How to Check Your Business Credit Score (and What Lenders Actually See)

Oct 15, 2026

Many business owners first learn their company has its own credit file when a lender declines their application. That file is separate from your personal credit, and lenders, suppliers, and insurers can all review it. This guide explains how to check business credit score reports at each of the three bureaus, what the numbers mean, and what lenders see when they pull your file.

Why Your Business Credit Score Matters

A business credit score tells lenders, suppliers, and insurers how reliably your company pays its bills, and it affects more than a loan decision. It also influences how much credit suppliers will extend and the interest rates you pay.¹ Insurers, service providers, and even potential customers may review your file before they agree to work with you², and because the file is public, competitors can look it up too.

That public access is the biggest difference between business credit vs. personal credit. Your personal score stays private, while your company's file is open to anyone deciding whether to do business with you. A strong one can lead to better financing opportunities and partnerships,³ and as your company grows, it makes it easier to borrow in the business's name and negotiate terms with vendors.

Where to Check Your Business Credit Score

You can check your business credit score at three bureaus: Dun & Bradstreet, Experian Business, and Equifax Business. Each credit bureau uses its own data and scoring scale, so expect a different number from each one. 

D&B is the only one with a free business credit score. Experian and Equifax charge about $50 to $70 for a single report.

Dun & Bradstreet

D&B is the bureau most closely tied to vendor credit, so it matters most for established businesses that buy from suppliers on payment terms. The Dun & Bradstreet business credit score, called the PAYDEX score, runs from 1 to 100. It's based on how you pay your vendors, with larger bills counting more.⁴ A score of 80 means you generally pay on time, and anything above 80 means you pay early.⁵

Everything at D&B starts with a DUNS number, a free nine-digit ID that anchors your file.⁶ Once you have one, D&B Credit Insights at dnb.com offers a $0 plan, with paid plans starting at $49 a month.⁷

Experian Business

The Experian business credit score is called Intelliscore Plus. It runs from 1 to 100, and a higher number signals lower risk. Experian builds it from your trade lines and payment habits, balances and credit utilization, public records such as liens, judgments, and bankruptcies, and background details like years on file and business size.³ Lenders can also use a blended version of Intelliscore that factors in the owner's personal credit.⁸

To check it, run a free company search at experian.com/small-business, then buy a report. A CreditScore report costs $59.95, a ProfilePlus report costs $69.95, and business credit monitoring through Business Credit Advantage runs $199 a year.¹

Equifax Business

Lenders often pull an Equifax business credit score alongside the other two when they assess credit risk. Equifax Business draws on both commercial and consumer data.⁹ Its main scores are a Payment Index, a Business Credit Risk Score, and a Business Failure Score. They track how you pay, your risk of falling behind, and the risk of closure.¹⁰ 

Equifax sells a one-time report for $49.99 through its approved reseller, eCredable.²

How to Request a Business Credit Report

Gather your legal business name, address, EIN, and DUNS number if you have one. Your EIN credit history follows the business, so those details should match what you put on applications.

Here's how to request your report from each bureau:

• Dun & Bradstreet: Look up or request your DUNS number, then sign up for Credit Insights.
• Experian Business: Search for your company and buy a single report or a subscription.
• Equifax Business: Order through eCredable, verify your identity, and download the report.²

To fix a mistake, D&B accepts disputes and updates for free through D-U-N-S Manager,⁷ and Experian includes a dispute form with each report and generally finishes its investigation within 30 days.¹¹

If your search turns up no business credit file, it means no vendor or lender has reported your payments yet, so the next step is to build your business credit from scratch.

What Lenders Look at When They Pull Your Business Credit

Lenders read your report for evidence that you pay what you owe on time. Four factors carry the most weight:

• Payment history with vendors and creditors
• Length of credit history
• Outstanding balances and credit utilization
• Derogatory marks such as collections, liens, judgments, and bankruptcies

A file with only one or two accounts reporting can hurt an application as much as a damaged one. It gives a lender too little information to judge your creditworthiness, so the decision leans more heavily on your personal credit and financial statements. 

Newer businesses still learning how to build business credit can fill out a thin file by making on-time payments to vendors that report to the bureaus. Each reported payment adds to your payment history, the one factor all three bureaus score.

Even with a full file, no single score counts as fundable everywhere. Lender credit requirements vary, and cash flow and existing debt are part of what lenders look at beyond your credit score.

See If Your Business Qualifies for an SBA Loan

Once you know what's in your business credit profile, you can start comparing financing options. SBA loans are a common next step for owners with a solid or improving file. Since March 1, 2026, the SBA no longer screens 7(a) small loan applications with a single credit score. Lenders now review each applicant's credit history and repayment ability themselves.¹² That makes your credit reports and cash flow central to meeting current SBA loan requirements [note to the publisher: this article is yet to be published]. 

The quickest way to find out where your business stands is to talk with a lender. At Lendward, that conversation happens with a dedicated account manager, a real person with lending experience who doesn't work on commission. They'll explain what a lender will want to see in your file and stay with you from application to closing. See if your business qualifies for an SBA loan.

 

Sources:

1. Business Credit Report - Run a free company search | Experian. (n.d.). https://www.experian.com/small-business/business-credit-reports 
2. Business Credit Reports for small businesses | Business | Equifax. (n.d.). https://www.equifax.com/business/product/business-credit-reports-small-business/ 
3. Understanding your business credit score - Experian.com. (n.d.). https://www.experian.com/small-business/business-credit-score 
4. Bradstreet, D. &. (n.d.). What is a PAYDEX Score? – Dun & Bradstreet. Dun & Bradstreet. https://www.dnb.com/en-us/smb/resources/credit-scores/what-is-paydex-score.html 
5. Solutions | Customer Support | FAQs. (n.d.). https://docs.dnb.com/solution/docusign/en-US/customer-support/faqs 
6.  Dun & Bradstreet. (n.d.). D-U-N-S number questions: Start here - Dun & Bradstreet. https://www.dnb.com/en-us/smb/duns.html 
7. Dun & Bradstreet. (n.d.-b). Grow with D&B Credit Insights - Dun & Bradstreet. https://www.dnb.com/en-us/products/dnb-credit-insights.html 
8. Product Sheet: Intelliscore PlusSM V3. (n.d.). Experian. https://www.experian.com/content/dam/marketing/na/assets/bis/business-information/brochures/intelliscore-plus-v3-ps.pdf 
9. Business Risk Scores | Business | Equifax. (n.d.). https://www.equifax.com/business/product/business-risk-score/ 
10. Team, T. (2025, September 2). Equifax Business Credit. HowToStartAnLLC.com. https://www.howtostartanllc.com/business-credit/equifax-small-business-guide 
11. Business credit information: How to correct or dispute business credit report items at Experian. (n.d.). https://www.experian.com/small-business/business-credit-information 
12. Sunset of SBSS Score - Supplemental guidance. (n.d.). U.S. Small Business Administration. https://legacy.sba.gov/document/procedural-notice-5000-876777-sunset-sbss-score-supplemental-guidance