Loan forgiveness is a key feature of the CARES Act's Paycheck Protection Program administered by the Small Business Administration. On June 16, the SBA and Department of Treasury released a revised loan forgiveness application and an "EZ" version of the forgiveness application.

Both applications give borrowers whose loans were made prior to June 5 the option of using the original eight-week covered period or an extended 24-week covered period. Consistent with the CARES Act and the PPP Flexibility Act of 2020 (PPPFA), the 24-week covered period applies to loans issued on or after June 5.

The changes to the full application and the EZ version are intended to result in a more efficient process.

The changes to the full forgiveness application also implement the provisions of the PPPFA, which we described in our earlier alert, US Paycheck Protection Program Flexibility Act Relaxes Certain PPP Loan Deadlines + Standards.