Routes that match your answers
Every result links to a live guide that states the threshold it matched. Read the guide before you apply anywhere. Lenders make the credit decision, not this page.
Free tool · Canada · Thresholds from the live loan guides
Small business loan eligibility checker
Answer four questions about your business and see which Canadian loan routes match the thresholds the programs publish. This checker routes you to the right guide. It does not approve anything, and no lender sees your answers.
The CSBFP revenue test uses estimated gross annual revenue for the fiscal period in which the loan is approved, or projected revenue for a startup's first full fiscal year.
Futurpreneur's age window is firm at 18 to 39. The other routes have no age test.
CSBFP term loans fund real property, equipment, leasehold improvements, intangible assets, working capital costs, and the registration fee. Lines of credit fund working capital costs and the registration fee only.
Farming businesses are excluded from CSBFP. They have their own federal program under the Canadian Agricultural Loans Act.
How the matching works (thresholds only, from the loan guides)
CSBFP. Startups or existing businesses with gross annual revenues of $10 million or less, structured as sole proprietorships, partnerships, corporations, or cooperatives. Farming businesses are excluded. Maximum $1.15 million per borrower: up to $1 million in term loans plus up to $150,000 in a line of credit. You apply through a participating bank or credit union, not to the government.
Futurpreneur. Up to $75,000, ages 18 to 39, Canadian citizen or permanent resident, relevant training or experience, viable business idea with a business plan and cash-flow forecast. Mentorship for up to two years is part of the deal. Additional financing of up to $50,000 from BDC may be available on top.
BDC and conventional. With a year or more of revenue, BDC's online small-business loan application handles amounts up to $350,000, with larger financing arranged directly. With two or more years of revenue, strong credit, and often collateral, conventional bank term loans open up without any federal program.
Community Futures. Rural and small-town founders can also check the local Community Futures Development Corporation, which lends to businesses that cannot get conventional bank financing and sets its own loan sizes.
Sources: the figures on this page are reused from the live loan guides only — How to Get a Small Business Loan in Canada, the CSBFP application-process guide, and the CSBFP vs SBA comparison — which cite ISED's CSBFP pages and Futurpreneur's program terms. No new figure was added here.
Next step: read the full step-by-step guide: How to Actually Get Business Funding in Canada