Feasibility study: what lenders require, what it contains, and when you need one

A feasibility study is an independent analysis of whether a specific project, on a specific site, at a specific budget and capital structure, can achieve its objectives. For a lender that means one thing above all others: whether the project can repay the debt. For a commercial real estate feasibility study prepared for a bank loan, that means one question: can the project repay the debt.

Start a StudyFirst response within 12 business hoursDoes my loan require one?

Michal Mohelsky, J.D., FMVA, Principal, MMCG Invest, LLC. As of October 2026.

What a feasibility study is

One federal regulation defines it, and that definition is the most useful starting point because it is the one an agency reviewer applies.

Feasibility study means a report including an opinion or finding conducted by an independent qualified consultant(s) evaluating the economic, market, technical, financial, and management feasibility of the proposed project or operation in terms of its expectation for success as outlined in appendix A to subpart D of this part.

7 CFR 5001.3, definition of "Feasibility study"

Read it closely and it carries five components and one condition. The condition is independence: a study written by the person who benefits from the answer is not this document. The five components are economic, market, technical, financial and management, and they are the skeleton of every section that follows.

Economic. Cost benefit analysis.
Market. Analysis of the current and future market potential, competition, sales or service estimations including current and prospective buyers or users.
Technical. Analyzing the reliability of the technology to be used and/or the analysis of the delivery of goods or services, including transportation, business location, and the need for technology, materials, and labor.
Financial. Analysis of the operation to achieve sufficient income, credit, and cashflow to financially sustain the project over the long term and meet all debt obligations.
Management. Analysis of the legal structure of the business or operation; ownership, board and management analysis.

Two things share the name and are not this. In project management, a feasibility study is a scoping exercise run before a project charter. In mining, a bankable feasibility study is an engineering stage under codes such as NI 43-101 and JORC, staged as preliminary, definitive and bankable. Neither is what a lender means. If you arrived here looking for the lending sense of bankable, that page is here.

Is a feasibility study required for my loan?

In the rules reviewed on this page, only USDA Rural Development makes an independent feasibility study mandatory, and only above $1,000,000: to a new business under Business and Industry, or to a new entity or an entity conducting a new activity under Community Facilities. SBA and the bank regulators leave it to discretion or to lender policy. Your lender can still require one, and often does.

Which programme is the loan under?

USDA Rural Development, Business and Industry

Is the guaranteed loan more than $1,000,000?

Yes

Is the borrower a new business?

YesRequired by ruleAn independent feasibility study is required by rule.7 CFR 5001.306(a)(3)(i)

NoAt the agency's or lender's discretionNot required by that provision. The Agency may still require one where it cannot find a basis for repayment in the file.7 CFR 5001.303(c)(4)

At the agency's or lender's discretionAt the Agency's discretion, where the lender's analysis does not settle technical feasibility or economic viability.7 CFR 5001.306(a)(3)(ii)

USDA Rural Development, Community Facilities

Is the loan more than $1,000,000 to a new entity, or to an entity conducting a new activity?

Yes

Required by ruleAn independent feasibility study is required by rule, on top of the financial feasibility report every CF file needs.7 CFR 5001.304(a)(4)(i)

At the agency's or lender's discretionA financial feasibility report is still required on every CF file. An independent study is at the Agency’s discretion.7 CFR 5001.304(a)(4)(ii)

SBA 7(a) or 504

Can historical cash flow alone carry the repayment case, without relying on projections?

Yes

Not required by rule; your lender may still askNot required by rule, and unlikely to be asked for. SBA may require one, but nothing triggers it automatically.13 CFR 120.160(b)

No, the case rests on projections

Not required by rule; your lender may still askStill not required by rule. This is where a lender's own credit policy most often asks for one, and where a returned file usually comes back from.13 CFR 120.160(b)

A conventional bank or thrift loan

Is it a development or construction project, or a completed commercial property?

