State Assistance
Florida Small Business Emergency Bridge Loan: Apply Here
APPLICATION DEADLINE - March 9, 2024
The Florida Small Business Emergency Bridge Loan program provides short-term, zero-interest working capital loans that are intended to “bridge the gap” between the time a disaster impacts a business and when a business has secured longer term recovery funding such as federally or commercially available loans, insurance claims or other resources.
Loans are available up to $50,000 per eligible applicant. Loans made under this program are short-term, personal loans using State of Florida funds – they are not grants and must be repaid.
Eligibility & Requirements:
- Your business must be located in Florida
- Your business must have been established prior to January 9, 2024
- Your business must be located in an eligible county. Businesses in Bay and Jackson counties are eligible to apply.
- Your business must have been economically injured or physically damaged by the January Severe Weather Event.
- Your business must employ 100 employees or less.
- Credit Score of 600 or above. *580 for agriculture and aquaculture businesses.
- You must have repaid all outstanding previous Emergency Bridge Loans.
Loan Terms
- Max Amount: up to $50,000
- Term: One year
- Loans may only be made to individuals who own at least 51% of an Eligible Business.
- The Borrower(s) and Eligible Business must serve as guarantors for the loan.
- Only one loan may be made per Eligible Applicant.
Ineligible Businesses include short term rentals, those engaged in illegal activities, loan packaging, speculation, multi-sales distribution, gambling, investment or lending or where the owner is on parole.
Required Documents
The following documents are required for all owners on the application to be considered complete:
- A copy of the owner(s) driver's license(s) or passport(s) for all owners on the application. This must include the front and back of the document.
- Current Business Tax Return, Most Current Year (All Pages) at a minimum, previous year’s Federal income tax returns for the applicant’s business, including all schedules, such as Form 1040, Form 1065, Form 1120, and Form 1120S (as applicable).
- Current Personal Tax Return, Most Current Year (All Pages) for all owners on the application.
- Documentation showing minimum of 2 employees – independent contractors or 1099s do count as employees. Documentation can be copies of employees’ W-2s, IRS Form 941 and/or Employer's Quarterly Federal Tax Return.
- Copy of a voided check
IRS transcripts are accessible at https://www.irs.gov/individuals/get-transcript
Additional Information
You will need to complete all sections and upload all required documents for your application to be considered complete and proceed to the review and loan decision process.
If you have any additional questions regarding FloridaCommerce's loan programs, please call 1-833-832-4494 or email EmergencyBridgeLoan@commerce.fl.gov.
