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

You can check your business credit score through three major bureaus — Experian, Dun & Bradstreet (D&B), and Equifax — either directly on their websites or through free aggregator platforms like Nav. Some basic summaries are free; full detailed reports are typically paid.

What Is a Business Credit Score?

Think of it as your business's financial reputation, reduced to a number. It tells lenders, vendors, insurers, and even government agencies how reliably your business pays its bills — and whether extending credit to you is a reasonable risk.

Unlike personal credit scores, business credit scores are publicly accessible. Anyone — a supplier, a competitor, a potential client — can pull a report on your business without your knowledge or consent. That's worth understanding before you assume your score is private.

Four main organizations produce business credit scores: Experian, Dun & Bradstreet, Equifax, and FICO. Each uses its own model, its own scale, and its own data sources. A strong score on one doesn't guarantee a strong score on another.

In practice, most small businesses find that lenders check multiple scores — not just one — before making a financing decision.

How to Check Your Business Credit Score — 4 Methods

Method 1 — Check Directly with Experian

Experian produces the Intelliscore Plus, scored on a scale of 1 to 100. A higher number means lower risk. Scores in the 76–100 range are generally considered low risk.

To check your score, go to Experian's Business Credit portal and search for your business by name and location. Experian offers several paid report options:

• CreditScore Report — $59.95 (one-time)
• ProfilePlus Report — $69.95 (one-time, most detailed)
• Business Credit Advantage — $199/year (daily monitoring, unlimited access)

A full Experian business report includes tradeline data, payment history, public records (liens, judgments, bankruptcies), and UCC filings. It's more than just a number — the report gives you a picture of how creditors view your business.

What's often overlooked is that Experian uses over 800 variables to calculate Intelliscore Plus. Payment behavior matters most, but new account activity, key financial ratios, and collection history all factor in.

Method 2 — Check Directly with Dun & Bradstreet

D&B produces the PAYDEX score, also on a 1–100 scale. This one is specifically built around how promptly your business pays its vendors and suppliers.

Here's a detail most people miss: paying on time gets you an 80. To score a perfect 100, you need to pay early. That distinction matters if you're trying to qualify for the most favorable trade credit terms.

Before you can get a PAYDEX score, your business needs a DUNS number — a unique nine-digit identifier assigned by D&B. Registering is free at D&B's website, but it takes a few weeks to process.

D&B also offers CreditSignal, a free service that sends alerts when your score changes. It won't give you the full score detail, but it's a useful starting point.

You also need at least three open tradelines reporting to D&B before a PAYDEX score is generated. New businesses that haven't yet established vendor relationships often don't have a score at all.

Method 3 — Check Directly with Equifax

Equifax produces two main business credit measures: the Business Credit Risk Score (ranging from 101 to 992) and a Payment Index. A higher score indicates lower risk of severe delinquency.

Equifax's business scores are used primarily by lenders and financial institutions — less by trade vendors, more by banks evaluating loan applications. Access to a full Equifax business report requires a paid subscription through the Equifax Business Credit portal.

Equifax tends to be the least discussed of the three bureaus, but some lenders weight it heavily. Checking all three gives you a complete picture rather than an incomplete one.

Method 4 — Check All Three Bureaus via a Free Aggregator

If you want a quick overview without paying for three separate reports, aggregators like Nav offer free summaries across all three major bureaus. You get a grade and a score range — enough to understand roughly where you stand.

As reported by CNBC, free business credit services won't necessarily give you the full picture, but they serve as a practical starting point for most small business owners.

Bank of America also offers free access to two D&B scores through its Business Advantage 360 platform, but only for existing BofA business clients.

A few things to keep in mind:

• Free summaries show ranges and grades, not full report detail
• Full reports still require paid access at each bureau
• Aggregators are useful for regular monitoring; direct bureau access is better when applying for financing

Business Credit Score Ranges — What the Numbers Mean

Different bureaus use entirely different scales. You can't compare a PAYDEX score of 80 to an Equifax score of 800 — they measure different things, using different data.

Bureau	Score Name	Score Range	What It Measures	Low-Risk Threshold
Experian	Intelliscore Plus	1–100	Delinquency risk over next 12 months	76–100
Dun & Bradstreet	PAYDEX	1–100	Vendor/supplier payment promptness	80 (on time); 100 (early)
Equifax	Business Credit Risk Score	101–992	Probability of severe delinquency	Higher = lower risk
FICO	SBSS	0–300	Blended business + personal credit	SBA requirement sunset March 2026; lender minimums vary

The FICO Small Business Scoring Service (SBSS) is worth singling out. It blends both business and personal credit data, and has historically been used by SBA lenders to pre-screen loan applications.

As of March 2026, the SBA formally sunset its requirement that lenders use the FICO SBSS score for pre-screening 7(a) Small Loans — though many lenders are expected to continue using it as a validated risk tool.

If you're applying for an SBA loan, it's worth asking your lender directly whether they still factor in the SBSS score and what threshold they use.

