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USDA Business and Industry Loan Guarantees.

USDA guarantees qualifying lender loans for rural businesses, including real estate, equipment, modernization, acquisitions, inventory, and eligible refinancing.

Offered byUSDA Rural Business-Cooperative Serviceverified 2026-07-10

Overview

What it does.

A Chester borrower approaches a commercial lender, which applies to USDA Rural Development for the guarantee. The lender underwrites the project, sets the rate, and remains the direct creditor; the program can serve businesses, nonprofits, cooperatives, and some public or individual borrowers.

Best for: Larger rural business projects that need lender financing for facilities, equipment, modernization, or expansion.

Eligibility

Who and what may qualify.

Eligible applicants

  • Eligible lenders as direct applicants
  • For-profit or nonprofit businesses, cooperatives, public bodies, tribes, and individuals as eligible borrowers for a lender's guaranteed loan

Applicants excluded by the source

  • Borrowers or projects outside eligible rural areas except limited regulatory exceptions
  • Businesses and uses prohibited by 7 CFR part 5001

Eligible uses

  • Business development, conversion, enlargement, repair, or modernization
  • Commercial or industrial land, buildings, and infrastructure
  • Machinery, equipment, supplies, and inventory
  • Eligible debt refinancing
  • Business acquisition that maintains operations and creates or saves jobs

Uses excluded by the source

  • Lines of credit
  • Owner-occupied or rental housing
  • Golf courses, gambling facilities, churches, and fraternal organizations
  • Most agricultural production unless an exception applies

Application

How to start.

  1. Discuss the project with a lender experienced in USDA guarantees
  2. Confirm the project address and use with USDA Rural Development Illinois
  3. Have the lender prepare and submit the guarantee application

Timing: Eligible lenders may submit applications from October 1 through September 30 on an ongoing basis.

Planning notes

Limits to account for.

  • USDA does not lend directly to the business under this program
  • Rural address eligibility and job benefits must be documented
  • Collateral, credit, environmental, and underwriting requirements apply

Can be combined with eligible public and private financing when liens, collateral, environmental review, and duplicate-cost rules are coordinated.

Evidence

Official sources.