Washington has finally put creators on the small-business map, but not every creator gets the same welcome. According to the Riverfront Times‘ Bryce Canyon, the U.S. Small Business Administration announced on October 15 that qualifying content creators fall under NAICS code 5121, Motion Picture and Video Industries, for SBA lending and contracting. The catch for adult creators is buried in rules that are much older than the announcement.

What the SBA actually changed

According to Tubefilter‘s James Hale, it’s the first time the agency has given digital creators a classification of their own. The Creators Guild of America, which worked with the SBA on the change, says creators already qualified for support but lacked clear guidance on which industry code fit businesses that produce, edit, distribute, market and monetize content across several platforms.

The guidance covers filmmakers, video producers, podcasters, streamers, gamers, digital publishers, social-media entrepreneurs and creative agencies. Creators are told to start with 5121 and then pick the six-digit code that best matches their main activity. “For the first time, the SBA is recognizing these enterprising content creators within our small-business framework,” SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler said in a statement Tubefilter quoted.

The story kept spreading this week. The Business Journals reported that the classification opens access to millions of potential borrowers, and in a piece on Yahoo Finance, Emma Cortes Ellendt noted that the new guidance clarifies how creator-led businesses fit into the SBA’s existing lending and contracting framework rather than creating a new program.

Why creators need it

Canyon points to a 2025 Visa report that found 68 percent of surveyed creators see themselves as small business owners, yet 86 percent fund their operations with personal money and only 19 percent use business credit or debit cards. Just 28 percent had tapped specialized creator funding, and 47 percent leaned on friends or family. Daniel Abas, president of the Creators Guild of America, summed it up: “Content creators are small businesses, and always have been.”

The SBA is also taking comments until November 20 on a broader size-standards rule, including whether to create a permanent industry exception just for creators.

Where OnlyFans creators stand

Here’s the part that matters to this site’s readers. The SBA’s announcement doesn’t mention adult content, but long-standing SBA loan rules bar businesses that present live performances of a prurient sexual nature or earn more than a minimal share of revenue from prurient sexual material. As Canyon writes, how that applies to OnlyFans creators will likely depend on what they sell. Plenty of creators on the platform, from athletes to comedians, post nothing explicit. Those who do are likely shut out of the loan programs no matter which code they choose.

Canyon also argues that the bigger roadblock sits with payment processors, banks and lenders, which still lag behind the government in treating creators like regular businesses. A classification code doesn’t help a creator whose bank account gets closed without explanation.

The takeaway

The new code is real progress for creators who want to borrow like any other small business, and it’s worth knowing about if you run a non-explicit page. Adult creators shouldn’t expect an SBA loan anytime soon, though. If that bothers you, the comment period runs through November 20, and it’s the rare moment when the agency is asking creators what they think.

Image: AI-generated illustration