Yes

Not required by rule; your lender may still askNot required by rule. The interagency guidelines say the institution's own policy should establish when a study is needed, so the answer is in your lender's credit policy and not in the regulation.Interagency Guidelines for Real Estate Lending Policies, 12 CFR part 34, subpart D, appendix A; 12 CFR part 208, appendix C; 12 CFR part 365, subpart A, appendix A

Not required by rule; your lender may still askNothing in the real estate lending guidelines reaches it.Interagency Guidelines for Real Estate Lending Policies, 12 CFR part 34, subpart D, appendix A; 12 CFR part 208, appendix C; 12 CFR part 365, subpart A, appendix A

The rule, programme by programme

Every cell in the middle column is the regulation's own words, fetched from the publisher and reproduced without edit.

Programme	What the governing text says	Must or may	Trigger
SBA 7(a) and 504	(b) Appraisals. SBA may require professional appraisals of the applicant's and principals' assets, a survey, or a feasibility study.13 CFR 120.160(b)	May	No trigger. The only codified basis is permissive, and it sits beside appraisals and surveys rather than in a chapter of its own. A lender may still require one as a matter of its own credit policy.Read when SBA lenders order one anyway
USDA B&I, over $1,000,000 to a new business	(i) For guaranteed loans greater than $1,000,000.00 to a new business, a feasibility study prepared by an independent qualified consultant acceptable to the Agency is required. The scope of the feasibility study will be determined by the Agency and is dependent on the complexity of the project and the borrower.7 CFR 5001.306(a)(3)(i)	Must	The loan is greater than $1,000,000.00 and the borrower is a new business as 7 CFR 5001.3 defines it. This is the one place in the rules reviewed here where an independent study is required outright.Read the B&I trigger, and what sits behind the bright line
USDA B&I, $1,000,000 or less	(ii) For loans of $1,000,000.00 or less to new and existing businesses, the Agency may require a feasibility study when the lender's analysis or other borrower information is not sufficient to determine the technical feasibility or economic viability of the project, or if the project will significantly affect the operations of a borrower who is an existing business and its historic cash flow.7 CFR 5001.306(a)(3)(ii)	May	The lender's analysis does not settle technical feasibility or economic viability, or the project will significantly affect an existing borrower's historic cash flow. Note the reach: this paragraph sits inside 5001.306(a), which the section's own lead-in applies to guaranteed loans of more than $600,000. Below that line the application is processed under paragraph (b), which carries no feasibility provision, and the authority to call for a study is the residual one at 5001.303(c)(4).Read the B&I trigger map
USDA, any programme, the residual authority	(4) Feasibility study: If the Agency is unable to determine a basis for successful repayment of a guaranteed loan based on the documentation and analysis of the five feasibility study components provided in the lender's analysis, borrower's business plan, or other project information, or if the proposed project will have significant impacts on existing operations, the Agency may require an independent feasibility study. The elements of an acceptable feasibility study may vary by project scope and should be prepared by a qualified, independent third party using applicable elements of the project, including but not limited to those outlined in appendix A to subpart D of this part.7 CFR 5001.303(c)(4)	May	The Agency cannot find a basis for repayment in what the file already contains, or the project will have significant impacts on existing operations.Read USDA's residual authority
USDA Community Facilities, over $1,000,000 to a new entity or new activity	(i) For guaranteed loans greater than $1,000,000.00 to a new entity or an entity conducting a new activity, a feasibility study prepared by an independent qualified consultant acceptable to the Agency is required. The scope of the feasibility study will be determined by the Agency and is dependent on the complexity of the project and the borrower.7 CFR 5001.304(a)(4)(i)	Must	A new entity, or an existing one conducting a new activity, above the same $1,000,000.00 line. A financial feasibility report is required on every CF file regardless.Read the Community Facilities trigger
USDA REAP, renewable energy systems	(d) Feasibility study. For RES projects only, when deemed necessary by the lender or Agency, an analysis conducted in conformance with the definition of feasibility study found in § 5001.3 and with applicable content in appendix A to subpart D of this part.7 CFR 5001.307(d)	May	Renewable energy system projects only, and only when the lender or the Agency deems it necessary. Most REAP files run on tiered technical reports instead.Read the REAP trigger
Banks and thrifts, real estate lending policy	• Requirements for feasibility studies and sensitivity and risk analyses (e.g., sensitivity of income projections to changes in economic variables such as interest rates, vacancy rates, or operating expenses).Interagency Guidelines for Real Estate Lending Policies, 12 CFR part 34, subpart D, appendix A; 12 CFR part 208, appendix C; 12 CFR part 365, subpart A, appendix A	Policy only	The guidelines tell an institution what its own written policy should establish. They do not require a study on any particular loan. The same sentence appears, character for character, in every agency's version of the guidelines.
EB-5	(B) A copy of a comprehensive business plan showing that, due to the nature and projected size of the new commercial enterprise, the need for not fewer than ten (10) qualifying employees will result, including approximate dates, within the next two years, and when such employees will be hired.8 CFR 204.6(j)(4)(i)(B)	Policy only	The regulation requires a comprehensive business plan where the jobs do not yet exist, and Matter of Ho sets what that plan must contain. It does not require a feasibility study, and the two are not the same document.
HUD multifamily, FHA-insured (MAP)	No market study, other than that which would be provided in the appraisal, is required for projects with 90% or more project-based rental assistance.HUD MAP Guide 4430.G, section 7.5.1(D)	Must	A market study, not a feasibility study, and the quoted sentence is the exception that proves the rule: it is required except where the project has 90 percent or more project-based rental assistance. Its effective date is capped at 120 days to pre-application and 180 days to firm commitment.

