1. Summary

SBA.gov's Loans & Grants Search API provides access to a collection of
links to Federal, state, and local financial assistance programs that help
small businesses get started or expand operations. Each program is categorized
to several attributes, including specialized types of financing (e.g., start-up
loans for women entrepreneurs).

The API is RESTful and output formats are available in XML and JSON.
There is a DTD for the XML output available.

2. Request Methods

Federal Programs

URL template:

http://api.sba.gov/loans_grants/federal.FORMAT

Example URL:

http://api.sba.gov/loans_grants/federal.xml

Parameters:

FORMAT

Either xml or json, case sensitive.

Programs for a specific State

URL template:

http://api.sba.gov/loans_grants/state_financing_for/STATE_ABBREVIATION.FORMAT

Example URL:

http://api.sba.gov/loans_grants/state_financing_for/ny.xml

Parameters:

STATE_ABBREVIATION

The two-letter postal code for the state. This is case insensitive.

FORMAT

Either xml or json, case sensitive.

Programs for a specific State

URL template:

http://api.sba.gov/loans_grants/federal_and_state_financing_for/STATE_ABBREVIATION.FORMAT

Example URL:

http://api.sba.gov/loans_grants/federal_and_state_financing_for/ny.xml

Parameters:

STATE_ABBREVIATION

The two-letter postal code for the state. This is case insensitive.

FORMAT

Either xml or json, case sensitive.

Programs by State, Industry and/or Specialty

URL template:

http://api.sba.gov/loans_grants/STATE_ABBREVIATION/for_profit/INDUSTRY/SPECIALTY.FORMAT

Example URL:

http://api.sba.gov/loans_grants/ny/for_profit/agriculture/exporting-green.xml

Parameters:

STATE_ABBREVIATION

The two-letter postal code for the state. This is case insensitive. If you wish to search across all states, use “nil” here.

INDUSTRY

One of the following industries (case insensitive, URL-encoded). If you wish to search across all industries, use “nil” here.

• Agriculture
• Child Care
• Environmental Management
• Health Care
• Manufacturing
• Technology
• Tourism

SPECIALTY

One of the following specialties (case insensitive). If you wish to search for more than one specialty, you may list multiple specialties delimited by a hyphen. If you wish to search without regard to any specialties, use “nil” here.

• general_purpose - Financing programs for a wide variety of activities related to starting a business
• development - Financing programs for a wide variety of activities related to developing or expanding an existing business
• exporting - Financing programs for small businesses wanting to export their goods or services in foreign markets
• contractor - Financing programs to assist government contractors or those seeking to do business with a government agency
• green - Financing programs to assist small businesses adopt energy efficient and other sustainable, “green” business practices
• military - Financing programs to assist military veterans and members of the military community
• minority - Financing programs to assist minority owned small businesses
• woman - Financing programs to assist woman owned small businesses
• disabled - Financing programs to assist disabled small business owners
• rural - Financing programs to assist small businesses located in rural areas
• disaster - Financing programs to assist small businesses recovering from economic or natural disasters

FORMAT

Either xml or json, case sensitive.

3. Response Format

XML Format

The XML response is well-documented in the XML DTD for this document type.
The document root element's tag-name is <grant_loans>. Each record within the document is contained within
a <grant_loan> element, containing sub-elements as detailed in the JSON Format documentation below. Each of
these sub-elements contains its relevant data as Parsed Character Data.

JSON Format

The JSON response consists of an array of anonymous objects, each of which represents a grant or loan.
Each of these objects has the following properties: