How Do I Check My Business Credit Score? Step-by-Step Guide

To check your business credit score, you need to go directly to one or more of the four major scoring bodies — Dun & Bradstreet, Experian, Equifax, and FICO — or use a third-party platform that pulls from multiple bureaus at once. There is no single free central source, like there is for personal credit.

The Short Answer

Your business credit score lives across multiple bureaus, not one central place. To get a complete picture, you need to check Dun & Bradstreet, Experian, and Equifax separately — or use a platform that aggregates all three. Free options exist, but most give summaries rather than full scores.

As reported by CNBC, business credit scoring models differ significantly from the consumer models most people are familiar with — including different score ranges and different access rules.

What Is a Business Credit Score?

A business credit score measures how reliably your business pays its financial obligations. Lenders use it to decide whether to approve financing. Vendors use it to set trade credit terms. Insurers sometimes use it to price premiums.

It is not the same as your personal credit score. The two are tracked separately, maintained by different bureaus, and used for different purposes — though in some cases, particularly for newer or smaller businesses, lenders may look at both.

What's often overlooked is that business credit scores are publicly accessible. Unlike personal credit, which requires your consent to pull, anyone — a vendor, a competitor, a potential partner — can check your business credit score without notifying you. That alone is a reason to know what yours says.

How It Differs from a Personal Credit Score

Factor	Personal Credit Score	Business Credit Score
Consent required to access	Yes	No
Standardised across bureaus	Broadly yes (FICO model)	No — each bureau differs
Score range	300–850	Varies by bureau
Tied to individual SSN	Yes	Tied to EIN or DUNS number
Visible to public	No	Yes

How Business Structure Affects Your Credit Profile

Sole proprietors often find that their personal and business finances are treated as one by lenders — especially early on. Once you register as an LLC or corporation with a separate EIN, you can begin building a distinct business credit profile. In practice, most small business owners do not realise this distinction matters until they apply for their first business loan.

The Four Major Business Credit Scoring Models

Not all business credit scores are the same. Different bureaus use different data, different models, and different score ranges. They cannot be directly compared to each other.

Bureau	Score Name	Score Range	Primarily Used By
Dun & Bradstreet	PAYDEX®	1–100	Vendors, suppliers
Experian	Intelliscore Plus℠	1–100	Lenders, creditors
Equifax	Business Credit Risk Score	101–992	Lenders, insurers
FICO	SBSS Score	0–300	SBA lenders

Each of these is generated from different underlying data. A business can have a strong PAYDEX score and a weaker Intelliscore if, for example, it pays its trade vendors promptly but carries higher debt with lenders.

How to Check Your Business Credit Score — Step by Step

This is where most guides fall short. They tell you that bureaus exist, but not how to actually navigate each one. Here is a straightforward walkthrough.

Step 1 — Confirm Your D-U-N-S® Number (Required for D&B)

Before you can check your Dun & Bradstreet score, your business needs a D-U-N-S® number — a unique nine-digit identifier assigned by D&B.

According to Wikipedia, D&B's database contains over 500 million business records worldwide, and the D-U-N-S® number is the core identifier that links a business to its credit file. Many businesses already have one without knowing it.

Go to dnb.com and search for your business. If a profile exists, your D-U-N-S® number is already there. If not, you can request one for free. It can take up to 30 days to process, though D&B offers an expedited option.

Step 2 — Check Your D&B PAYDEX® Score

Once your D-U-N-S® number is confirmed, log in or create an account at dnb.com. D&B offers a free basic business profile with limited data. To access your full PAYDEX® score, you typically need a paid plan.

Note: you need at least three active trade linesreporting to D&B before a PAYDEX® score is generated. If you are just starting out, you may not have a score yet.

Step 3 — Check Your Experian Intelliscore Plus℠

Go to businesscreditfacts.com (Experian's business portal) or experian.com/business. Experian does not offer a free full score — reports start around $39.95–$59.95 for a one-time pull.

The Intelliscore Plus℠ ranges from 1 to 100. Higher is better. A score above 76 is generally considered low risk. Below 25 is considered high risk.

Step 4 — Check Your Equifax Business Credit Score

Go to equifax.com/business and search for your business. Equifax's Business Credit Risk Score runs on a scale of 101–992. A higher score signals lower risk to lenders and insurers.

Full reports are available through Equifax directly, though pricing varies by product tier.

Step 5 — Check Your FICO SBSS Score

The FICO Small Business Scoring Service (SBSS) score is a blended score — it combines your business credit data with your personal credit history. It ranges from 0 to 300.

You cannot check this score directly through FICO as a business owner in the same way lenders can. Some third-party platforms provide access to it through paid plans. Worth noting: the SBA announced in early 2026 that it would sunset the SBSS as a mandatory pre-screening tool for 7(a) Small Loans effective March 1, 2026. Individual lenders may still use it independently, so it remains relevant to understand.

Step 6 — Use a Third-Party Platform to Check All Bureaus

Platforms like Nav let you view credit summaries from Experian, Equifax, and Dun & Bradstreet in one dashboard. The free plan gives a grade and score range — not the full numerical score — but it is useful for a quick directional read.

Paid plans on these platforms give full scores across all bureaus, which saves time and cost compared to purchasing reports from each bureau individually.

Step 7 — Check Through Your Bank

If you hold a business account with Bank of America, their Business Advantage 360 platform provides free access to two D&B scores for eligible clients. Other banks are beginning to offer similar features. Check your online business banking dashboard — this option is underused and genuinely free for qualifying account holders.

Does Checking Your Own Business Credit Score Hurt It?

No. Checking your own business credit score is treated as a soft inquiry and does not affect your score. This applies whether you check directly through a bureau or through a third-party platform.

Third-party checks by lenders or vendors — hard inquiries — are a different matter and can show up on your report. But your own monitoring activity does not count against you.

Free vs. Paid Ways to Check Your Business Credit Score

Method	Cost	Bureaus Covered	Score or Summary	Best For
Nav (free plan)	Free	Experian, Equifax, D&B	Summary + grade	Quick multi-bureau overview
Bank of America Business Advantage 360	Free (eligible clients)	D&B	Two full D&B scores	Existing BofA business clients
D&B Direct (basic)	Free (limited)	D&B only	Partial profile	D&B baseline check
Experian Business (direct)	From ~$39.95	Experian only	Full report	Experian deep dive
Equifax Business (direct)	Paid	Equifax only	Full report	Equifax deep dive
Nav Prime (paid plan)	Paid subscription	All three	Full scores	Ongoing monitoring

Teams managing business credit commonly report that the free summaries are enough to flag problems early, but full scores are necessary when actively preparing for a loan application or negotiating vendor terms.

What Do Business Credit Score Ranges Mean?

D&B PAYDEX® Score

Score Range	Risk Level
80–100	Low risk
50–79	Moderate risk
1–49	High risk

A score of exactly 80 means your business pays on time. To reach 100, you need to consistently pay early. That is a meaningful distinction — and one most business owners do not know going in.

Experian Intelliscore Plus℠

Score Range	Risk Level
76–100	Low risk
51–75	Low-moderate risk
26–50	Medium risk
11–25	High risk
1–10	Very high risk

Equifax Business Credit Risk Score

Equifax's score runs from 101 to 992. Higher scores indicate lower probability of severe delinquency. Equifax does not publish a single universal "good score" cutoff — lenders set their own thresholds depending on loan type and amount.

FICO SBSS Score

Score Range	Interpretation
165–300	Meets or exceeds SBA pre-screen standard (as of June 2025)
140–164	Marginal — may trigger deeper manual review
Below 140	Typically does not pass automated pre-screening

Because this score blends personal and business credit, it rewards businesses that have both a solid track record with vendors and a responsible personal financial history.

What Is Considered a Good Business Credit Score?

Bureau	Score Name	"Good" Threshold
Dun & Bradstreet	PAYDEX®	80 or above
Experian	Intelliscore Plus℠	76 or above
Equifax	Business Credit Risk Score	Higher = lower risk; no fixed cutoff
FICO	SBSS	165+ for SBA pre-screen (as of mid-2025)

What Factors Affect Your Business Credit Score?

Payment History

This carries the most weight across all bureaus. Paying on time matters. Paying early matters more — especially for the PAYDEX® score. Late payments, collections, and charge-offs stay on your business credit report and drag scores down.

Age of Credit History and Trade Lines

Older accounts in good standing improve your score. More active trade lines reporting to bureaus also help — most scoring models want to see at least three.

Debt Usage and Outstanding Balances

Carrying high balances relative to your credit limits signals risk. Keeping utilisation reasonable — ideally under 30% — is broadly accepted practice across business credit scoring models.

Public Records

Liens, judgments, bankruptcies, and UCC filings are all part of your business credit report. A UCC filing itself is not necessarily negative — it just means a lender has a secured interest in a business asset. But active judgments and unresolved liens will hurt your score.

Company Size, Industry, and Firmographic Data

Some scoring models factor in your industry's overall risk profile, your number of employees, and how long your business has been operating. A two-year-old business in a high-default industry will score differently from a ten-year-old business in a stable sector, even with identical payment histories.

What If Your Business Has No Credit Score Yet?

Why Some Businesses Do Not Have a Score

New businesses, sole proprietors who have not separated finances, and businesses with fewer than three reporting trade lines may have no score at all. This is common. It does not mean your business has bad credit — it means the bureaus do not yet have enough data to generate one.

How to Establish Business Credit from Scratch

Register your business formally — LLC or corporation with a separate EIN
Open a dedicated business bank account
Apply for a D-U-N-S® number with Dun & Bradstreet
Open a business credit card or vendor account that reports to bureaus
Ask suppliers you already pay to report your payment history as a trade reference

How Trade References Work

A trade reference is a vendor or supplier willing to confirm your payment history to a bureau. Some bureaus, including D&B, allow you to submit trade references directly. This is one of the faster ways to build a PAYDEX® score when starting from zero.

How Long Does It Take for Scores to Update?

Most bureaus update scores monthly, though the exact cycle varies. After a positive action — like paying off a balance or opening a new trade line that reports — expect to wait 30–90 days before seeing a meaningful change. In practice, building a score from scratch typically takes six months to a year of consistent positive payment activity.

How to Monitor Your Business Credit Score Over Time

There is a practical difference between checking your score once and monitoring it on an ongoing basis.

A one-time check is useful before a loan application or vendor negotiation. Ongoing monitoring — through a bureau subscription or a third-party platform — alerts you to new inquiries, score changes, or unexpected entries like a lien or judgment.

Businesses that are actively growing, applying for financing, or working with new vendors benefit most from monitoring. For a stable, established business with no near-term financing plans, an annual review may be sufficient.

How to Dispute Errors on Your Business Credit Report

Errors on business credit reports are more common than most owners expect — incorrect payment records, outdated public records, or even another business's data appearing on your file.

Each bureau has its own dispute process:

Dun & Bradstreet: Submit disputes through your D&B account portal or contact their customer support team
Experian Business: Use the Business Credit Dispute Center at experian.com/business
Equifax Business: Submit disputes through equifax.com/business or by mail

Disputes typically take 30 days to resolve. Keep records of everything you submit — dates, confirmation numbers, and any supporting documentation. Unresolved errors can quietly drag your score down for months.

How to Improve Your Business Credit Score

Pay on Time — or Early

For PAYDEX® specifically, on-time payment earns you a score of 80. Early payment is the only path to 100. Even for other bureaus, consistent on-time payment is the single highest-impact action you can take.

Build and Maintain Active Trade Lines

Open vendor accounts, business credit cards, or supplier relationships that actively report to bureaus. Three to five reporting trade lines is generally the minimum baseline for a meaningful score.

Keep Debt Under Control

Avoid maxing out business credit lines. High utilisation signals financial stress to bureaus, even if you are paying on time.

Keep Business Information Consistent Across Bureaus

Your business name, address, EIN, and contact information should match exactly across D&B, Experian, and Equifax. Inconsistencies can cause bureaus to fragment your credit file or fail to merge accounts correctly — quietly lowering your score without any payment issue involved.

Separate Business and Personal Finances

Mixing personal and business transactions muddies your credit profile. A separate business bank account and business credit card is the foundational step — and one that many early-stage business owners delay longer than they should.

What Lenders and Vendors Actually See

When a lender or vendor pulls your business credit, they often see a different view than what you access as the business owner. Lenders typically see a full report including trade line history, public records, inquiry history, and trend data — not just a single score number.

Interestingly, the score a lender sees may also differ depending on which bureau they pull from and which scoring model they use. A bank using Experian sees your Intelliscore Plus℠. An SBA lender may use FICO SBSS or its own internal model. A vendor checking payment risk may only look at your PAYDEX®.

This is why maintaining good standing across all bureaus matters — not just the one you happen to check most often.

Conclusion

To check your business credit score, start with your D-U-N-S® number, then pull reports from Dun & Bradstreet, Experian, and Equifax — or use a multi-bureau platform. Free summaries exist, but full scores usually require a paid step. Know your ranges, monitor regularly, and fix errors fast.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can someone check my business credit score without my permission?

Yes. Unlike personal credit, business credit scores are publicly accessible. Vendors, lenders, and other businesses can pull your score without notifying you or requiring your consent.

How long does it take to build a business credit score?

Building a score from scratch typically takes six months to a year of consistent positive payment activity across at least three reporting trade lines.

Does my personal credit score affect my business credit score?

Not directly — but some scoring models, like the FICO SBSS, blend personal and business credit data. Lenders for newer businesses often review both regardless of the model used.

What is a DUNS number and do I need one?

A D-U-N-S® number is a unique nine-digit identifier assigned by Dun & Bradstreet. You need one to build or access a D&B credit profile. You can request one free at dnb.com.

How often should I check my business credit score?

At minimum, check once a year. If you are preparing for a loan, applying for new vendor terms, or actively building credit, quarterly checks — or ongoing monitoring — are more practical.