Read the full SBA rulebook, which traces credit, appraisal and feasibility from the statute through 13 CFR part 120 to the SOP. Read the full USDA rulebook, which works through the triggers, both feasibility appendices and the loss-claim rules. The blog post on the SBA feasibility study requirement that does not exist takes the SBA half further.

SOP 50 10 8.1, and what this page will not tell you about it

SBA issued SOP 50 10 8.1 by Information Notice 5000-880695, effective October 1, 2026.

The purpose of this Notice is to inform 7(a) Lenders, Certified Development Companies (CDCs), together known as “SBA Lenders,” SBA employees, and Applicants and Borrowers of the 7(a) and 504 Loan Programs of the issuance of Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) 50 10 8.1, Lender and Development Company Loan Programs.

SBA Information Notice 5000-880695, "Issuance of SOP 50 10 8.1"

What this page will not do. This page quotes no sentence of SOP 50 10 8.1 itself. What is below is from the issuing notice, which is public. You will find figures from Appendix 15 quoted confidently elsewhere. We are not repeating them here, because we could not read them at the source, and a regulation quoted from a secondary source is not a regulation quote.

Which SOP version governs your file and what Appendix 15 rewrote for change of ownership are both worked through on the SBA spine. The blog post on what SOP 50 10 8 changed carries the numbered sources.

Feasibility study, market study, appraisal and business plan

Six documents get confused with each other in loan files. Only one of them produces an opinion of value, and only one of them tests whether a specific project works financially.

Deliverable	What it answers	Who usually prepares it	Gives a value opinion	Tests financial viability	Governing standard
Market study	Whether demand exists, and at what price	Market analyst	No	Partly	Programme content rules where one applies
Marketability study	How quickly this specific property would let or sell	Market analyst or appraiser	No	Partly	Appraisal practice where an appraiser prepares it
Highest and best use analysis	Which legal, physical and financial use is most productive	Appraiser	No	No	USPAP, as part of an appraisal
Appraisal	What the property is worth	Certified appraiser	Yes, and only this one	No	USPAP
Feasibility study	Whether this project, on this site, at this budget, can meet its objectives and repay its debt	Independent qualified consultant	No	Yes, this is the point of it	7 CFR part 5001 appendix A where USDA applies
Business plan	How the business will operate	The borrower, usually	No	Less rigorously	Matter of Ho for EB-5; otherwise none

On USPAP. USPAP governs the person acting as an appraiser, not the document type. No programme reviewed on this page requires the feasibility study itself to be USPAP compliant. Where a study contains an opinion of value, that part belongs to a certified appraiser and is governed accordingly. We do not describe our studies as USPAP compliant, because the phrase would be claiming something the standard does not offer.