Free vs. Paid — What You Actually Get

Access Method	What You Get	Cost
Experian Business (paid)	Full report: tradelines, score, public records, UCC filings	From $59.95
D&B CreditSignal	Score change alerts, basic summary	Free
Equifax Business (paid)	Full report with Business Credit Risk Score	Paid subscription
Nav (aggregator)	Score summary and grade across 3 bureaus	Free (basic tier)
BofA Business Advantage 360	Two D&B scores	Free for BofA business clients only

At first glance, the free options seem sufficient. In practice, if you're actively applying for a loan or negotiating vendor terms, the detail in a full paid report is usually worth the cost. Grades and ranges don't tell you why your score is where it is.

What If Your Business Has No Credit Score Yet?

This is common — and often catches new business owners off guard. If your business is less than a year old or hasn't established any credit relationships, there may simply be no score to check.

To start building a business credit file:

1. Register for a DUNS number with Dun & Bradstreet (free, takes a few weeks)
2. Verify your business listing in Experian's business database
3. Open tradelines that report to bureaus — vendor accounts, business credit cards, or supplier credit. Aim for at least three
4. Pay on time, every time — payment history is the single most important factor across all scoring models

Scores don't appear overnight. Most businesses start seeing meaningful credit data after six to twelve months of consistent activity. This is one area where patience isn't optional.

How Personal Credit Connects to Business Credit

For established businesses with a solid credit file, personal and business credit are evaluated separately. But for new businesses or sole proprietors, the two are closely linked.

When a business has no credit history, lenders often fall back on the owner's personal credit score to assess risk. The FICO SBSS score formalizes this — it blends both personal and business data into a single score.

Once your business builds its own credit history, you can start to reduce that dependency. But early on, keeping your personal credit in good shape directly affects what your business can qualify for.

Key Factors That Affect Your Business Credit Score

• Payment history — the most influential factor across all bureaus
• Age of credit history — older accounts generally strengthen your profile
• Debt levels and utilization — high utilization relative to credit limits is a negative signal
• Number of open tradelines — more reporting accounts typically means a more complete picture
• Public records — liens, judgments, and bankruptcies weigh heavily against your score
• Industry risk — some industries are classified as higher risk regardless of payment behavior
• UCC filings — indicate secured debt, which creditors factor into their assessment

Teams that work closely with small business lenders commonly report that payment history accounts for the largest share of score movement — both up and down. Everything else matters, but late payments are the hardest to recover from.

How to Check Another Business's Credit Score

Business credit is not private. If you want to check a vendor's financial health before extending them terms — or vet a potential partner before signing a contract — you can pull their business credit report the same way you'd pull your own.

Use Experian Business, D&B, Equifax Business, or Nav to search by company name. This is standard practice in trade credit decisions, contract vetting, and supplier risk assessment.

How to Dispute Errors on Your Business Credit Report

Errors on business credit reports are more common than most people expect — and unlike personal credit, there's no standardized federal dispute process for businesses.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act, which gives consumers specific dispute rights over personal credit reports, does not extend those same protections to business credit reports — meaning bureaus face no legally mandated timeline or process to investigate or correct errors on your business file.

If you find incorrect information:

• Experian: Submit a dispute through Experian's Business Credit dispute portal online
• Dun & Bradstreet: Contact D&B directly to correct or update your business records
• Equifax: Use Equifax's Business Credit dispute process via their website

Review your reports at least once a year. Outdated payment data, incorrectly listed public records, or misattributed accounts can all drag down a score that should be higher. Catching and correcting errors early is one of the more straightforward ways to protect your credit standing.

Does Checking Your Own Score Hurt It?

No. Checking your own business credit score is a soft inquiry and has no negative impact on your score. This is different from how hard inquiries work in personal credit.

What's also worth knowing: because business credit is publicly accessible, lenders, vendors, and others can check your score without your consent — and without affecting it either.

How Often Should You Check?

• Quarterly — minimum for most businesses
• Monthly — if you're actively applying for financing, expanding vendor relationships, or in a high-growth phase
• Ongoing monitoring — services like D&B CreditSignal or Experian's Business Credit Advantage send alerts when something changes, which is useful for catching errors or unexpected activity early

Conclusion

Check your business credit score directly through Experian, Dun & Bradstreet, or Equifax — or get a free summary across all three via Nav. Each bureau uses a different scale and serves different audiences, so checking all three gives you the most complete picture before applying for financing or negotiating terms.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1: Can I check my business credit score for free?

Yes. D&B's CreditSignal offers free score alerts. Nav provides free score summaries across all three major bureaus. Full detailed reports from each bureau typically require a paid plan.

Q2: How is a business credit score different from a personal credit score?

Business scores are publicly accessible — anyone can check them without your consent. Personal credit requires consumer authorization. They also use different scales and are calculated by different bureaus.

Q3: How long does it take to build a business credit score?

Most businesses start generating meaningful credit data after six to twelve months of consistent activity — open tradelines, on-time payments, and an active DUNS number registration.

Q4: Can someone check my business credit score without my permission?

Yes. Business credit reports are publicly accessible. Lenders, vendors, and other organizations can view your score without notifying you or requiring your consent.

Q5: What should I do if there is an error on my business credit report?

Contact the bureau directly — Experian, D&B, or Equifax — through their respective business credit dispute processes. Errors should be addressed promptly, as incorrect data can negatively affect your score.