About the National ARC Authorization

Version 2009, released 6/15/2009 -- This version is the initial version of the SBA Authorization Wizard released to implement Section 506 of the "American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009."  The Section 506 loan program is referred to as "America's Recovery Capital Loan Program."  Within the Authorization the program may be abbreviated as "ARC."

The National ARC Authorization ("Authorization") consists of the National ARC Authorization Boilerplate document ("Boilerplate") and the ARC Wizard ("Wizard"). It must be used for SBA ARC Authorizations. The Boilerplate contains the mandatory national standard language.

The Boilerplate is the reference document pertaining to the Authorization. Besides the standardized text itself, it contains a 'Read Me First' section providing general information about the Authorization.

The Wizard is a document automation tool based on the Boilerplate. The ARC Wizard ("Wizard") was automated using Microsoft Word and has been designed to run in Word 2003 (11).The Wizard is compatible to a limited degree with Word 2000 (9), Word 2002, and Word 2003 (11). SBA cannot effectively support compatibility issues relating to versions of Word other than Word 2003 (11), which means Word 2007 (12) is not supported. SBA upgraded to Word 2003 (11) during 2006. Version "2009" of the ARC Wizard has been programmed in Visual Basic for Applications (VBA).

The installation program will install all Wizards in Word 2000 through Word 2003, although operation of the Wizard will be subject to compatibility issues.

The Wizard is a technical tool intended to make it easier for SBA Loan Officers and lenders to create authorizations based on the Boilerplate.  It is not an expert system with lots of checks and balances.  Use of the Wizard or any other automation tool does not release lenders from their responsibility to ensure that the authorizations they create comply with the Boilerplate