How to Check Your Business Credit Score: A Step-by-Step Guide

Your business credit score is checked through three major bureaus — Experian, Dun & Bradstreet, and Equifax — plus FICO's SBSS score. You can go directly to each bureau's website, or use a third-party platform to pull all scores at once. Most checks cost between $0 and $70 depending on the method.

What Is a Business Credit Score?

A business credit score is a numerical measure of how reliably your business pays its bills. Lenders use it to decide whether to approve financing. Suppliers use it to set trade credit terms — net-30, net-60, and so on. Insurers sometimes use it to set commercial premiums.

It is not the same as your personal credit score. The two are calculated separately, by different bureaus, using different data. What's often overlooked is that unlike personal credit, business credit scores are not private — as noted in Wikipedia's overview of business credit reports, these reports are used by anyone seeking to assess credit risk, including lenders, insurers, and other businesses, without requiring the owner's consent.

In practice, most small business owners are surprised to discover their business has a credit profile they've never actively managed.

How Business Credit Scores Differ from Personal Credit Scores

Feature	Personal Credit Score	Business Credit Score
Score range	300–850 (FICO)	Varies by bureau (1–100 or 0–300)
Consent required to access	Yes	No
Who can view it	Lenders with permissible purpose	Anyone
What it reflects	Personal financial behavior	Business payment history and financial data
Standardized across bureaus	Broadly comparable	Not standardized — cannot be compared across bureaus

The Major Business Credit Bureaus — Scores, Ranges, and Who Uses Them

There are four scoring systems worth knowing. Each uses different data and different scales — a score of 75 means something entirely different depending on which bureau issued it.

Bureau	Score Name	Range	Primary Users	What It Measures
Experian	Intelliscore Plus	1–100	Lenders, suppliers	Overall credit risk; payment behavior
Dun & Bradstreet	PAYDEX	1–100	Vendors, suppliers	Payment timeliness relative to terms
Equifax	Business Credit Risk Score	101–992	Lenders, insurers	Likelihood of severe delinquency
FICO	SBSS (Small Business Scoring Service)	0–300	SBA lenders	Blended business + personal credit risk

Experian Intelliscore Plus (1–100)

Higher scores indicate lower risk. A score above 75 is generally considered low risk. Over 800 variables can affect this score, including tradelines, public filings, new account activity, and key financial ratios. Paying consistently on time is the most direct way to build it.

Dun & Bradstreet PAYDEX (1–100)

This one is heavily weighted toward payment timing. A score of 80 means you pay on time. For a perfect 100, you need to pay early — not just on time. You need at least three open tradelines reporting to D&B before a PAYDEX score is generated. Many newer businesses don't have one yet.

Equifax Business Credit Score (101–992)

Equifax uses a broader numeric range than the others. Scores above 700 are generally viewed as lower risk. Equifax also produces a Business Failure Score (separate from the credit risk score), which some lenders use when evaluating long-term risk.

FICO SBSS Score (0–300)

This is the one most SBA loan applicants encounter. It blends business and personal credit data. According to CNBC's guide on checking your business credit score, lenders rely on this score as a key pre-screening tool for small business loan applications.

The SBA previously required a minimum passing score for its 7(a) Small Loan pre-screening process — that threshold was raised over time and the mandatory SBSS requirement was sunset by the SBA as of March 2026, though many lenders continue to use the score independently.

What You Need Before You Check Your Business Credit Score

Before you log on to any bureau's website, gather this information. Missing any of it slows the process down significantly.

• Legal business name — exactly as registered, not a trade name or DBA
• Business address — current registered address
• EIN (Employer Identification Number) — issued by the IRS
• DUNS Number — required specifically for D&B; free to obtain at dnb.com
• Business phone number — used for identity verification in some cases
• State of incorporation or registration

If your business is a sole proprietorship without a formal registration, some bureaus may link your profile to your personal information instead.

How to Check Your Business Credit Score — Bureau by Bureau

How to Check Your Experian Business Credit Score

1. Go to businesscreditfacts.com (Experian's business credit portal) or experian.com/business
2. Enter your business name and location to locate your profile
3. Choose a report type — a basic CreditScore Report starts at $39.95; a one-time ProfilePlus Report runs around $69.95
4. Create an account and complete payment
5. Your report and score are available immediately after purchase

Experian does not currently offer a free business credit score without a paid product or subscription.

How to Check Your D&B PAYDEX Score

1. Go to dnb.com and navigate to the business credit section
2. Search for your business by name or DUNS number
3. If you don't have a DUNS number, request one for free — it typically takes up to 30 days to process
4. Purchase a credit report or sign up for a CreditMonitor subscription to access your PAYDEX score
5. D&B also offers a free "business credit snapshot" with limited information, which is worth checking first

Note: If your business has fewer than three tradelines reporting to D&B, no PAYDEX score will exist yet.

How to Check Your Equifax Business Credit Score

1. Go to equifax.com/business and navigate to business credit reports
2. Search for your business by name and location
3. Purchase a one-time business credit report
4. Reports include your Business Credit Risk Score and, in some cases, a Business Failure Score

Equifax does not have a widely advertised free-access option for business scores at the time of writing.

How to Check Your FICO SBSS Score

The FICO SBSS score is not directly accessible to business owners through a public consumer-facing portal. In practice, most small business owners find out their SBSS score only when a lender pulls it as part of a loan application. Some third-party platforms include it in paid plans.

