SBA lenders approved 1,318 7(a) loans to chiropractic offices between October 2023 and June 2026, about $348 million from 275 lenders. The median loan was $149,350, in line with the national $150,300, at a median rate of 10.25%, the same as nationally. Start-ups were 22.2% of loans, an unusually high share, and acquisitions 14.3%, above the national 10.4%, at a median of $255,500. Lenders decide on the doctor's license and production history, the mix of cash, insurance and injury-case revenue, and whether patients stay with the practice after a sale.
| Measure | Offices of Chiropractors | All industries |
|---|---|---|
| SBA 7(a) loans approved | 1,318 | 162,355 |
| Median loan | $149,350 | $150,300 |
| Middle half of loans | $50,000 – $302,000 | $50,000 – $500,000 |
| Loans of $1 million or more | 4.9% | 12.9% |
| Median rate at approval | 10.25% | 10.25% |
| Middle half of rates | 9.25% – 11.25% | 9.3% – 11.25% |
| Acquisitions (change of ownership) | 188 (14.3%) | 16,849 (10.4%) |
| Median acquisition loan | $255,500 | $693,000 |
| Lenders that made these loans | 275 | 1,648 |
| SBA 504 loans (real estate, equipment) | 122 | 16,714 |
Approvals FY2024 – FY2026 to date (1 Oct 2023 – 30 Jun 2026), cancelled loans excluded. Source: SBA 7(a) and 504 FOIA loan records, as of June 30, 2026.
- SBA 7(a) loans approved
- 1,318 (Oct 2023 – Jun 2026)
- Median loan
- $149,350 (national $150,300)
- Median rate at approval
- 10.25% (national 10.25%)
- Start-ups
- 22.2% of loans
- Acquisitions
- 188 loans (14.3%), median $255,500
- Median jobs supported
- 3
A national-average median, and an unusual mix underneath it
Offices of chiropractors (NAICS 621310) are practices run by doctors of chiropractic, from solo offices to multi-doctor clinics. SBA lenders approved 1,318 7(a) loans to them from FY2024 through June 2026, worth $348,125,200. 275 lenders approved at least one, a wide pool for an industry of this size: chiropractors do not depend on a handful of specialist lenders.
| Figure | Chiropractic offices | National | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median loan | $149,350 | $150,300 | A typical request for the SBA as a whole |
| Middle half of loans | $50,000 to $302,000 | A quarter of loans were $50,000 or less | |
| 90th percentile | $565,300 | Large loans are uncommon | |
| Loans of $1 million or more | 64 (4.9%) | Uncommon: few practices need this much | |
| Median rate | 10.25% (middle half 9.25% to 11.25%) | 10.25% | Exactly national |
| Fixed-rate share | 16.2% | About one loan in six carries a fixed rate | |
| Start-ups | 22.2% of loans | New practices are a core part of the lending | |
| Acquisitions | 188 (14.3%), median $255,500 at 9.87% | 10.4% of loans | Practices are bought often, for modest sums |
| SBA Express | 31% of loans | Small equipment and working capital requests | |
| SBA 504 | 122 loans, median $352,500 | Doctors buying their office |
Why lenders fund so many new practices
Start-ups were 22.2% of chiropractic loans. Many lenders avoid start-ups; in chiropractic the risk is easier to read than in most businesses. A licensed chiropractor who has worked as an associate has a track record of patient visits and collections, and the cost of opening an office, a lease, a build-out, tables and imaging, is modest and quotable. What the lender is really underwriting is the doctor.
- License and experience. A current state license and a history of treating patients, ideally as an associate in the same market. The owner's resume supports SBA Form 1919's management experience. See SBA Form 1919.
- Equity. SBA requires a start-up to inject at least 10% of total project costs. Lenders verify where it comes from, usually with bank statements. See equity injection.
- Projections the lender can believe. Patient visits ramping from zero, tied to the doctor's own history and the local market, with enough working capital in the loan to carry the months before collections catch up.
- Personal credit and the household. With no business history, the global test, SBA's 1.0x coverage including the owners' personal obligations, often decides the loan.
The loan size matters to the rate. SBA caps variable 7(a) rates at the base rate plus 6.5% for loans of $50,000 or less and plus 6% from $50,001 to $250,000. With a quarter of chiropractic loans at $50,000 or less, the higher tiers are common. See SBA maximum interest rate.