What a lender-grade study contains

Where USDA applies, the contents are codified. Appendix A to subpart D of 7 CFR part 5001 sets out eight sections, and the five substantive components between them carry 37 enumerated factors.

Executive Summary. Provide an overview to describe the nature and scope of the proposed project, including the purpose, project location, design features, capacity, and estimated capital costs. Include a summary of the feasibility determinations made for each applicable component.
Economic. Cost benefit analysis. 5 factors.
Market. Analysis of the current and future market potential, competition, sales or service estimations including current and prospective buyers or users. 6 factors.
Technical. Analyzing the reliability of the technology to be used and/or the analysis of the delivery of goods or services, including transportation, business location, and the need for technology, materials, and labor. 9 factors.
Financial. Analysis of the operation to achieve sufficient income, credit, and cashflow to financially sustain the project over the long term and meet all debt obligations. 12 factors.
Management. Analysis of the legal structure of the business or operation; ownership, board and management analysis. 5 factors.
Recommendation. Conclude with an opinion and recommendation presented by the consultant.
Qualifications. Provide a resume or statement of qualifications of the author of the feasibility study, including prior experience.

Appendix A is published in the Code of Federal Regulations only as two images, so its text cannot be selected or searched. The wording above is the machine-readable parallel at 7 CFR part 4280, subpart B, appendix D, which carries the same table; it was read against the two appendix A images and they agree in wording. They are not character identical: appendix A drops the terminal full stops and writes "Type of project: service, product or commodity based" in lower case. The factor counts are the same, and they are what the count of 37 above is derived from.

Inside the Market component, the Appraisal Institute's six-step market analysis is the process most lenders expect to see: property productivity, market delineation, demand analysis, supply analysis, equilibrium, and subject capture. A study that jumps to capture without the five steps before it has assumed its own answer.

The projection rule is explicit about how far the numbers must run:

(iii) Projected balance sheets, income statements, and cash flow statements or a financial model starting from the current financial statements through a minimum of two years of the project performing at full operational capacity or stable operations. Based on the type of project or at the discretion of the Agency, financial projections or models may be required from current financial statements up to the end of the term of the guaranteed loan. Financial projections must be supported by a list of assumptions showing the basis for the projections. Projected financial statements must include a pro forma balance sheet projected for guaranteed loan closing.

7 CFR 5001.303(b)(4)(iii)

All 37 factors, component by component are enumerated on the USDA spine, together with the difference between appendix A and the appendix B financial feasibility report that Community Facilities files use. The blog post on all 37 factors of 7 CFR part 5001, enumerated annotates each one.

What makes a study bankable

No agency defines the word. It came from mining and project finance, and in lending it has no technical meaning at all: a study is bankable when it meets the criteria the programme and the lender actually write down.

The preparer is independent, with no financial interest in the outcome.The USDA definition makes independence part of what the words mean.
The preparer’s qualifications are documented, and acceptable to the agency where one is involved.Appendix A closes on Qualifications; 5001.306(a)(3)(i) makes acceptability the Agency’s call.
The content conforms to the programme’s own list.Appendix A to subpart D of part 5001, the five components.
The data is current and the study carries an effective date.HUD caps a market study at 120 days to pre-application and 180 days to firm commitment.
The market area is drawn for this project and the competitive set is named.The Market component of appendix A, and the Appraisal Institute’s delineation step.
The assumptions are listed and reconciled to market evidence.The projection rule requires a list of assumptions showing the basis for the projections.
Projections run through stabilisation, with coverage tested.A minimum of two years of the project performing at full operational capacity or stable operations.
Sensitivity and downside cases are shown.Sensitivity analysis is one of the twelve Financial factors, and the bank guidelines name it in the same breath as feasibility.
The study ends in an explicit opinion.Appendix A closes with Recommendation: an opinion and recommendation presented by the consultant.

The bankable feasibility study page takes each of these criteria further.

How lenders stress-test the numbers

A lender does not read your base case. It reads what happens to coverage when the one input you are least sure about moves against you.

Which input that is depends on the asset:

Hotel. Average daily rate and occupancy, separately and together, through the ramp.
Gas station and truck stop. Fuel gallons and inside sales margin, which move on different drivers.
Self-storage, multifamily and RV storage. Lease-up months, because the ramp is where coverage is thinnest.
Assisted living and skilled nursing. Occupancy against a codified ceiling: USDA caps the projection at 90 percent for these facilities.
Every asset class. Capture rate, which is the assumption most often asserted rather than derived.

Two coverage questions get conflated. Business coverage asks whether the project services its own debt. Global coverage asks whether the sponsor services everything, including this. A study that answers only the first leaves the credit memorandum to answer the second.

On DSCR thresholds. No coverage minimum is stated on this page as an SBA or USDA requirement, because none of the regulations quoted here sets one. Your lender's credit policy sets the minimum. Any page that tells you the SBA requires a particular ratio should be asked which paragraph says so.

The numbers an SBA file must clear are set out on the SBA spine, with the authority for each.

Why studies get sent back

Studies rarely come back because the conclusion was wrong. They come back because the file cannot show how the conclusion was reached.

What the reviewer found	Why it is fatal rather than cosmetic
The preparer was not independent	A consultant with an ownership, financing or fee interest in the outcome does not meet the definition, so the document fails before anyone reads it.
The preparer was not acceptable to the agency	Acceptability is the Agency’s judgment, not the lender’s, and it is stated in the rule that requires the study.
Assumptions were asserted rather than supported	The projection rule requires a list of assumptions showing their basis. A number with no line back to evidence is the single most common reason a file comes back.
The data was stale	Where a programme sets a window, an expired effective date is a formal defect rather than an argument.
The market area was generic	A county or a metro chosen because the data was easy is not a trade area drawn for this site.
There was no sensitivity analysis	A single base case does not answer what the lender is actually asking, which is what happens if it is wrong.
The format did not follow the programme	A CF financial feasibility report to appendix B is not a B&I feasibility study to appendix A, and supplying one where the other is required is a deficiency on the regulation’s own terms.
Occupancy was projected above a codified ceiling	USDA caps projected occupancy for assisted living, skilled nursing and similar residential facilities at 90 percent in the feasibility analysis.
The supply pipeline was missing	Competing units under construction and in planning change the absorption answer, and a study that counts only standing stock overstates capture.
The site was never inspected	A study whose author never stood on the site invites the reviewer to ask what else was done at a desk.

What a study must contain to survive USDA review and the same question on the SBA side are worked through on the spines.

Who orders it, who pays, and why independence matters

The borrower normally engages and pays for the study. That is exactly why independence has to be built into the engagement rather than asserted at the end of it.

Confirm the scope and the preparer with the lender before work begins. Where the agency has to find the consultant acceptable, finding that out afterwards is expensive.

For USDA Business and Industry files, the cost is an eligible use of the guaranteed loan itself:

(c) B&I projects. Guaranteed loan funds for a project receiving a loan guarantee under § 5001.1 may be used to pay the expenses identified in paragraphs (c)(1) through (12) of this section.
(10) Feasibility studies and business plans.

7 CFR 5001.121(c)(10)

Independence is not a courtesy. It is in the definition of the document, and where the Agency requires a study it also requires the preparer to be an independent qualified consultant acceptable to it. A preparer with an ownership, financing or success-fee interest in the project does not meet that description.

What independence means to USDA, including the one-firm question, is on the USDA spine.

Cost, timeline and shelf life

Our studies start at $4,900, and standard delivery is 9 to 16 business days, with rush from 5 business days.

What moves the fee, in roughly the order it matters:

Asset class. A single-tenant box and a 120-key hotel are not the same modelling problem.
Programme. A USDA file has a codified content list to satisfy; a conventional file has the lender's.
New build against acquisition. A ground-up project has no operating history to anchor to.
Data availability. Thin markets cost more to measure, not less.

The cost page carries the schedule by asset class and programme.

