SBA Trade Certification Requirement for Buyer in Florida?

April 07, 2022

by a searcher in Tampa, FL, USA

Does the SBA have a requirement in the state of Florida (or in broader US) that the buyer has to have the specific trade license (ex. HVAC, plumbing, electric, GC) before the acquisition can close or can the buyer obtain the license after close but within the 12 month seller transition period?

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Reply by a searcher
in Tampa, FL, USA

^redacted‌ - valid point. It just kills me though to be in this situation as a buyer.

In good faith, there is probably not a single person on this site that would not want to obtain that license for themselves as soon as they could to reduce reliance on the seller but hard to relay that sincerity to the SBA.

Have you or anyone else seen messaging or specific "action plans" that will get the SBA comfortable? In FL, for certain licenses, I can "rent" the license from someone else, does not have to be the seller, so in more of a worst case scenario at the end of 12 months if I still did not have the license, I could find someone else to license the business.

Reply by a lender
from University of Missouri in St. Louis, MO, USA

I get the frustration. You could always send something in through general processing and see if the SBA bites on that. Here are some thoughts: 1. figure out a formal agreement to subcontract the license. assume this would have to be through a competitor though so that might not be ideal. 2. Make the "rented" license a formal employee with a contract. I think you would still want to document that the market has capacity to replace this person if he or she leaves, quits, etc. Try to position this as any other commodity and qualify that with data showing the number of license holders who have their services available. Still would want the SBA to sign off that but could have some legs if done properly

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