Free vs. Paid Business Credit Score Options

Method	Cost	Bureaus Covered	Best For
Experian direct (one-time report)	$39.95–$69.95	Experian only	One-time check before a loan
D&B credit snapshot	Free (limited)	D&B only	Quick overview with no commitment
D&B CreditMonitor	Paid subscription	D&B only	Ongoing monitoring
Equifax direct report	Paid	Equifax only	Lender-focused risk review
Nav (free tier)	Free	Experian, Equifax, D&B (summaries)	Broad overview across bureaus
Nav Prime (paid)	Paid subscription	All 3 + FICO SBSS	Full scores + monitoring
Bank of America Business Advantage 360	Free for BofA clients	D&B (two scores)	BofA business banking clients only

How to Check All Three Bureau Scores in One Place

Third-party platforms aggregate scores from multiple bureaus in a single dashboard. Nav is one commonly used option — its free tier gives grade-level summaries from Experian, Equifax, and D&B, while its paid plan unlocks full numeric scores including the FICO SBSS.

The practical advantage here is time. Logging into three separate bureau portals, maintaining separate accounts, and reconciling reports from different formats is tedious. Aggregators reduce that friction — though the tradeoff is that you're working through an intermediary rather than the source directly.

How to Check Another Business's Credit Score

Business credit reports are not private. If you want to assess a vendor, supplier, or potential partner before extending credit or entering a contract, you can pull their business credit report.

• Experian allows you to search and purchase reports on any U.S., Canadian, or international business
• D&B offers business reports on companies in their database
• Both charge per-report fees similar to what you'd pay for your own report

This is standard practice in trade credit decisions. Most credit managers routinely pull supplier and customer reports before agreeing to extended payment terms.

Is Checking Your Business Credit Score a Hard or Soft Inquiry?

Checking your own business credit score does not negatively affect it. Business credit inquiries work differently from personal credit inquiries — there is no hard/soft distinction that penalizes self-checks.

Third parties checking your business credit also do not damage your score, though their inquiry may appear in your report. This is different from personal credit, where multiple hard inquiries can temporarily lower your score.

What Happens If Your Business Has No Credit Score Yet?

Newer businesses often have no score at all — and that's not the same as having a bad score. It simply means there isn't enough data yet for a bureau to generate one.

To start building a scoreable credit profile:

1. Register your business formally — LLC, corporation, or partnership with a registered address
2. Get an EIN from the IRS
3. Obtain a DUNS number from D&B (free)
4. Open a dedicated business bank account
5. Apply for a business credit card — use it regularly and pay in full
6. Work with vendors that report to bureaus — net-30 vendor accounts are a common first step

It typically takes six months to a year of active reporting before a meaningful score is generated, though this varies by bureau and activity level.

What Factors Affect Your Business Credit Score?

Payment history carries the most weight across all bureaus. Beyond that, the contributing factors vary slightly by scoring model, but the following are consistently relevant:

• Payment history — on-time, early, or late payments to vendors and creditors
• Age of credit history — how long your business accounts have been active
• Debt and utilization — total outstanding balances relative to available credit
• Public records — liens, judgments, bankruptcies
• Industry risk — some industries are statistically riskier; scores may reflect that
• Company size — revenue, number of employees, years in operation
• Number of tradelines — more accounts reporting generally supports a stronger score

What's often overlooked is the industry risk factor. Two businesses with identical payment histories can have different scores simply because one operates in a higher-risk sector.

One-Time Check vs. Ongoing Monitoring — Which Do You Need?

A one-time check is fine if you're preparing for a specific event — a loan application, a new vendor relationship, or an annual review. It gives you a snapshot.

Ongoing monitoring makes more sense if you're actively building credit, applying for financing multiple times a year, or want to catch inaccuracies early. Most bureaus and third-party platforms offer subscription-based monitoring with alerts for changes, new inquiries, or public record filings.

In practice, businesses that apply for credit regularly tend to benefit more from monitoring. For a business that rarely takes on new debt or vendors, an annual one-time check is usually sufficient.

What to Do After You Check Your Business Credit Score

If your score is strong, document it. Lenders and suppliers sometimes ask for recent reports, and having one on hand speeds up negotiations.

If your score is low or missing, don't panic — it's fixable, but it takes time. Start with the basics: make sure all existing accounts are reporting, pay everything on time (or early for D&B), and avoid carrying high balances. Disputes for inaccurate information can be filed directly with each bureau.

Either way, checking was the right first step. Most small business owners go years without looking.

Conclusion

To check your business credit score, go directly to Experian, D&B, or Equifax — or use a third-party platform to see all scores at once. Know your score ranges, understand what each bureau measures, and check at least once a year or before any major financial decision.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can someone check my business credit score without my permission?

Yes. Unlike personal credit, business credit reports are publicly accessible. Any individual, company, or government entity can pull your business credit report without your knowledge or consent.

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

Generally six months to a year of active reporting to at least one bureau. D&B requires a minimum of three tradelines before generating a PAYDEX score.

What is the difference between a business credit score and a business credit report?

A credit report is the full document — payment history, public records, tradelines, inquiries. A credit score is a single number derived from that report. You need the report to understand what's driving the score.

Can a business have different scores from different bureaus?

Yes — and the differences can be significant. Each bureau uses its own model, data sources, and scale. Scores are not standardized and cannot be directly compared across providers.

Does my personal credit score affect my business credit score?

Generally no, but the FICO SBSS score is an exception — it blends both personal and business credit data. Some lenders also review personal credit alongside business credit when evaluating applications.