Shelf life

Only one programme reviewed here sets a window, and it is worth knowing precisely because it is a formal defect rather than a matter of taste:

The effective date of completion of the market study for purposes of a pre-application submission must be within 120 days prior to the submission of the pre-application package.
The date for submission of the market study for a firm commitment application must be within 180 days prior to the issuance of the Firm Commitment.

HUD Multifamily Accelerated Processing (MAP) Guide 4430.G, section 7.5.2, "Effective Date"

For SBA and USDA, the regulations quoted on this page set no equivalent window, so your lender decides how old a study may be.

Portability

A study addressed to named intended users may need a reliance letter before a different lender will accept it, and a change of programme can put the content out of format. That is practice rather than rule, and it is worth asking about before you assume a study travels.

Why independent analysis pays for itself

There is no statistic linking weak feasibility work to loan defaults, and this page is not going to invent one. The case is made from what is measured: how many new businesses survive, how often large projects run over, and what building costs are doing while you decide.

51.4%

of new establishments were still open five years on

US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Business Employment Dynamics, table 7. The cohort that opened in the year to March 2020, measured at March 2025.

Nine out of ten

megaprojects have cost overruns

Bent Flyvbjerg, "What You Should Know about Megaprojects and Why: An Overview", Project Management Journal, 2014. His own sentence, from his own paper.

+5.15%

building costs, year over year, to the second quarter of 2026

Turner Building Cost Index. Turner prints the quarterly change and an annual-average change, but no second-quarter-on-second-quarter figure, so this one is computed from the index values in its own second-quarter releases for 2025 and 2026.

$44.8bn

guaranteed by the SBA in fiscal 2025, across 84,400 loans

SBA news release 25-83, published on the last day of the fiscal year. Later SBA statements round the same total to $45 billion.

Put those together and the argument is an ordinary one about sequencing. Roughly half of new establishments are gone within five years. Large projects overrun as a rule rather than as an exception. Construction costs move while a decision is being made. A study is the cheapest point at which any of those can still change the plan, and the only one at which the answer is still free to be no.

Figures as of October 2026. Each carries the document it was read from and the date it was read.

By asset class, programme and place

The rules above are the same everywhere. What changes is which number the lender pushes on, and that is a function of the asset.

By asset class

By programme

By place

Where we work, state by state.

Where we work

Every state page carries that state's programme offices, its lender landscape and the data we hold for it.

How MMCG does it

We build the study in the order the regulation lists, and we deliver the model with it, so a reviewer can follow any number back to the assumption that produced it.

MMCG Invest built and operates MMCG Analytics, the data platform behind its studies. The trade area, the competitive set and the supply pipeline are measured on parcel and building records rather than described, which is what makes the assumption list reconcilable to something.

Michal Mohelsky, J.D., FMVA

Principal, MMCG Invest, LLC.

About Michal Mohelsky, about the firm and how we work. Where our research has been cited.

Questions we are asked

Does the SBA require a feasibility study?

No. No federal rule requires one for any class of SBA loan. The only codified basis is 13 CFR 120.160(b), which says SBA may require a professional appraisal, a survey or a feasibility study. A lender or CDC may still require one under its own credit policy, and for a projection-led case it often will.

When is a feasibility study actually required by rule?

In the rules reviewed here, only USDA Rural Development makes an independent study mandatory: for Business and Industry guaranteed loans over $1,000,000 to a new business, and for Community Facilities loans over $1,000,000 to a new entity or a new activity. Everything else is agency or lender discretion.

Who pays for a feasibility study?

The borrower normally engages and pays for it, which is why independence has to be structural rather than assumed. For USDA Business and Industry files the cost is an eligible use of guaranteed loan funds. Confirm with the lender before work begins that the scope and the preparer will be accepted. For what a study costs rather than who bears it, see the home page.

Can I write my own feasibility study?

Not where one is required. The USDA definition requires an independent qualified consultant, so a study written by the borrower does not meet it. For a conventional loan there is no rule against it, but a lender reading a projection prepared by the person who benefits from it will discount it accordingly. For choosing an outside preparer, see the home page.

