Title 15 › Chapter CHAPTER 116— - CORONAVIRUS ECONOMIC STABILIZATION (CARES ACT) › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER I— - KEEPING AMERICAN WORKERS PAID AND EMPLOYED › § 9011
The Administrator will pay the principal, interest, and fees on certain small-business loans affected by COVID‑19 so borrowers do not have to make those payments for set periods. Covered loans are: loans guaranteed under section 636(a) (including Community Advantage but not the loan added by section 1102 paragraph 36), loans under title V of the Small Business Investment Act of 1958, and loans made by intermediaries using funds under section 636(m). For loans approved before March 27, 2020 and not on deferment, the Administrator pays for 6 months starting with the next payment due. Extra payments then begin with the first payment due on or after February 1, 2021: most loans get 3 more months, and certain firms with NAICS codes 61, 71, 72, 213, 315, 448, 451, 481, 485, 487, 511, 512, 515, 532, or 812 get an extra 5 months after that. Loans of the Community Advantage type or intermediary loans get 8 months starting on or after February 1, 2021. Similar timing rules apply if a loan was on deferment. Loans made March 27, 2020 through six months later, and loans approved February 1, 2021 through September 30, 2021, get 6 months from their first payment due. Payments must start within 30 days of the first due date, relieve the borrower of that obligation, and generally must be paid by the 15th of the month. No monthly payment covered by these extra periods may exceed $9,000; any excess may be added by the lender as interest to be paid at loan end. The Administrator will monitor funds and, if needed, proportionally cut the number of months and report the plan to Congress before doing so. The Administrator must encourage regulators not to force lenders to raise reserves because of these payments, waive maximum loan-term limits when lenders extend maturities during the year after March 27, 2020, and delay some required site visits. Sale of a loan does not stop payments. The Administrator may set minimum maturities for programs, and a borrower may get this help for only one loan made in the March 27 window described above. The Administrator must publish information within 14 days and guidance within 21 days after the Economic Aid to Hard-Hit Small Businesses, Nonprofits, and Venues Act is enacted, send lenders borrower NAICS codes by March 1, 2021, mail each borrower an explanatory letter within 30 days of that Act, provide outreach, and report to Congress by the 15th of each month with data on participation. Up to $17,000,000,000 is authorized to carry out these payments.
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Commerce and Trade — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
Legislative History
Reference
Citation
15 U.S.C. § 9011
Title 15 — Commerce and Trade
Last Updated
Apr 6, 2026
Release point: 119-73