The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced last week it had reached a major milestone when its Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) direct borrower forgiveness portal recorded its millionth PPP loan forgiveness application for borrowers seeking forgiveness of loans under $150,000.

"With over one million application submissions, our direct forgiveness portal has already given so many of our smallest businesses the ability to apply for forgiveness quickly and smoothly and move forward with their rebuilding and recovery," said SBA administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman in announcing the milestone achievement. "I encourage those eligible PPP borrowers who have yet to apply to visit www.SBA.gov or contact their lender today."

Since the portal's launch Aug. 4, the SBA has received applications for more than $17 billion of relief from more than a million of America's smallest businesses. SBA reports that in fewer than 45 days, 91% of all loans eligible for direct forgiveness in the 2020 PPP portfolio have been submitting. In addition, 65% of all 2021 PPP loans eligible for direct forgiveness have been submitted as of last week.

According to an SBA news release, PPP borrowers can complete most or all of a forgiveness application using a computer or smartphone. On average, SBA says loan forgiveness portal users can complete and submit forgiveness applications to SBA in about 6 minutes and most receive forgiveness decisions within a week from the date of submission.

The portal may be accessed at https://directforgiveness.sba.gov.

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