What happens if a feasibility study comes back negative?

It is a finding, not a verdict on the sponsor. A negative conclusion usually identifies which assumption fails and by how much, which is what makes it useful: resize the project, change the site, restructure the capital stack, or stop before the money is committed. That is cheaper than discovering the same thing in year two.

What is the difference between a feasibility study and a market study?

A market study asks whether demand exists and at what price. A feasibility study takes the market answer and tests whether this specific project, at this budget and this capital structure, can meet its objectives and service its debt. The comparison table above sets out all six deliverables side by side.

Is a feasibility study the same as an appraisal?

No, and they are not interchangeable in a loan file. Only an appraisal produces an opinion of value, and only a certified appraiser may produce one. A feasibility study tests financial viability and produces an opinion on whether the project works. Many files need both, for different reasons.

Does a feasibility study have to be USPAP compliant?

USPAP governs the person acting as an appraiser, not the document type. No programme reviewed here requires the feasibility study itself to be USPAP compliant. If a study contains an opinion of value, that part belongs to a certified appraiser and is governed accordingly.

What is a feasibility period in real estate?

It is a contract term, not a study. A feasibility or due diligence period is the window in a purchase agreement during which a buyer can investigate and walk away. A feasibility study is often commissioned inside it, but the two words mean different things.

What is the difference between PFS, DFS and BFS?

Those are mining terms: preliminary, definitive and bankable feasibility study, as staged under reporting codes such as NI 43-101 and JORC. They describe engineering confidence levels for a mineral project. They have no application to an SBA, USDA or bank real estate loan file.

How current does a feasibility study have to be?

It depends on the programme, and only where one says so. HUD caps a market study at 120 days before a pre-application and 180 days before the firm commitment. SBA and USDA set no equivalent window in the rules reviewed here, so the lender decides how old a study may be.

What DSCR does a feasibility study have to show?

No coverage figure is set by the regulations reviewed on this page, so none is stated here as an SBA or USDA requirement. Your lender’s credit policy sets the minimum, and it varies by programme, asset class and whether the case rests on history or on projections.

Can one study be used with a different lender?

Sometimes, but treat it as a question rather than an assumption. A study addressed to named intended users may need a reliance letter before another lender will accept it, and a programme change can put the content out of format. This is practice rather than rule.

What does a lender-grade feasibility study contain?

Where USDA applies, the content list is codified: an executive summary, the economic, market, technical, financial and management components, a recommendation and the preparer’s qualifications. Those five components carry 37 enumerated factors between them. The section above sets out the order and links to the full list.

What a study costs, in money: answered on the home page, and the cost page carries the schedule by asset class.
How long a study takes: answered on the home page.
How to choose a consultant: answered on the home page.

Start with the rules that apply to your file.

Start a StudyFirst response within 12 business hoursSee what we know about your project location

Sources

Every regulation quoted above, with the document it was taken from and the date it was retrieved. Where the reader's link and the retrieval source differ, both are named.

