBA’s hardship break has wound down, and defaulted loans are getting handed to the U.S. Treasury to collect. As of April 2026, the SBA had shipped 562,000 pandemic loans off to Treasury, and it’s been sending delinquent EIDLs over since last fall.
And in the rush to collect on that mountain, the details get sloppy. I’ve spent 30 years watching how collection machines work — I ran a credit counseling organization, and I’ve documented financial predators the whole way. When a government agency processes hundreds of thousands of files at once, mistakes happen. The amount can be wrong. They can try to collect from the person when only the business was on the hook. They can come after you for a personal guarantee you never actually signed.
The detail that changes everything
Here’s the one most borrowers don’t know: on COVID EIDL, a personal guarantee was only required for loans over $200,000. If your loan was $200,000 or less and you didn’t sign a personal guarantee, the SBA’s claim is generally limited to your business assets — not your house, not your personal savings, not your retirement.
So when a collector implies they can take everything you own over a $90,000 EIDL, the right reaction isn’t panic. It’s: “Show me what I actually signed.” That’s not splitting hairs. That’s the difference between losing your home and losing nothing personal at all. And it’s exactly the kind of thing a scared person, staring at an official-looking letter, will never think to question on their own.
This is too nuanced for a general lawyer — or for you alone
This is why I keep landing in the same place: you don’t want just any attorney, and you definitely don’t want a “debt relief specialist” who isn’t a lawyer at all. You want someone who actually does SBA and federal debt-collection work — who knows how to read the loan file, challenge the amount, demand the documents, and force the SBA to prove its case instead of just accepting the number on the letter.
The questions that matter here are specific: Was a personal guarantee even required? Was it actually signed? Is the balance right? Has the debt been properly transferred to Treasury? What are your hearing rights, and what’s the deadline? A generalist won’t know to ask those. A specialist will.
The good news nobody mentions: your lawyer can be anywhere
And here’s the part that’s a genuine relief, because it means you’re not stuck with whoever happens to be in your town:
Because this is a federal matter, the attorney usually doesn’t have to be licensed in your state. Under the Agency Practice Act (5 U.S.C. § 500), a lawyer in good standing in any state can represent you before a federal agency like the SBA or Treasury. So the best SBA-debt specialist for your situation might be three states away — and that’s fine. (The one exception: if your case lands in a specific federal court — say, a bankruptcy filing — local court rules can apply, and your attorney handles that.)
That matters. It means you can go find someone who does this all day, instead of settling for the only lawyer in your zip code who’s even heard of an EIDL.
And about those “we’ll make it disappear” calls
The moment Treasury started collecting, a swarm of “SBA loan relief” outfits appeared, promising to wipe out your debt for an upfront fee. I know this playbook cold — it’s the same advance-fee con, rebranded for a new crisis. Three quick gut-checks before you pay anyone:
First, confirm they’re actually a lawyer. Look them up at your state bar — status, year admitted, discipline history. A “consultant” or “specialist” who isn’t a licensed attorney can’t represent you before the SBA, Treasury, or a court. Period.
Second, run from upfront fees and guarantees. Nobody can promise to settle your loan for “pennies on the dollar.” And the FTC rule that bans advance fees protects consumer debt — your EIDL is business debt, so those outfits may not be covered at all. You have weaker protection here, not stronger. Scrutinize harder.
Third, remember who the SBA is. It’s the creditor. It will never charge you to apply and will never represent you against itself. Anyone emailing from an address that isn’t an official sba.gov one, promising “forgiveness for a fee,” is telling you exactly who they are.
I wrote the full playbook on GetOutOfDebt.org — every attorney type, the bankruptcy and settlement reality, your Treasury hearing rights and deadlines, and the complete scam-spotting checklist. You can read it here: How to Find an Attorney to Help With Your SBA EIDL Loan.
If you took an EIDL and you’re lying awake over it, hear me on this: a letter saying you owe money is a claim, not a verdict. Make them prove it. You ran a business through a once-in-a-century disruption — that took nerve, not recklessness. Don’t let a scary letter or a smooth-talking “specialist” rush you into paying something you might not even owe.
And if you know another business owner getting these notices, forward this to them. The reminder that “you might not actually owe this” could be the most valuable thing anyone tells them this year.
— Steve
Everything here comes from 30 years of helping people through exactly this. But it’s input for your decision, not the decision itself. Talk to a licensed attorney who knows SBA debt, look hard at your numbers, and choose what serves your future.