How a lender reads chiropractic revenue
Two practices with the same collections can look very different to an underwriter, because chiropractors are paid in several ways that turn into cash at different speeds and with different certainty.
| Revenue source | How it arrives | How the lender treats it |
|---|---|---|
| Cash-pay visits and care plans | At the visit, or prepaid for a series of visits | Strong, but prepaid plans are owed in future visits, not earned yet |
| Commercial insurance | Claims paid after submission, with denials and adjustments | Counted at what is collected, not what is billed |
| Medicare and other government payers | Claims, for a limited range of services | Counted at collections; compliance history matters |
| Personal injury cases | Paid when the case settles, often under a lien or letter of protection | Uncertain in timing and amount; heavily discounted or excluded from receivables |
| Retail products and memberships | At sale or monthly | Counted if recurring and documented |
Personal injury work is the item most likely to slow an approval. A practice that books large injury-case charges carries receivables that may settle for less than billed, years later, or not at all. Lenders look at collections actually received on closed cases, not the balance outstanding. A collections report by payer, rather than a production report, answers most of these questions in advance.
Lenders underwrite collections, not charges. Bring the collections report by payer.
Buying a chiropractic practice
188 loans, 14.3% of the total, financed a change of ownership, at a median of $255,500 and a median rate of 9.87%. Practices are bought more often than the average business and for modest prices. That median sits just above the $250,000 line where SBA requires an independent business valuation: where the amount financed, less appraised real estate and equipment, exceeds $250,000, a qualified appraiser must value the practice, and the loan for the purchase cannot exceed that value. Many smaller purchases fall below it. See the SBA valuation requirement.
The central question is whether patients follow the practice or the doctor. In a complete change of ownership the seller may not stay on as an owner, officer or employee, but may consult for up to 12 months, or up to 24 months under SOP 50 10 8.1 from 1 October 2026. For a chiropractor handing over patients who have seen the same doctor for years, that period and how it is used matter to the lender. Who may own the practice depends on the state: some states limit ownership of a chiropractic practice to licensed chiropractors, and a lender will want a buyer who can treat the patients, or employ a doctor who can.
- Equity of at least 10% of total project costs; a seller note counts toward up to half of it only on full standby for the life of the loan
- No earnout to the seller, however uncertain patient retention is
- From 1 October 2026: financial due diligence on every change of ownership, 1.25x coverage on historical results, and amortization over no more than 10 years except for real estate
See financing a chiropractic practice acquisition for the deal in detail.
Buildings and equipment
122 SBA 504 loans, at a median of $352,500, went to chiropractors buying their offices, more than the median acquisition. A 504 is typically 50% bank, 40% CDC and 10% borrower (15% for a new business), and the practice must occupy at least 51% of an existing building. Equipment, tables, decompression units and imaging, can be financed inside a 7(a) or separately; equipment loans are secured by what they buy and leave the SBA loan for the rest. See equipment financing versus SBA 7(a).
Preparing a chiropractor's SBA file
SBA's standard list comes first: business tax returns for 2–3 years, a P&L and balance sheet with a year-to-date P&L through last month-end, a debt schedule with copies of notes being refinanced, and personal tax returns and a personal financial statement for each owner of 20% or more. For a chiropractic practice, add:
- Collections by payer for the last two full years, separating cash-pay, insurance, government and injury cases
- An aging of open injury-case receivables with the history of what settled cases actually paid
- The doctor's state license and the practice's registrations
- For a start-up, the lease or letter of intent, build-out and equipment quotes, and a month-by-month projection
- For an acquisition, the letter of intent, the target's latest full year of figures, never an older year, and active patient counts
Practices carrying merchant cash advances need a plan for them before an SBA lender will act: SBA will not refinance an active advance. See refinancing cash advances for healthcare providers. For working capital without a term loan, see lines of credit for medical practices.
Transparent builds the full lender package, financing model, lender presentation, blind teaser and underwriting memo, in a day once the documents are in. On SBA loans the lender pays Transparent, not the borrower. Related practices: therapists and audiologists and other health practitioners.
Common questions
- Can a new chiropractor get an SBA loan to open a practice?
- Yes, and many do: start-ups were 22.2% of chiropractic 7(a) loans from October 2023 to June 2026. Lenders look for a current license, experience treating patients, at least 10% equity injection, and projections tied to the doctor's own history.
- What is a typical SBA loan for a chiropractic office?
- The median was $149,350, with the middle half between $50,000 and $302,000 and only 4.9% at $1 million or more. The median rate was 10.25%.
- How much does it cost to buy a chiropractic practice with an SBA loan?
- The median acquisition loan was $255,500 at 9.87%. The buyer brings at least 10% equity, and an independent valuation is required where the amount financed, less appraised real estate and equipment, exceeds $250,000.
- Do personal injury receivables count for an SBA loan?
- Lenders are cautious with them. Injury cases pay when they settle, often for less than billed, so lenders look at what closed cases actually collected and discount or exclude the open balance.
- Does the buyer of a chiropractic practice have to be a chiropractor?
- It depends on the state: some limit ownership of a chiropractic practice to licensed chiropractors. Where a non-chiropractor may own one, lenders still want to see who will treat the patients the price is paying for, and how that doctor is kept.