13 CFR 120.160(b)Retrieved 2026-09-24 from the Government Publishing Office's official eCFR bulk XML for title 13, at govinfo.gov.
7 CFR 5001.3, definition of "Feasibility study"Retrieved 2026-09-24 from the Government Publishing Office's official eCFR bulk XML for title 7, at govinfo.gov.
7 CFR 5001.3, definition of "New business"Retrieved 2026-09-24 from the Government Publishing Office's official eCFR bulk XML for title 7, at govinfo.gov.
7 CFR 5001.303(b)(4)(iii)Retrieved 2026-09-24 from the Government Publishing Office's official eCFR bulk XML for title 7, at govinfo.gov.
7 CFR 5001.303(c)(4)Retrieved 2026-09-24 from the Government Publishing Office's official eCFR bulk XML for title 7, at govinfo.gov.
7 CFR 5001.303(c)(10)Retrieved 2026-09-24 from the Government Publishing Office's official eCFR bulk XML for title 7, at govinfo.gov.
7 CFR 5001.303(c), lead-inRetrieved 2026-09-24 from the Government Publishing Office's official eCFR bulk XML for title 7, at govinfo.gov.
7 CFR 5001.304, lead-inRetrieved 2026-09-24 from the Government Publishing Office's official eCFR bulk XML for title 7, at govinfo.gov.
7 CFR 5001.304(a)(4)(i)Retrieved 2026-09-24 from the Government Publishing Office's official eCFR bulk XML for title 7, at govinfo.gov.
7 CFR 5001.304(a)(4)(ii)Retrieved 2026-09-24 from the Government Publishing Office's official eCFR bulk XML for title 7, at govinfo.gov.
7 CFR 5001.306, lead-inRetrieved 2026-09-24 from the Government Publishing Office's official eCFR bulk XML for title 7, at govinfo.gov.
7 CFR 5001.306(a)(3)Retrieved 2026-09-24 from the Government Publishing Office's official eCFR bulk XML for title 7, at govinfo.gov.
7 CFR 5001.306(a)(3)(i)Retrieved 2026-09-24 from the Government Publishing Office's official eCFR bulk XML for title 7, at govinfo.gov.
7 CFR 5001.306(a)(3)(ii)Retrieved 2026-09-24 from the Government Publishing Office's official eCFR bulk XML for title 7, at govinfo.gov.
7 CFR 5001.307(d)Retrieved 2026-09-24 from the Government Publishing Office's official eCFR bulk XML for title 7, at govinfo.gov.
7 CFR 5001.121(c)(10)Retrieved 2026-09-24 from the Government Publishing Office's official eCFR bulk XML for title 7, at govinfo.gov.
7 CFR 5001.121(c), lead-inRetrieved 2026-09-24 from the Government Publishing Office's official eCFR bulk XML for title 7, at govinfo.gov.
Interagency Guidelines for Real Estate Lending Policies, 12 CFR part 34, subpart D, appendix A; 12 CFR part 208, appendix C; 12 CFR part 365, subpart A, appendix ARetrieved 2026-09-24 from the Government Publishing Office's official eCFR bulk XML for title 12, at govinfo.gov.
8 CFR 204.6(j)(4)(i)(B)Retrieved 2026-09-24 from the Government Publishing Office's official eCFR bulk XML for title 8, at govinfo.gov.
7 CFR part 5001, subpart D, appendix A, "Elements of an Acceptable Feasibility Study"Retrieved 2026-09-24 from the Government Publishing Office's official eCFR bulk XML for title 7, at govinfo.gov.
SBA Information Notice 5000-880695, "Issuance of SOP 50 10 8.1"Retrieved 2026-09-24 from the notice page at sba.gov.
HUD Multifamily Accelerated Processing (MAP) Guide 4430.G, section 7.5.2, "Effective Date"Retrieved 2026-09-24 from the HUD MAP Guide 4430.G, 955 pages, at hud.gov.
HUD MAP Guide 4430.G, section 7.5.1(D)Retrieved 2026-09-24 from the HUD MAP Guide 4430.G, 955 pages, at hud.gov.
HUD MAP Guide 4430.G, section 7.5.1(C)Retrieved 2026-09-24 from the HUD MAP Guide 4430.G, 955 pages, at hud.gov.
HUD MAP Guide 4430.G, section 7.5.2, "Effective Date", second sentenceRetrieved 2026-09-24 from the HUD MAP Guide 4430.G, 955 pages, at hud.gov.
US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Business Employment Dynamics, table 7. The cohort that opened in the year to March 2020, measured at March 2025.Retrieved 2026-09-24.
Bent Flyvbjerg, "What You Should Know about Megaprojects and Why: An Overview", Project Management Journal, 2014. His own sentence, from his own paper.Retrieved 2026-09-24.
Turner Building Cost Index. Turner prints the quarterly change and an annual-average change, but no second-quarter-on-second-quarter figure, so this one is computed from the index values in its own second-quarter releases for 2025 and 2026.Retrieved 2026-09-24.
SBA news release 25-83, published on the last day of the fiscal year. Later SBA statements round the same total to $45 billion.Retrieved 2026-09-24.