The U.S. Small Business Administration Answer Desk

Check out the U.S. Small Business Administration. They have a lot of free seminars, programs & resources to help you start your small business.
The Answer Desk can help point you in the right direction.
SBA is ready to respond to your questions about their programs and services, and to try and help you with your small business problems and concerns.

To reach SBA by Mail:

US Small Business Administration
409 3rd Street, SW
Washington, DC 20416

To reach SBA by phone or e-mail:

SBA Answer Desk
1800-U-ASK-SBA (1800-827-5722)
Send e-mails to: answerdesk@sba.gov
Answer Desk TTY: (704) 344-6640
[Spanish]


The SBA Answer Desk is the only national toll-free telephone service providing information to the public on small business problems and concerns; moreover, this service provides general information about SBA programs and other programs available to assist the small business community. Because of the volume of comments and questions they receive each day, they may be unable to immediately respond to all of your calls or messages. A reply to your e-mail message (answerdesk@sba.gov) may take up to five working days (typically Mon - Fri except holidays).

Business Information Assistants are available to speak directly with you between the hours of 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM (eastern time) by calling the Answer Desk at 1-800-U-ASK-SBA (1-800-827-5722). Outside of these hours, you may hear a recording of the information 24 hours, seven days a week.

In most cases, your calls and e-mails will go to one of the many Business Information Assistants who are educated in all aspects of SBA's Programs and Services.

Whether you are starting a business or operating an established business, the US Small Business Administration has a variety of programs to assist you. Free one-on-one counseling is also available locally to help entrepreneurs and potential entrepreneurs in the areas of financing, management technology, government procurement, and other business related areas.

Before you write or call, you might save time by reviewing the following:

Disaster Loans: Please Note: To obtain Disaster Loan Program information or to receive a status update on your disaster loan request, please call the customer service line at 1-800-659-2955 from 8:00 AM to 9:00 PM (EST), Mon - Fri and 9:00 AM to 9:00 PM (EST), Saturday or email: disastercustomerservice@sba.gov.

Dynamic Small Business Search system/CCR issues: e-mail pronet@sba.gov, call (202) 205-9984,
or Fax (202) 481-5881

HUBZone issues: General e-mail for HUBZone: hubzone@sba.gov -- For those needing an explanation of the eligibility criteria (application questions), call (202) 205-7663; for those needing assistance with a technical issue, call (202) 205-7302; for HUBZone contracting questions, call (202) 205-6457; and, the after-business-hours (eastern time) referral number for HUBZone is: (202) 205-8885.